Racing

Driver – Parallel Lines

Description

Driver: Parallel Lines is the fourth game in the Driver series, following the story of TK. In 1978, TK (who was then an 18-year-old driver-for-hire who had just graduated from high school) was sentenced to 28 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and is released from prison in 2006. Now, with his driving skills, he seeks revenge against the police department for having to serve time for something someone else should’ve gone to prison for!

Unlike Driv3r, Driver: Parallel Lines mostly takes place behind the wheel, returning back to the formula that made the first game a classic. The game still has a GTA-style open-ended design, though, and you can still exit your vehicle for some on-foot action. However, there’s no reason to exit your vehicle unless it’s damaged and you can no longer drive it, as almost all of the game’s missions involve cop car chases. If that’s the case, then you can either go to the repair shop to repair your vehicle, or just steal someone else’s vehicle! Until then, you can punch the cops with your fists and steal their weapons when they’re dead, so that you can use them for future on-foot combat. …

FlatOut

Description

FlatOut is a driving game where crashing your car can be more fun than racing it. You drive muscle cars around dirt tracks, battle them on destruction derby arenas, and take part in Ragdoll Olympics. That last one may need some explanation. When you crash in FlatOut, your driver (the Ragdoll) is flung through the windscreen, very much like in Rekkaturvat. This feature is used in the Ragdoll sports where the task is to propel the hapless driver as far, as high, or as accurately as possible. On the demolition arena the goal is to wreck other cars before yours is. Simple as that.

The bulk of the game is racing though and it can be performed in typical quick race and time trial modes in addition to the proverbial career mode. There are also two different handling modes for the cars. Normal mode gives arcade type handling, suitable for gamepads. Professional mode seems to be designed for steering wheel owners and provides very challenging simulator-type handling. Not surprisingly since Bugbear’s previous racing title Rally Trophy was considered to be very challenging, even demanding, simulation. …

FlatOut 2

Description

As in FlatOut your goal is to drive as reckless as you can and still win the race. But contrary to its predecessor, FlatOut 2 is now a complete arcade-racing game.

The core of the game is the career mode which features 3 different racing-classes: Derby, Race and Street. Every class is also divided into 3 levels. You begin your career in the derby class level 1. Here you drive old, wrecked cars straight from the dump. As you progress to the race class and finally to the street class you can buy better and faster cars which you can then also tune to your needs, like installing a new engine.

Inside the classes you find different kinds of events: from normal races over Destruction Derbies to stunt events. All of the events feature a fully destructible environment. This is not only eye-candy but is also required to fill up your nitro and handicap your enemies.

If you get bored of that, you can play one of the 12 mini-games. Like in FlatOut your goal here is to do all kinds of crazy stuff with your driver. You can use him as a football, throw him through burning rings and more. These mini-games can also be played with up to 8 players on one PC in a hot-seat mode. …

Ford Racing – Off Road

Description

As you might expect, this game takes the Ford Racing series off the road, and into the desert, forest, and ice. Features 12 tracks, (plus reverse versions of all tracks) and 18 Ford and Land Rover vehicles.

Game modes include Quick Race, which drops you right in the action, Career mode, which starts you out with a few thousand credits and a map of the nearest races, Tournament, which is a shorter version of Career mode, Arcade mode, which lets you play a single race with the track, mode, and vehicle you want, and Multiplayer, which lets you race split-screen. Some tracks and vehicles need to be unlocked through career mode before they become available.

Off Road features 12 tracks, and 18 vehicles from Ford and Land Rover. The game features five game modes: Quick Race, Career, Tournament, Arcade, and Multiplayer. Career mode is the game’s main mode, in which the player races to unlock new vehicles, tracks and race types. Tournament mode is a smaller version of Career mode, minus the ability to unlock new vehicles. Quick Race allows the player to begin a race on a limited number of tracks. In Arcade mode, the player can race with vehicles, tracks and race types that have been unlocked. The PC, PS2 and Wii versions include a two-player option. …

Need for Speed II SE

Description

In Need For Speed II the player takes control of eight Super Cars and races his or her way through six different tracks from Australia to Nepal. Much like the first in the series, the sequel has plenty of high performance cars to choose from, including the McLaren F1, Ferrari F50, Lotus GT1, Jaguar XJ220, Ford GT90, Isdera Commendatore 112i, Italdesign Cala and Lotus Esprit V8, each handling differently.

Once the player has beaten the six tracks, a new track is made available. It’s a fast paced racing game which is intended to play more like an arcade racer than a true simulation, though the player can select which driving style suits him or her best: arcade or simulation.

There are three game modes: single race, tournament (in which the player must get the highest score in order to win) and knock out (in which the player has to outrun at least one car at the end of each track to avoid elimination). Car settings such as gear ratio, downforce, break bias and color can be customized. The opponents’ skill can also be chosen, as well as the presence of civilian traffic in the tracks. The game offers four options of camera views: heli-cam, tail-cam, in-car and road cam. A replay mode with eight cinematic cameras is also available. …

Radio Control Racers Deluxe – Traxxas Edition

Description

Fans of the original 3-D Ultra Radio Control Racers, developed by Dynamix, get a second fix with this enhanced and expanded version from Sierra. 3-D Ultra Radio Control Racers Deluxe: Traxxas Edition takes the game to new levels by adding tracks, game modes, customization options and advanced features.

You can choose from four car models, each with individual characteristics, attributes, strengths and weaknesses. The 4-wheel drive Monster Truck has twin engines, and a low center of gravity due to its weight and sturdy construction. Much faster is the Baja Bug, which sacrifices corner handling for speed, and the Buggy with its quick handling and smaller tires. Slightly slower, but featuring good stability and fast recovery, is the Stadium Truck.

Customization of all four vehicles is possible with the Custom Paint Area, a feature containing two methods for converting your cars into dream machines. The first method provides four templates (blobs, flames, stripes, and chex) with 14 colors used in different combinations. The other option, albeit more complex, provides more depth and customization choices for detailing your car. After importing a pre-made bitmap template or creating your own, you can use any paint program to add colors and logos, and then save and import the file for use in the program. …

Need for Speed – High Stakes (Road Challenge)

Description

Just like its predecessors Need for Speed: High Stakes is an action racing game with a wide selection of exotic sports cars and many different types of tracks. The trademark Hot Pursuit mode game mode from the first game in the series is still present, where players race opponents on tracks filled with regular traffic and police cars that chase the racers. The classic pursuit mode is extended with two additional modes: Getaway and Time Trap. In Getaway the player needs to shake off the police in a set amount of time, or playing as the police trap a speeder before time runs out. In Time Trap an entire race needs to be completed before time runs out, or as the police all speeders need to be arrested. There are minor differences between the two platforms for this game mode, regarding spike strips, road blocks, and back-up. The latter for instance is unique to the PlayStation version. The Pursuit mode is available in multiplayer as well and players can take different sides or race together.

It is the first game in the series to introduce a Career mode with a set of challenges. Beating these is rewarded with trophies for unlocks, and money to spend on new cars, repairs and upgrades. In the PlayStation version the Career mode is split up into two different sets of challenges: Tournament (required races) and Special Event (optional races). High Stakes in the title refers to races where players bet their cars. In the PC version these are a part of the Career mode when the player owns more than two cars. In the PlayStation version two players can insert their memory cards and race against each other. The winner immediately receives the opponent’s car and it is deleted from the loser’s memory card right away. …

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