A Decade of Racing Games: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Good
Let's start with the name that is on everyone's lips once you mention racing games: Gran Turismo. The biggest racing game franchise made its debut this decade in December 2010 after countless delays. Things got off to a rocky start with problematic servers and discovering that 80% of the cars were ported over from Gran Turismo 4 with limited functionality, but there was no denying this was the genuine GT experience we have been waiting for on the Playstation 3. What's more, it got more features, content and expansions over time making it a more complete experience.
Fast forward to 2013 and Gran Turismo 6 arrives bringing the most complete experience yet. With over 1200 vehicles, it still holds the record for the most cars ever featured in a racing game. Add to that over 30 unique driving environments (including the moon!) and all the various activities you've grown to love from the GT franchise and Gran Turismo 6 is arguably one of the most varied racing games of the last generation.
Gran Turismo Sport took a controversial approach by initially scrapping the car collecting focus for a package centered around multiplayer and competitive racing. However, as time passed a plethora of cars, tracks and single-player game modes have been added which has essentially turned the game into GT7 in all but name.
While you have Gran Turismo standing as the flagship racing title on the Playstation, you have the Forza Series doing the same on Microsoft platforms. The decade for the franchise started with the fourth installment bringing the most cars and tracks the series had seen to date. The following year, things took a tangent with the introduction of the Forza Horizon series. Alongside the sim-focused Motorsport Series, the Horizon games would grow to become the more fun, open-world and playful alternative which would see it become one of the
highest-rated games of the generation.
Elsewhere in the industry, Codemasters have seen two of their IPs grow from strength to strength. The Formula 1 series has evolved to place the players in the shoes of a real F1 driver while the DiRT series started the decade with the third instalment. This saw Gymkhana enter the series for the first time, alongside an authentic rally experience to capture the spirit of the original Colin McRae games. This would then lead to some of the most realistic rally games being developed for current-gen consoles, such as DiRT Rally and its sequel, Rally 2.0, alongside the more accessible DiRT 4 so Codemasters ensured they had every rally fan covered, whether they wanted something hardcore or easy to sink their teeth into.
In terms of street racing games, people who wanted to experience open-world racing outside the Horizon festival had two franchises they could look into. There was Need For Speed which started the decade with Hot Pursuit which focused on taking the hottest exotic cars on the open road while battling against the police. However, this game and the three that followed (The Run, Most Wanted and Rivals) did not feature the customisation which we had grown to love in the Underground Era.
That's where 2015 comes into play; a reboot that takes the franchise back to its Underground roots and sets the tone for the series going forward. After a false step with Payback, this year Ghost Games really found their form with Need For Speed Heat. As the title which marks the 25th Anniversary of the franchise, it had to be good and it sure delivered on that promise. It brought the most diverse open world, car list and customisation options the franchise has ever seen, along with a high risk/reward gameplay mechanic which puts you on the edge of your seat.
The other street racing franchise was The Crew, the most ambitious title in this whole post. The standout feature of this series is featuring a scaled-down map of the United States as its playground, a map which far exceeds the size of any other open world street racer. The sequel went a few steps further by adding aircraft and boats to its roster, making The Crew 2 the most diverse sandbox racer you could play this generation.
The Bad
While there has been plenty of uplifting news to report, it is also worth remembering that the previous decade (2000-2009) brought us some iconic racing games that modern equivalents haven't been able to live up to. Take GRID for instance, the arcade racer was a smash hit in 2008, but none of the three sequels could ever reach the dizzying heights the original did. While GRID 2 veered too far on the arcade side of the spectrum, GRID Autosport was released on ageing platforms while everyone was moving to the then-new PS4 and Xbox One. Then there is this year's reboot which is a return to form with its attractive visuals, high attention to detail and high-intensity gameplay. However, the game is let down by its lack of content, which is made more frustrating by the wide variety of environments and game modes its predecessor (GRID Autosport) had.
Then there are franchises which didn't see any sequels at all. The list includes Project Gotham Racing, Midnight Club and Test Drive Unlimited. For Burnout, we were treated to a remaster of Paradise, but then we were also reminded of some design choices that would have only made sense in 2009.
The Ugly
One could argue the decade started on a sour note as the late spring season saw the release of three original arcade racers with unique IPs and enjoyable gameplay mechanics, but ultimately they never managed to make the impact any of the developers hoped for. The games are Blur, ModNation Racers and Split/Second. Not only were these games battling for sales among themselves (all were released within a 2-week window), they also had to fend off the latest, much-hyped release from Rockstar Games; Red Dead Redemption. Ultimately, this task was too demanding for all three titles and all three studios closed down later down the line.
Unfortunately, we witnessed a similar story with OnRush; after the closure of Evolution Studios, most of the developers moved to Codemasters were they worked on the unique vehicular combat game. Unlike the doomed trio from 2010, it was released in a quiet period, but that turned out to be its downfall; with minimal publicity, barely anyone was aware of the game's release and once again, the majority of the Evolution Staff was dismissed.
The Bottom line
Despite some rocky moments, this decade has seen the growth of the genre as a whole. This post just scratches the surface of the games we've seen; there have been plenty of rally games, demolition racers and new entrants to the simulation category. This era has also shown mobile platforms can deliver high-quality racing experiences, with games like Real Racing 3 and Assoluto Racing receiving years of continuous support and increasingly authentic gameplay. On the other end of the scale, you have games that provide arcade thrills getting closer to console experiences, such as Asphalt 9 and Need For Speed: No Limits.
Even if the mainstream interest in racing games has dwindled, we have still had plenty to enjoy. In fact, one could argue it has encouraged some developers to push the boundaries and implement things that was unthinkable over ten years ago. Want to place your vehicle anywhere on an open-world map? Switch from a car to a plane with just one button? Face up to 72 other drivers to be the last one standing? You can easily do all of those now. Let's hope the next decade provides us with many more memorable experiences driving virtual automobiles.
Let's start with the name that is on everyone's lips once you mention racing games: Gran Turismo. The biggest racing game franchise made its debut this decade in December 2010 after countless delays. Things got off to a rocky start with problematic servers and discovering that 80% of the cars were ported over from Gran Turismo 4 with limited functionality, but there was no denying this was the genuine GT experience we have been waiting for on the Playstation 3. What's more, it got more features, content and expansions over time making it a more complete experience.
Fast forward to 2013 and Gran Turismo 6 arrives bringing the most complete experience yet. With over 1200 vehicles, it still holds the record for the most cars ever featured in a racing game. Add to that over 30 unique driving environments (including the moon!) and all the various activities you've grown to love from the GT franchise and Gran Turismo 6 is arguably one of the most varied racing games of the last generation.
Gran Turismo Sport took a controversial approach by initially scrapping the car collecting focus for a package centered around multiplayer and competitive racing. However, as time passed a plethora of cars, tracks and single-player game modes have been added which has essentially turned the game into GT7 in all but name.
While you have Gran Turismo standing as the flagship racing title on the Playstation, you have the Forza Series doing the same on Microsoft platforms. The decade for the franchise started with the fourth installment bringing the most cars and tracks the series had seen to date. The following year, things took a tangent with the introduction of the Forza Horizon series. Alongside the sim-focused Motorsport Series, the Horizon games would grow to become the more fun, open-world and playful alternative which would see it become one of the
highest-rated games of the generation.
Elsewhere in the industry, Codemasters have seen two of their IPs grow from strength to strength. The Formula 1 series has evolved to place the players in the shoes of a real F1 driver while the DiRT series started the decade with the third instalment. This saw Gymkhana enter the series for the first time, alongside an authentic rally experience to capture the spirit of the original Colin McRae games. This would then lead to some of the most realistic rally games being developed for current-gen consoles, such as DiRT Rally and its sequel, Rally 2.0, alongside the more accessible DiRT 4 so Codemasters ensured they had every rally fan covered, whether they wanted something hardcore or easy to sink their teeth into.
In terms of street racing games, people who wanted to experience open-world racing outside the Horizon festival had two franchises they could look into. There was Need For Speed which started the decade with Hot Pursuit which focused on taking the hottest exotic cars on the open road while battling against the police. However, this game and the three that followed (The Run, Most Wanted and Rivals) did not feature the customisation which we had grown to love in the Underground Era.
That's where 2015 comes into play; a reboot that takes the franchise back to its Underground roots and sets the tone for the series going forward. After a false step with Payback, this year Ghost Games really found their form with Need For Speed Heat. As the title which marks the 25th Anniversary of the franchise, it had to be good and it sure delivered on that promise. It brought the most diverse open world, car list and customisation options the franchise has ever seen, along with a high risk/reward gameplay mechanic which puts you on the edge of your seat.
The other street racing franchise was The Crew, the most ambitious title in this whole post. The standout feature of this series is featuring a scaled-down map of the United States as its playground, a map which far exceeds the size of any other open world street racer. The sequel went a few steps further by adding aircraft and boats to its roster, making The Crew 2 the most diverse sandbox racer you could play this generation.
The Bad
While there has been plenty of uplifting news to report, it is also worth remembering that the previous decade (2000-2009) brought us some iconic racing games that modern equivalents haven't been able to live up to. Take GRID for instance, the arcade racer was a smash hit in 2008, but none of the three sequels could ever reach the dizzying heights the original did. While GRID 2 veered too far on the arcade side of the spectrum, GRID Autosport was released on ageing platforms while everyone was moving to the then-new PS4 and Xbox One. Then there is this year's reboot which is a return to form with its attractive visuals, high attention to detail and high-intensity gameplay. However, the game is let down by its lack of content, which is made more frustrating by the wide variety of environments and game modes its predecessor (GRID Autosport) had.
Then there are franchises which didn't see any sequels at all. The list includes Project Gotham Racing, Midnight Club and Test Drive Unlimited. For Burnout, we were treated to a remaster of Paradise, but then we were also reminded of some design choices that would have only made sense in 2009.
The Ugly
One could argue the decade started on a sour note as the late spring season saw the release of three original arcade racers with unique IPs and enjoyable gameplay mechanics, but ultimately they never managed to make the impact any of the developers hoped for. The games are Blur, ModNation Racers and Split/Second. Not only were these games battling for sales among themselves (all were released within a 2-week window), they also had to fend off the latest, much-hyped release from Rockstar Games; Red Dead Redemption. Ultimately, this task was too demanding for all three titles and all three studios closed down later down the line.
Unfortunately, we witnessed a similar story with OnRush; after the closure of Evolution Studios, most of the developers moved to Codemasters were they worked on the unique vehicular combat game. Unlike the doomed trio from 2010, it was released in a quiet period, but that turned out to be its downfall; with minimal publicity, barely anyone was aware of the game's release and once again, the majority of the Evolution Staff was dismissed.
The Bottom line
Despite some rocky moments, this decade has seen the growth of the genre as a whole. This post just scratches the surface of the games we've seen; there have been plenty of rally games, demolition racers and new entrants to the simulation category. This era has also shown mobile platforms can deliver high-quality racing experiences, with games like Real Racing 3 and Assoluto Racing receiving years of continuous support and increasingly authentic gameplay. On the other end of the scale, you have games that provide arcade thrills getting closer to console experiences, such as Asphalt 9 and Need For Speed: No Limits.
Even if the mainstream interest in racing games has dwindled, we have still had plenty to enjoy. In fact, one could argue it has encouraged some developers to push the boundaries and implement things that was unthinkable over ten years ago. Want to place your vehicle anywhere on an open-world map? Switch from a car to a plane with just one button? Face up to 72 other drivers to be the last one standing? You can easily do all of those now. Let's hope the next decade provides us with many more memorable experiences driving virtual automobiles.
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