What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

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evergreen13
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What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby evergreen13 » March 11th, 2019, 3:17 pm

It seems like the only racing games out there these days go for realism (to varying degrees) like Gran Turismo, Forza, Dirt, Need for Speed, and the Crew. The only real exception to this the occasional kart racer or super fast futuristic racing game. Where is Burnout, Motorstorm, Outrun, Flatout, Cruisin', Sega Rally, Ridge Racer, San Francisco Rush, SSX, etc? Wreckfest on the PC (and supposedly soon for consoles) is about the only example I can think of that is a modern arcade racing game, and even then we aren't getting any crazy tracks to race around.

At times I feel like I'm the only one that misses this genre. I want wild backgrounds and crazy twists and turns. I want physics that are fun, even if they aren't realistic. I don't care about the perfect driving line, and even vehicle upgrades should be kept to a minimum. Heck, I don't really even care about rubber banding in my racing games, so long as it means a close intense race!

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Retro STrife
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby Retro STrife » March 11th, 2019, 5:01 pm

Good point. It's not a genre that I follow closely, but they do seem to have tapered off during the current generation. But give Onrush a look... It's an arcade racing game that came out last summer. It makes a lot of twists to the usual racing game formula, and I thought it was pretty fun.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 13th, 2019, 6:59 pm

Great question Evergreen! Ridge Racer... Outrun... Sega Rally... Cruisin USA... where the hell are they?
I'm sure they could make some really jaw-dropping versions on the new consoles.

I started playing Forza Horizon 4, but it's not arcade at all. It looks very real and the cars have that "heavy" feel. That's fine, but it's not an arcade-style racer.

I actually picked up a modded, region-free PS1 recently just so I could play Midnight Run, which is very similar to Ridge Racer. I'll post that review soon.

CharlieR
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby CharlieR » March 14th, 2019, 2:00 pm

I love kart racing games, but I hate those "realistic" racing games like Grid. Your car hits something and spins around like a bowling pin. That's not fun. And the futuristic games like f-zero, wipeout, and fast racing neo don't appeal to me at all

I hear you. I was a huge fan of Burnout Revenge and Burnout Dominator. NASCAR Rumble for ps1 is another arcade style racer. I really liked Midtown Madness 3 for the original XBOX as well, it plays like Crazy Taxi with more realism, but not so real that its like Gran Turismo. Asphalt 3d for 3ds is another one, but they seem to be few and far between these days.

The only modern arcade style racing game I can think of off the top of my head for newer systems, is Horizon Chase turbo. I think it's supposed to be a modern version of outrun. It got good reviews and the screenshots look gorgeous. I don't believe it ever got a physical release, so it would have to be downloaded on the Switch eshop.

Paul Campbell
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby Paul Campbell » March 14th, 2019, 2:38 pm

I second the recommendation of OnRush. It might even be free on Playstation right now. It feels like an update of Excite Truck, which I think was fantastic...

snakeboy
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby snakeboy » March 14th, 2019, 5:06 pm

CharlieR wrote:The only modern arcade style racing game I can think of off the top of my head for newer systems, is Horizon Chase turbo. I think it's supposed to be a modern version of outrun. It got good reviews and the screenshots look gorgeous. I don't believe it ever got a physical release, so it would have to be downloaded on the Switch eshop.


Good news, Horizon Chase Turbo is getting a retail release for Switch and PS4 this May (if you want to see gameplay footage, click on the link and scroll down a bit):

https://worthplaying.com/article/2019/2/28/news/113130/

For those who are into kart racers, a new Sonic Racing game is coming in May, and a new Crash Team Racing is supposed to be out in June (for Switch, PS4, and XB1). Both can be pre-ordered on Amazon.

And finally, there is an interesting arcade-style racer coming out in a couple of weeks called Xenon Racer:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HL2qeUO28q8

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noah98
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby noah98 » March 15th, 2019, 7:58 am

I would be interested in reading reviews of Onrush, Xenon Racer, and Horizon Chase Turbo, just sayin ;)

Seriously, I'd love to see what the critic thinks of Onrush. It looked promising, but I haven't heard much about it since it released. It's only $21 on Amazon right now.

CharlieR
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby CharlieR » March 15th, 2019, 4:03 pm

thanks for the info about the retail release of Horizon Chase Turbo. I wonder what the price will be. I know it's $20 on the eshop, but I could see a retail release going for $40 just because.

I am excited for both Crash and Sonic racing games. I am a huge fan of kart racers, though I do have one for the Switch that I can't seem to really get into: Nickeleodeon Kart Racers. The presentation is like that of a mobile game, and the racing is just dull and boring. I do get to play as Arnold from Hey Arnold! though.

There is another game I can think of, and that is Blur. It came out for ps3 and is an arcade racer with weapons like Mario kart.

brendand
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby brendand » March 15th, 2019, 8:41 pm

V Rally 4 is coming out sooner or later if it's anything like the first 3 it will have a arcade mode and feel to it.

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DrLitch
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Re: What ever happened to arcade style racing games?

Postby DrLitch » March 15th, 2019, 8:53 pm

Kart Racers are awesome, but I do feel the itch for a good old proper arcade racing classic - like Outrun, Ridge Racer, Sega Rally, games like this. Remade and rethought, new tracks, music and so on, modern graphics. I do not want realistic racing or simulation.

Another I want to see is Road Rash proper. Not the 2nd rate games that showed up on the Playstation or N64, but the classic ones that showed up on the Genesis/Sega CD and 3D0.


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