ShreddieMercury

Looks awesome!!

For the past several years, I've been on a quest to scratch a specific itch. Up until the last generation, arcade racing games were rather ubiquitous and usually pretty successful. But in the early 2010's, the industry started to tilt heavily in favor of simulations, and things haven't (and may never) tilt back. Exactly why this occurred is a mystery to me; in a medium where the only limit is imagination, players have seemingly voiced their desire to only drive around boring tracks in the most tedious manor possible. The failure of Blur and Split/Second in 2010, ironically two of the best games made in this genre, seemed like the final nail in the coffin. While there have been several attempts at capturing the spirit of arcade racing in the past few years, sadly nothing has come close to the heights of this once dominant genre. For anybody like me that loves these games, I wanted to create a thread to collect the best that I've found that are still playable on modern systems. There are a surprising amount of older games that are still available, and some very good recent games as well. I'll omit very obvious ones like Forza, because while it would technically qualify, I don't think it quite fits. I'll also omit stuff like Wreckfest and Art of Rally, because while they seemingly have all the correct elements in place, they're tied to rather sim-heavy driving models. If anybody wants to include Kart Racers, that's great, but I'll leave them off my my initial list for now. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Feel the thrill of the chase and the rush of escape behind the wheels of the world’s hottest high-performance cars in Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered– a heart-pumping, socially competitive racing experience. Available on PS, Xbox, Steam, Switch. Positives: pure arcade drifting, well tuned combat, extensive and very fun campaign. Negatives: the driving model takes time to get used to, as cars feel very heavy. The destruction is significantly less detailed than in Burnout games. GRIP: Combat Racing GRIP: Combat Racing on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM GRIP is a high octane, hardcore combat racer, packing ferocious speed and armed to the teeth with heavy weapons. Inspired by games like Rollcage, Wipeout, Motorstorm and Star Wars Podracer, it's like nothing you've ever played before. Available on PS, Xbox, Steam. Positives: very fast, very fun modern take on classic PS racer Rollcage. Track design is excellent, soundtrack is awesome. Negatives: fun but fairly bare campaign. Hydro Thunder Hurricane Buy Hydro Thunder Hurricane | Xbox WWW.XBOX.COM This sequel to Midway’s legendary arcade racer features amazing dynamic water physics, transformable rocket-powered boats, gorgeous visuals and over-the-top interactive environments like Area 51 and the Bermuda Triangle. Conquer four game modes – Races, Ring Masters, Gauntlet, Championships -- and race against your Friends’ best performances in the all-new Ghost Race! Available on PC/Xbox Positives: excellent and fun water simulation. Great track design. Underrated and worthy successor to the original game. Negatives: no online presence. Very weak and bland soundtrack. Slipstream Slipstream on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Arcade-style racing game inspired by the spirit of the early 90s, with drifting mechanics and exotic tracks. Available on PS, Xbox, Steam, Switch. Positives: Fun take on Outrun, great soundtrack, good driving/drifting model. Negatives: Tracks are a bit bland, and the game is pretty bare overall. Burnout Paradise Remastered Burnout™ Paradise Remastered on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Burnout Paradise Remastered provides the ultimate driving playground for you and your friends to play online. This remaster includes all add-ons from the Year of Paradise, including the Big Surf Island update, meticulously recreated and ready to wreck in 4K. Available on PS, Xbox, Steam, Switch. Positives: The best driving and looking Burnout game. Negatives: the open world makes for the worst Burnout racing. Inertial Drift Inertial Drift on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM An arcade racer that tears up the rule book with innovative twin-stick controls, completely re-imagined driving mechanics and a huge roster of fiercely individual cars and tracks. Available on PS, Xbox, Steam, Switch. Positives: unique twin-stick drifting model, fantastic visuals and soundtrack. Negatives: racing is only against ghosts, so it's a series of time trials only. Cruis'n Blast Cruis'n Blast for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site WWW.NINTENDO.COM The arcade hit Cruis’n Blast is speeding onto Nintendo Switch™! Blast your way through nearly 30 over-the-top tracks. Grab the wheel of 23 custom rides from licensed supercars to monster trucks and unicorns! Up to four players can race together, so pic… Available on Switch. Positives: feels great to play, immediately fun. Negatives: zero depth, aesthetic is hit-or-miss. Split/Second Split/Second on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Split/Second is an intense action racing game set within a reality TV show. Competitors vie to be the first to the finish line in a set rigged to blow. Players don’t just collide with other vehicles to knock them from the track, but can also trigger devastating events that alter the race dynamics. Available on Steam and Xbox. Positives: unique take on combat racing, very fun driving model, extensive and varied campaign. Negatives: severe rubber banding. There are lots more that I don't have time to add, but I'll include some others at some point later. Please share any that you'd like!

OG Xbox was definitely their creative peak in my opinion, but the 360 library is among the best of any console. But it did miss awesome stuff like SEGA's output and MS's push into sports games with stuff like Rallisport Challenge and Amped. The 360 is also where you saw the over reliance on only a few franchises, which has had severely diminishing returns.

I'm all-in on Game Pass at this point. I resisted as long as I could but it's too good to pass up. Likely won't be able to wait long enough for Jedi Survivor to hit GP though. But EA stuff seems to be nicely discounted a few months after release from what I can tell.

Well, you're much more optimistic than I am!

Will massive corporate consolidation help the industry? No. But isn't it inevitable? The Disney comparison in that email is very apt. Sooner or later, one of these corporations will absolutely own the lion's share of premium IP and content. Have a gaas everyone!

Naw dude! You're too kind. Save your money, or buy something nice for yourself that brings you joy. I can wait.

Here's how it could go though. MS buys SEGA and we get: - Cleaned up, HDR enabled Jet Set Radio Future - SEGA Arcade Racing collection with Daytona USA 2, SCUD Race, Sega Rally Championship 1 + 2 Would that happen? Probably not, but it's our best shot.

Please no.

I've heard great things! I'm just waiting for somebody to tell me that it's as good as Jedi Outcast. Fallen Order did not really seem fun from what I can tell, but I've been hoping for a great Star Wars game for literal decades at this point. The universe lends itself perfectly to games, and yet we haven't had anything that struck the same chord as the classics since probably the mid-2000s. Probably can't afford it right away, but am excited to grab this on Xbox at some point down the road.

Damn. I could feel the SEGA acquisition brewing and am sad that it didn't happen.

So Is this really fun like the Star Wars games from 20 years ago? Or is it boring because it has Dark Souls combat?

I'm surprised to see people say that the library isn't that great. It's probably in the top three or so best console libraries of all time, and it has a few of the best games in Nintendo's entire catalog.

I'll believe it when I see it. Hillcoat is a solid choice, but they've tried for decades to get a film version of the story off the ground to no avail. From my understanding, it's been very close multiple times. I know that the difference now is that McCarthy was working on a script, but who knows how much was complete or what stage it was at when he passed.

RIP. Blood Meridian remains the most indelible and resonant novel I've experienced. I've read it three times and I find it more fascinating and brilliant as time wears on. I hope they never attempt a film version; its abstraction is what makes it so powerful, and it's almost like McCarthy was channeling some cosmic truth known only to him.

Wow you can block users? I can't believe that the blatant oppression of conservatives continues.

Fuck each and every one of these people. You don't like abortion? Great, you can choose to not have one. That's the end of the discussion you fucking misogynist, fascist scum.

Time will tell if it lives up to being one of the best, but certainly for my tastes it has been better than any year since probably 2017 (another all-time great). With RE4, Zelda, Hi-Fi Rush, Alan Wake 2, and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, I have/will purchase more new games in a single year that I have in maybe the last 10.

I don't see all of their projects being the type of painstakingly animated, graphically advanced (and almost comically morose) narrative adventures that eat up that much time though. Game Pass is a haven for the AA, mechanically hook-y type games that are faster and more efficient to produce. I would guess that MS is developing some of these huge adventures, but that it won't comprise their entire first party portfolio in the same way that it seems to for Sony. I could be very, very wrong. This is what I'm hopeful for though, and what I think makes the most sense when considering how to compete effectively. Hi-Fi Rush is the best and most lauded MS published game in a generation, and it's a $30 throwback to gen 6.

Great points on TOTK. Where in Japan did you visit? My wife and I went a few years ago and it's my favorite trip that I've ever been on. I've been saving ever since so that I can go back someday.

Disappointing that many of these are still a ways away, but this is probably the most promising lineup of games from any platform in the past several years. When the Xbox Series X/S launched, it was clear that if MS could get all of their studios organized in a way to stagger game releases appropriately, Game Pass would be unbelievable (and unbeatable) within a few years. It's taken longer than I thought, but this presentation was a glimmer of what lies in store. The relative lack of GAAS is also extremely relieving.

Sounds like I'll take a punt on this then, thanks for the feedback @best3444 @stepee. Is this the best year in gaming in quite a while? Seems like with RE4, Hi-Fi Rush (still need to play), Zelda, DI2, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, etc., there is way more that I'm interested in playing than there has been in years and years.

I haven't bought Dead Island 2, but now I see it's 20% off. Worth it?

I've been waiting and waiting for Wolfenstein III, so any news on that would make me happy. Other than that, just need MS to buy SEGA so that they can make Outrun 2 backwards compatible.

I'd estimate probably 2-3 days per week, for about 1-2 hours. It's my favorite hobby, but now that I'm in my mid-30's, jaded, and have been playing games for most of my life, it's more difficult to get sucked in like I used to. Peak gaming for me was probably mid-to-late 2000's.