Who has played this driving sim?

[Collector_Gaming]

http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/118/1181242121371.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QakOVzBv-fI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Drivin%27

whos played this and why have they not told me about this?!?!?

short story.. was at Fun Spot arcade in Laconia NH with friends and cousin. we were in the arcade museum section (3rd floor)
and i saw my friend playing this
and i watched her having to turn the key to start the car and start the game
watched her actually have to shift the gear box with a clutch.. And actually stalled it a few times. I played the ferrari simulator with clutch and 6 speed tranny but you can't stall it on there

I am amazed by this game and the fact its so old!

Thoughts?

[Flack]

I'm guessing everybody here over the age of 30 that used to go to arcades has played this game. Hard Drivin' was the original driving "simulator". I'm sure everybody who played it has memories of hitting the cow and breaking their windshield.

DP Member Vespertillo has (or had) one. I saw a stand up one at an auction but passed on it. Glad to hear yoy played and enjoyed it. Definitely slower-paced than many of today's drivers, but still a classic.

[Collector_Gaming]

i was just personally amazed by the thought that went into it
Almost all driving sims i've played at arcades has little realistic driving feel to driving a manual shift car. Usually your driving while the gas is punched all the way down and just shift the car when the rpm hits red line or drops way low.
This game they actually thought out the Seesaw technique of shifting a real car and applied it so you can stall the car if you don't do it right.
Makes me wonder why they didn't try putting something like this in use for Drivers Ed programs to help kids learn how to drive before actually hitting the road.

Very very cool! and since it came out in 1988 i think the graphics are actually pretty good considering

[Flack]

Hard Drivin' was also included on Midway Arcade Treasures 2, although the controls obviously won't be quite the same as the arcade version.

[Leo_A]

It's a nice emulation of it also, although many think it loses all of it's appeal when they're forced to use a gamepad. It's easily the best home version we ever got of the game.

There was a more advanced and expanded sequel called Race Drivin' that's included on Midway Arcade Treasures 3, although the emulation of it seems a bit sketchier than Hard Drivin'. If you're willing to put up with using a gamepad, it's worth checking out.

[An Hero]

I had a Race Drivin' cockpit (the sequel to Hard Drivin'). It's kinda cool, but once you get the hang of driving it, that's pretty much it--you're driving a car and once in a while you get something cool like a loop to drive through. Way cool back when it came out though.

[pixelsnpolygons]

That game came out when I was around 9 and like most people at the time I was pretty blown away by it. I played it all the time for a while. Perhaps even more so than the older people in the arcade because, to my group, it was as close to driving a real car as many of us would get for years. Back then stuff like turning the key, stalling and force feedback were incredibly cool (well, stalling sucked - but as a concept). I seem to recall my money would go VERY quickly since I was such an incompetent driver. Anyway, it disappeared from my local arcade at some point and I haven't seen one anywhere ever since. For years I had to settle for the crappy Genesis version.


Makes me wonder why they didn't try putting something like this in use for Drivers Ed programs to help kids learn how to drive before actually hitting the road.

I remember my friend's older brother told us that they were actually doing that. Keep in mind this was in Australia, though. Might have been true to an extent, might have been a lie.

[Oldskool]

I've dumped many a quarter into one of those machines. Actually learned a bit how to drive a stick in one of those.

I also heard back in the day they did research on drunk driving using one of those machines. I guess it was safer than putting a drunk behind the wheel of a real car.

[InsaneDavid]

Don't forget the unreleased third game in the series, Hard Drivin's Airborne (http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8073). I've played the prototype at California Extreme and it's pretty cool. The steering wheel pushes in and pulls back for pitch control in flight and there's a fan that blows air in your face when in flight mode.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'm not the only one who would purposely drive off the beginning of the vertical section of the loop at full speed just to watch the crazy crash via "instant replay" am I?

[Oldskool]

Naaa I valued my quarters too much to do that. On purpose anyways. LOL

[Rendclaw]

Heh, this game more or less taught me how to drive a stick. The sitdown was 75 cents wherever I found it... Race Drivin was a little bit better of a game.