Aww yea, check out these video games...
This is my other hobby.
Over the course of many many years, I've developed a fondness to some video games. But few games (or few genres of games) captivated my attention more than racing games or otherwise car-related games. However, I have tried other games (and some from other game platforms and developers). Below is my game list in (some) particular order.
Namco Museum Vol. 1 (PS1)
Namco Museum is a collection of 80s arcade titles such as Pac-Man, Rally-X, Galaga, and Pole Position. I liked the free-roam inside what's now considered "luminal space" of the museum building.
Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
The original Crash Bandicoot (which very much may be the first ever PlayStation mascot) was made by Naughty Dog in 1996. The gameplay is simple at first, but difficulty ramps up after one or two boss fights and some crazy levels located across three islands.
Gran Turismo (PS1)
Polyphony's first ever Gran Turismo game. It is regarded as one of the best-selling PS1 games. This was originally conceived by an independent studio within Sony Computer Entertainment (known as Poly's Co). Gran Turismo's ethereal ambition of being a "Real Driving Simulator" may be seen as primitive by today's standards, but bear in mind there was very little, or quite possibly nothing else like it on the market.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped! (PS1/PS4)
Warped was my favorite Crash Bandicoot title. I admire the dedication that went into creating this game, with its enhanced story, characters, and gameplay. Instead of a linear world map, the player is thrown into a warp room. This is where the "Warped" part of the name comes from. Also, the boss fights are more rewarding after beating them. You're awarded new abilities for the effort. I liked the original Crash Bandicoot Warped so much, I thought why not give the PS4 remaster a try? Well, it certainly delivers, with the downside being it copies the PS1 original almost word-for-word and the new owners of Crash Bandicoot (Activision/Toys for Bob) haven't yet (at that time) created their own original Crash Bandicoot game. Let's say I like to keep it simple and play the PS1 version, which after all these years, I finally got another copy of.
Driver (PS1)
Driver: You Are the Wheelman is the story of an ex-race driver turned undercover cop named John Tanner, who is sent to investigate criminal activity occuring in four cities across the United States. I always found the parking garage training level difficult and frustrating. When playing driving games of any sort, my preference is for the open road. And well, let's say the player is rewarded for their efforts with just that - but they have a mission as undercover cop. The playable cars for all four cities are different, but the game physics is fundamentally the same all throughout. In the PC version, the british town of Newcastle (where developer Reflections Interactive is based) is an unlockable secret location. The inspiration for this game came from the 1978 movie, The Driver.
Croc 2 (PS1)
I once rented this game. My impression of Croc 2 is that it was a drastic improvement compared to the original Croc. The game featured hub worlds leading into their own levels, NPC dialogue (You can speak to gobbos!), and vehicular stuff. To reiterate, if I had to choose between the original Croc and the sequel, I'd pick the latter.
Crash Team Racing (PS1/PS4)
This was the last ever Crash title developed by Naughty Dog. The gameplay is much like Nintendo's Mario Kart, but with a twist. The story mode of this game features an alien by the name of Nitrous Oxide (the final boss you race against) - challenging everyone on Earth to a great kart race. Along the way, the player faces up against other characters and bosses. The PS4 remake by Activision copied the original word-for-word, and then some (in the form of DLC's and lootboxes).
Gran Turismo 2 (PS1)
Gran Turismo 2 picks up where the original Gran Turismo left off. The gameplay is enhanced for more race modes and improved physics. A new rally mode is included, which from here onwards, rally racing would be a part of the Gran Turismo franchise. The addition of even more automakers means a huge increase of the in-game car roster: more than 650 cars! That's a feat for a PS1 game.
Crash Bash! (PS1)
Crash Bash was a party game created by Vicarious Visions (under Vivdendi) in 2000. This was the first post-Naugthy Dog Crash game I played to some extent. In short, imagine Mario Party, but for PlayStation.
ATV Offroad Fury 2 (PS2)
The first PS2 game I played all those years ago. Before I could get my hands on a "proper" racing game, I only had this. Experiencing riding four wheels off-road surely must generate adrenaline (although I mostly just played free roam and single races without going through the game's long career mode). If people like ATV's, this is the game for them.
Gran Turismo 4 (PS2)
Gran Turismo 4 absolutely cemented itself as one of the games to play. Compared to previous GT titles, GT4 had the largest car roster (clocking in at 750 plus cars). Included in the long list of unlockable vehicles are ones from far-distant past (1886) to far-distant "future" (2022). These are: Benz Patent Motorwagen, Daimler Motor Carriage, and 2022 Nike One. (Keep in mind, the year 2022 was the future in 2005). The Nike car may be considered the first ever "VGT" before "Vision Gran Turismo" was a thing (see Gran Turismo 5). The introduction of B-spec introduced a whole new career mode in of itself, where the player is a team manager commanding the AI piloting the vehicle in-race. This B-spec mode was kept on in only a handful few subsequent GT games. Overall, Gran Turismo 4 is one of the best PS2 games ever.
Enthusia Professional Racing (PS2)
At first glance, Enthusia might seem to be a Gran Turismo knockoff. And that wouldn't be far off the mark, given its slightly later May 2005 release. Given that it was also released on the PlayStation 2 alongside Gran Turismo 4, Konami's racing title was somewhat oddly placed in the position of both competitor and fellow-PS2-title. I'm sure others will see compeition between Gran Turismo and Xbox's Forza Motorsport more plausible. The career mode, named "Enthusia Life", progresses more arcade-like, with no economy (Gran Turismo has credits, Enthusia rewards you with Enthu points). After Enthusia Professional Racing, Konami has never confirmed any Enthusia sequel or any other racing game. This game is an obscure title to this day.
Mario Kart DS
The list of characters and karts is simple, but the gameplay is fun. As well as new-for-DS tracks, racetracks from previous gens are also included.
Test Drive Unlimited (X360/PS2/PSP)
Test Drive Unlimited was developed by Eden Games and published by Atari in 2006. It was the first Test Drive game since its hiatus from 2002. This is an open-world racing game set in the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. The player can choose to buy houses, garages and cars throughout.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS)
This is a Squaresoft title. KH was an outlier in terms of Nintendo DS games: it felt more like a bigger "console" game rather than a "DS" game (but hey, maybe it's coming from someone who played DS casually). Since RPGs are more on the difficult side, I chose the easy difficulty.
Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)
Polyphony's PS3-era of Gran Turismo titles at first seemed grand and ambitious, but taking a step back would reveal how much of a mixed bag GT5 and GT6 were. Obviously, they wanted to keep the car roster relatively high; so the magic number of 1089 cars was decided. Of the 1089 in-game cars, only 243 were made in high-fidelity "Premium" spec. That means that unfortunately, the rest of the cars (Standard models) made up approximately 80% of GT5's car roster. These are the common vehicles which can be obtained in the Used Car delearship. B-spec mode made a comeback, and Polyphony teamed up with several automakers to create purely fantasy models specially for the game. This program is called "Vision Gran Turismo" (VGT), which Polyphony still include in Gran Turismo to this day.
Ratchet and Clank Collection (PS3)
This is a collection of Insomniac's first three Ratchet and Clank games ported over to the PS3. Unfortunately, the games suffer from still having outdated PS2 visuals and some other glitches.
Gran Turismo 6 (PS3)
Launched late in 2013, GT6 missed out on being a launch title for the PS4. Perhaps due to the development of GT5 and GT6 overlapping and coinciding with each other, Polyphony had no choice but to release it on the PS3. But not for lack of trying: the car count jumped again to 1200 - the most any Gran Turismo game had up to that point! The same "Premium versus Standard" model situation still existed in this game, but a clever (dare I say streamlined) dealership structure clears this issue up just a little. I have nothing much else to say about this game, given its sheer similarity to its predecessor.