So Which Racing Game/Sim to buy ?

[Mako Koiwai]

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GT5 ... Forza Motorsports 3 ... or the on-line racing that so many hard core folks do?

[Michael Palero]

Do you have an Xbox?
Do you own a PS3?
What are the specs of your home computer?

Are there any Xbox or PS3 specific games you would like to play?
What wheels do you currently own?

[Mako Koiwai]

Need to start over ... we were using my son's Xbox 360.

One consideration is to buy something that allows us to do the NetFlix Instant downloadning

[Michael Palero]

Well, if you want to try everything out, you can borrow my copy of FM3 and my racing wheel Mako. If you have a truck, you can also borrow my race cockpit, provided you pick it up and return it =)

I have a Wii, Xbox and PS3. All three consoles will stream Netflix, so you won't have to worry about that.

You might want to consider a PS3 if the Xbox belongs to your son. Also older xbox units love to fail and display something called the "red ring of death" (my brother and I have gone through a few xbox 360s).
The newer "slim" piano black finish scratch magnet xbox are new design and supposedly do not suffer from the "Red Ring of Death" syndome-- but I'm not sure if that's because Microsoft took out all of the red LEDs

Another reason I think you should purchase a PS3 is that you'll be able to use it to play Blu-Ray Discs.
Also, the popular Logitech G25 & G27 can be used with the PS3. http://www.logitech.com/en-us/gaming/wh ... n=features
There are 3 pedal wheels available for the Xbox, but they're a little more expensive: http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=250&lang=en

Edit: The Logitech G27 wheel and the Fanatec wheel I wrote of have 3 pedals. The 3rd pedal is the clutch pedal.

[Kurt Rahn]

If you plan on racing online against other people, the first thing I'd get is a good wheel and pedals. Trying to steer using the game controller is really frustrating: hard to make small inputs and be smooth. I've heard GT5 is amazing, but we have an XBox 360 like you, so I've never played it. I have FM3 and I really love it. The driving physics are very good, you can fine tune cars' setup to your heart's content, and you can turn off as many of the drivers' aids as you want to make it more challenging. I'm planning to get Formula One 2010 as soon as the price of used games comes down (yes, I'm a cheap ass). That looks pretty cool too.

[Michael Palero]

Also, don't forget about http://www.iracing.com.

Check out the track list:
http://www.iracing.com//cars-and-tracks/tracks/
But it sounds like you want something cheap & convenient...

[Theo O.]

GT5

Also, http://www.superstarracing.net/

[Michael Palero]

Kotaku Review of GT5

[Jeff Shyu]

The newer "slim" piano black finish scratch magnet xbox are new design and supposedly do not suffer from the "Red Ring of Death" syndome-- but I'm not sure if that's because Microsoft took out all of the red LEDs

[Greg Noss]

Here's my breakdown on the Best Sim. each one has strength's and weaknesses. I run everything on PS3 and/or PC. They are listed Alphabetically not in order of preference:

Gran Turismo 5 - More than 5 years waiting since it's proposed release date.
Game Play - get cars by earning licenses and competing to earn money, can be very time consuming to earn enough money to get a cool/fun car you can race to make alot of money
Graphics and Visuals - Hands down the Best there is, Stunning Photo realistic tracks and Cars
Number of Tracks - Alot, for years they have had a decent variety but lacked alot of real tracks. The newest version has more real tracks like SPA and some others I haven't investigated all of them yet.
Number of Cars - GT has always lead the pack in the number of cars available, you have to earn money to buy new ones or upgrade, They've added new marks like Ferrari, Lambo, and Zonda that were missing in prior versions. This version has taken away alot of the ability to modify the cars: tire pressures, trans gearing, etc... but most of that most people never messed with because you could really screw up the handling of your cars if you didn't know what you were doing.
Force Feedback and Driving Physics - They have fixed some old issues, they have added damage ( a big plus ) -Level of Damage is dependent on how high of a level you have to have to get the car. Higher level = More damage. Force feedback? it's there but there is only one adjustment (that I've been able to find) so it is, what it is. As a driver, there is something about the feed back you get from the car so you can tell when the back is sliding out that makes it so visceral. There is some there but it is certainly not the best if you want something that feels like driving a real car!
AI - No complaints.
Online Play - I haven't had a chance to play this online yet, Prolog was supposed to be the snack before GT5 was released, the online in that game was horrible!
Realy Cool Stuff - You can build you own tracks, there is a photo shoot capability that lets you step up your cars with certain backdrops/environments and take photos of them to share.


GRID 5 - The road version of the much acclaimed "Dirt" This game is designed for use with home theater surround systems. Creates a hugely immersible Auditory experience. This game makes you feel like you are in the car.
Game Play - Join a Team and earn money from sponsors and by winning in different racing classes to buy newer/faster cars.
Graphics and Visuals - Very Good graphics - Not as good As GT5, but Good enough to make you feel awful close to the real thing when you crank up the sound.
Number of Tracks - Enough to keep you entertained. Not a lot of real tracks. but there are a wider variety of types of race tracks. ie. road courses, drift courses, Togue - Mountain drifting one on one. These races can get addictive.
Number of Cars - When you are racing for teams they all seem to be using the same group of cars - you do get to pick your vehicle graphics and team colors, when you get where you can drive in different series there are some very cool race cars available.
Force Feedback and Driving Physics - Force feed back in GRID beats GT5 hands down. It has a pretty good feel with a minimum of configuration and tweeking. Driving physics are very good but the best part is the damage in this game it is no holds barred. Crack the windshield if you bump someone too hard, rubbing sides with someone you can knock your door loose or completely rip it off and keep racing, hit the tire wall it will screw up you steering, etc..... the damage is really cool when you use the rewind feature that I'll explain in really cool stuff.
AI - AI is pretty good in this game, the other cars are aggressive enough but not overly they seem to be aware they get damaged the same as you do.
Online Play - Honestly, I'm not sure if you can play this online or not. I never remember playing it online.
Realy Cool Stuff - THis is easily the coolest thing I've ever experienced in a driving sim, it is a rewind feature. You get 3 or 5 rewinds in each race. Let's say you're in first and you come around a blind corner and there is a car that had spun right in front of you when you hit it your car is TOTALLY destroyed tires flying off, quarter panels ripped off, hood, doors, engine ( you truly have to see it to believe it ) No Problem hit the rewind and you rewind a couple of seconds, this time since you know where the car is you can avoid it..... Uh, huh... Not quite you just clipped it with your right front tire and now you can't steer... No problem hit the rewind again. I'm not sure if the feature is cool or the fact that you can go back and forth watching the carnage in slow motion as many times as you want. My kids started trying to see who could create the most spectacular crashes. No fun for real but crazy fun in this game.


NEED FOR SPEED - SHIFT 5 - This is the first release in the NEED FOR SPEED series that doesn't feel, look, or drive like an arcade game. It's actually a really good Sim.
Game Play - Earn money by racing in different races. Shift has these tiers that are unlocked by completeing each of the races in a tier, the tier races are cool because you get to drive some cool cars very quickly, without spending days earning money to buy the cool cars like in GT5. This is probably the easiest of the Sims to earn money quickly so you can by some decent cars my son racked up about $800,000 on one Saturday playing.
Graphics and Visuals - Very Good graphics - Not as good As GT5, Shift probably falls between GT5 and GRID the graphics are cleaner than GRID's.
Number of Tracks - This is the game to get if you want real tracks that are very accurate. It has Willow Springs which none of the others have and it also has alot of the classic F1 tracks and Laguna Seca
Number of Cars - Grid has alot of really cool cars Zonda R, Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari F430 Race car, BMW M3 ALMS. If you follow ALMS you will love the cars in Shift.
Force Feedback and Driving Physics - Force feed back in Shift is a Love Hate relationship and it is the same on both the PS3 and the PC. This Sim has the most adjustments for the force feedback of all the games out there, hence the hate. The default settings are how do i say this nicely -- CRAP!-- Because of the number of adjustment,s getting it just right is a nightmare. Fortunately, I have a friend with too much time on his hands who was kind enough to spend the better part of 6 hours, tweeking the settngs and he was kind enough to send them to me. When you get everything dialed in, this sim gives you the most accurate feel to a real car and for the most part you once it's set it's just about perfect for most of the cars in the game.
AI - AI is this game is really good, you can't just get into first place and just cruise the other cars are very aggressive and they will keep pushing you to try to take away your position. This can be really frustrating in some of the tier races.
Online Play - You can play this game online and it is pretty good. The only downside is that the car damage seems to be turned off online and there are alot of kids who play it so getting a clean race online is difficult a couple of guys are trying but i stopped racing online because the kids just get the fastest car they can and win races by running everyone off the road to take them out because its tough to catch up, it's doable but it's not worth the effort online.
Realy Cool Stuff - The racing tiers is pretty sweet because it gets you driving cars that you want to drive. Some of the tiers are all the same type of car, some are the same class- Porsche GT3RS VS ALMS Lamborgini, and you get to pick which car you want drive. In my opinion this has the closest feel to driving a real car once you get it dialed in, and it definitely has the most real tracks.

Sorry for the long review, I hope it helps any one who's interested. GRID and NFS Shift have been out long enough you can probably rent them at Gamestop or somewhere like that.

Have fun!

[Greg Noss]

Iracing - All online

I have tried this sim it's strongest advantage is the tracks list. The handling of the cars leaves a little to be desired, but I'm not sure if it was the way the car was set. I was testing it using a formula 2000 at Laguna Seca 1 week before I went to Skip Barber. The handling in the game made me a little nervous before I got there. The real car was much more hooked up than it was in the Sim.

The best thing the sims are good for is learning the layout of the tracks. Most of the Sim are using GPS and 3D laser scans of the tracks so most of them are accurate to within a couple of feet.

Some times it's a curse being a geek.

[John Stimson]

NEED FOR SPEED - SHIFT 5 - This is the first release in the NEED FOR SPEED series that doesn't feel, look, or drive like an arcade game.

I submit that NFS: Porsche Unleashed was an excellent simulator, better at providing realistic driving dynamics than just about any other driving simulator that I've tried since. If the NFS has returned to a more sim-style mechanic like Porsche Unleashed, that's great news. But I'd say that Porsche Unleashed was the "first".

I'm guessing you don't mean "Shift 5" because "Shift 2" is scheduled for future release...(coincidentally, Porsche Unleashed was unofficially NFS 5).

Grid 2 -- I played the demo, and it actually is a pretty decent driving sim -- however, something about the graphics gives me motion sickness. Probably the "edgy" shaky cam. I've only had a problem with one or two other games (Mirror's Edge, and to a much lesser extent, Half Life 2). Rewind was neat. I just wish I could play it for more than 1/2 hour at a time.

[Theo O.]

Nice review Greg!