For a genre that’s generally associated with graphically lush arcade racers and console-style kart racing, driving games have become far more diverse in recent years.
There are now games that focus on physics, logistics, and the responsibility of owning a vehicle. It’s a fascinatingly diverse genre that combines the best aspects of arcade racers, simulations, and even racing management games to create something unique.
City Car Driving
City Car Driving is a great driving game that will let you drive a range of vehicles. It includes a huge virtual city and a range of roads, crossings, junctions and traffic lights.
It also has a number of different vehicles to choose from including cars, trucks and buses. There are many types of missions to complete in this car simulator and you can even fill up your vehicle at a gas station!
The game features a career mode that will teach you to drive and get you to a higher level as you perform a series of tasks. The challenges vary from buckling your seat belt and starting the engine to high-speed evasive maneuvers.
As you progress through the game, you will unlock more exotic cars to keep things challenging and fun! There are also a range of different driving modes including a free driving mode.
Unlike some other car simulators, City Car Driving has a realistic physics system that affects on-road cars behavior and allows full-fledged collisions with visible damage. This makes it an excellent choice for beginners and experienced drivers alike.
A wide selection of cars is available to you, from small pickups and subcompacts to minivans and SUVs as well as cars with right-hand drives. Each of these cars has the complete set of controls, including the sound signal and lights.
There are a variety of different road conditions that you can drive in as well, from rain and night fog to snow and ice. There is also a traffic rules compliance monitoring system that will alert you if you are breaking any rules and help to fix them.
The game offers a range of different vehicles to choose from, which are all realistic and easy to drive. You can even customize your car and change its appearance!
Another great feature of the game is the fact that you can play the game in a number of different locations across the world. This makes it easy to practice your driving skills as you are able to use the GPS feature of your phone or tablet to navigate around the city!
RACE 07 Injection
RACE 07 Injection is the latest in SimBin’s successful RACE series of racing games. This full retail game contains all that’s needed to get racing in anything from cool historic cars to the latest high-tech GT powerhouses, WTCC racers and top of the line Formula cars.
Featuring 38 unique car models in 13 distinct car classes with over 450 highly detailed car skins, RACE(tm) Injection is ready to race on more than 31 tracks worldwide. This huge library of cars, classes and track variations can be mixed and matched to create unique championships and events that will keep you playing for a long time to come!
The full range of racers from the official STCC & WTCC 2010 season is also included as well as five new classes and two brand new American tracks. The 2008 World Touring Car season is also featured in Race On, along with a new European International Formula Master class and four US Muscle cars in road and race-tuned versions.
There are many tweaks you can make to your car’s set up before you start a race, even adjusting the exact psi of your tyres and gallons or laps of fuel. This means you can have a far more realistic racing experience, with fewer people joining the game just to plow into you for no apparent reason.
One of the best things about this game is that it’s a really affordable way to get into true sim racing – you don’t need a souped up PC or gamepad to play. There’s a vibrant community of hardcore simheads out there, so you should have no problem finding other players online to compete with.
This is all backed up by the fact that you can ghost race against your own lap time or against those of your friends (it’s a great way to test your speed against friends and a good way to find the best races). And you can also use an ‘experience pack’ for 20 bucks which gives you a few more circuits and some more cars.
For the most part, this is a pretty good driving simulator, but it does feel a little dated. The car models themselves are a bit cliched and a lot of the tracks are very generic – they’re a little angular wastelands awash with repeating grass textures and hauntingly featureless cardboard spectators. But it’s still a very enjoyable ride, and the physics model is probably one of the most reliable in the industry.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
If you’re looking for a driving game that’s full of high speed thrills and excitement, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a great choice. It’s the last great Need for Speed release from 2010 and is a fun and addictive racing experience that will appeal to petrol heads and anyone who has enjoyed the series in the past.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit features a wide variety of cars, from Bugati’s to Maserati’s and more. Throughout the game’s fictional world of Seacrest County, you can drive some of the fanciest exotic vehicles around in an exciting arcade racing style game that’s sure to appeal to fans of the franchise.
You can race in a variety of different events. There are the classic races like hot pursuits and rapid response, where you need to beat a time limit while avoiding crashing into road or police obstacles; there’s also Interceptor events, where you’re a cop trying to bust a speeder before they escape.
As a cop you’ll have access to a variety of weapons, including spike strips and EMPs, while as a racer you’ll have access to jammers and Turbo boosts. You’ll be given a limited amount of each weapon so it’s important to use them strategically.
Whether you’re playing as a racer or cop, the game’s multiplayer offers a lot of fun. You can take part in head-to-head pursuits or compete with friends in races and other challenges in the most connected Need for Speed game ever.
There’s even a system that connects you with your friends across platforms, so you can compare your score and achievements in real-time. This innovative feature uses Need for Speed Autolog to instinctively deliver challenges based on your friend’s progress, delivering an ever-changing, highly socially competitive gaming experience.
Despite the lack of a story, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is a solid and fun title that will be sure to please long time Need for Speed fans. The addition of the ability to play as a cop is a nice touch that adds a layer of fun to the experience.
SnowRunner
Unlike other driving games, SnowRunner has a slow-burn pacing that can be frustrating at times. However, it’s a huge challenge to overcome, and there’s an enormous sense of achievement in succeeding on even the most difficult slopes.
This is made possible by the game’s unique physics simulation. There are various types of terrain to conquer in SnowRunner, including wet mud, dirt, grass, rocky earth, asphalt, ice and snow. This can all be deceptive at times, so it’s important to study the map carefully and plan your moves ahead of time.
You’ll also want to keep your eyes peeled for watchtowers and upgrades as you drive around the massive 30 square kilometre maps. Those will provide you with new missions, XP, vehicles and upgrades.
As you progress, you can purchase new upgrades for your trucks and trailers. The most useful ones are Off-Road and Mud tires, which will help you tackle the varying types of terrain you’ll encounter throughout the game.
Another key upgrade to look out for is the Winch, as it can be used to pull your truck out of almost any situation. It can be especially handy in snowy environments, as you’ll be able to pull yourself out of icy conditions that would otherwise leave you struggling to spin your wheels.
Finally, don’t forget to upgrade your vehicles in order to increase their durability and fuel capacity. These upgrades are essential to your success, so make sure you get them early on.
It’s worth noting that if you’re using your scout vehicle for most of your missions, it’s also a good idea to keep it upgraded as well. These little nimble vehicles can be incredibly useful for breaking the “fog of war” that covers the map, which makes it easier to locate watchtowers, XP and upgrades.
Season 6: Haul & Hustle brings a large payload of content to the game, featuring two new large maps in Maine. You’ll be able to explore this region in an assortment of new vehicles, and take on a range of perilous contracts and missions. This update is also accompanied by crossplay between PC and PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, plus a new photo mode, a selection of vehicle skins based on community favorites, and many more great features.
