Driving without "Racing"

[bargora]

I've enjoyed arcade racers like Cruisin' USA, but I only ever play them in the arcade, preferably in sit-down cabinets. Put me in front of a console racer and it's generally not long before I start into a "what's the point" existential tailspin. And the more "realistic" the racer, the faster I start considering the benefits of suicide.

Thus Gran Turismo represented a low point for me.

(While on the other end of things, I did enjoy Extreme GIII until it was "permanently borrowed" by a friend, who has since moved to Russia. Maybe it was the pretty lights? I'll have to try that FZeroX thingie when I get an N4...)

But then I stumbled across "Driver", and it was like a heavenly light! At the end of the tunnel, even! Yeah, you're driving around. But no, you're not doing laps on a track. And the AI isn't even cheating as much as it usually does!

So this has got me thinking. I like driving around, but I'm not much for racing. Perhaps "mission based" driving would be one way to put it. Is this a modern innovation? There's Driver, Driver 2, Stuntman, Chase: Hollywood Driver. I hear that there's a fair amount of it in GTA3 and 4. And maybe Halo counts, too. What other games, ancient or modern, prominently feature driving but not "racing"?

[YoshiM]

I think the early Test Drives allowed you to meander about but not with the detail of the games you mention. I think Hard Drivin' (home version) had a free drive mode. Crazy Taxi 1 and I believe 2 have a no time limit mode as well (except for the fare you were carrying). All the GTA games gave you free reign.

I'm somewhat surprised, though, that there aren't any driving sims that allowed you to drive through real cities. They've had city packs for flight sims for years so why not? I can honestly imagine firing up one of these games and driving through like a bat outta hell through Milwaukee or Green Bay.

[evilmess]

Midnight Club II has a cruise mode but you have to race first in order to unluck the other two cities. MCII features cars and motorcyles and besides the racing and cruise it has a sweet battle mode thats really fun as a two-player split-screen game or you can go online and play upto 8 players.

Bottom line, really great game.

http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/april03/midnightclub2ps2/

There's a PC demo you can download too so you can give it a try

[Darth Sensei]

I played the hell out of Interstate 76 back in the day for PC and I believe that had a free roaming mode.

D

[Oobgarm]

I'll second the reccommendation of Midnight Club II. It's got an entirely different atmosphere and is not a straightforward track racer like GT or Cruisin'. Could be a breath of fresh air to you.

Project Gotham Racing for Xbox has a sweet free roaming mode, where you can drive and listen to your tunes. (Put in NOSLIW as your name to unlock everything. ;) )

I think you've about nailed it with the other games. I'll try to think of more, but that's all I could come up with off the top of my head.

[evilmess]

I'll second Interstate 76 and add Interstate 82 as well. The best part about the Interstate series is the auto combat.

I just thought of these... Screamer 4x4 and 1nsane. search google for the PC demos. Both feature 4x4 offroading and have lot's of freedom to just cruise.

Smugglers Run (PS2- GC) is another one featuring a cruise mode as well as mission based driving.

[tynstar]

I second Smugglers Run. The free mode (I forget the real name of the mode) is fun with a friend to play tag with. One person is it and they chase the other person till they hit them. Plus you you can put in cops to mess with you as well.

[asharru]

The Midtown Madness series allow you to zoom around a few cities. Chicago, San Francisco, and London. Pretty fun games on the PC.

[Neil Koch]

The Getaway on PS2 has a very (I guess) accurate area of London that you can drive around in.

[scooterb23]

This thread just begs the question: Why hasn't there been a Cannonball Run or Smokey and the Bandit game yet?

[NE146]

Driving around without racing? As in just cruising the town with no pressures?

Another one not really mentioned is the relatively new Midtown Madness 3 for the Xbox/(ps2?) etc. There is a mode that alows you to cruise (i.e. just explore) the downtown cities of Washington D.C. and Paris.

I think it's great! The Washington D.C. is pretty accurate as well..with Georgetown and the various landmarks. Of course you can consult a streetmap if you get lost. There are pedestrians, traffic lights, traffic, time of day, etc. and it's all customizable for a Sunday Cruise. You can just drive on the roads with the rest of the traffic or head off wherever you want or go as crazy as you like and drive into the subway or up the Lincoln Memorial etc.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2002/vgnews/112002/midtown/madness3_screen005.jpg

[spoon]

I picked up MM3 for the X-box. I love the cruise mode! The more cars you get, the cooler it is. Maybe check out Vice City or GTA 3?

[Darth Sensei]

This thread just begs the question: Why hasn't there been a Cannonball Run or Smokey and the Bandit game yet?

I loved the Cannonball Run movie. I'd buy that game in a second.

D

[chevy_chase]

A old pc game called : QUARANTINE
It had violence, but you could drive around free.
This is the first game i can remenber doin' that.

[chevy_chase]

A old pc game called : QUARANTINE
It had violence, but you could drive around free.
This is the first game i can remenber doin' that.

[Darth Sensei]

A old pc game called : QUARANTINE
It had violence, but you could drive around free.
This is the first game i can remenber doin' that.

Um... that's wierd. How did you manage to double post 19 minutes apart?

D

[Captain Wrong]

I'll second Stuntman. I loved the concept, loved the execution, love the fact that it was hard yet fair and made no appology for that. That's one game I'd love to see a sequel to (and probably won't, sigh.)