I think that racing games probably had to change though, as I think people wanted more of a challenge out of them than what was being offered at the time. There's only so much fun you can have from driving round a track, and while beating your own time and your friends is one thing, people wanted more.
As much as I want to give credit to the newer games for being well made I have to agree. I find myself getting bored with how much most racing games nowadays look the same but luckily there are still some exceptions that are able to put their own spin and personality into it, but even then I think the realism kind of puts a bit of limit on their ability to innovate.
The racing game genre though is always going to be an acquired taste I think, and especially for this reason. There's only so many ways to go around a track, only so many tracks to go round, and only a certain amount of cars to use. No matter how good a game is, those limits will always be there when it comes to racing games.
But isn't that what racing should be all about? Games such as the F1 series, MotoGP and others won't change in any way because they mirror what happens in the real world. If gamers have unrealistic expectations they'll be sorely disappointed. The best we can hope for is games getting very near to realistic but that would be the ceiling.
Yeah I don't expect the REAL racing games to change, they don't have to. But I'd love to see some new features that somehow affect the car's driving performance, some that feel realistic or add more depth to the game and the dynamic situations you can face off with a car.
Racing will always be racing, and no matter how many bells and whistles you put in the game though, the core element that needs to be done right, is the racing part itself.
Yea. I don't see how they can recover from this trend since at this point I'm pretty sure we have seen it all. Maybe they will start moving towards VR which might make things a bit more interesting.
Graphics and physics definitely have changed, but so has the online scene. And talking about being always connected, the AI scene is also changing. For example, the drivatars in Forza make you feel like you're actually playing with your friends (though sometimes they just act really wonky). And yeah, as others have said, theres now a pretty big downloadable content scene as well, but as long as it doesn't affect the gameplay, then I'm okay with it.
I would say the technology has changed and the props used or extra features to give some racing games an edge as well, but compared to other genres of games honestly it hasn't changed all that much, but that is just fine. I don't think anything but VR would make a huge leap on the whole racing genre.
VR for sure, but I also feel that the inclusion of smarter and smarter AI will continue to evolve racing games. For example, the Drivatars in Forza 6 are pretty decent at simulating an actual person driving, rather than just the same coded AIs we've seen before. That and the graphics getting constantly better, to the point where it reaches photorealism in gameplay, that would be a bit of a game changer. And maybe a game thats a mix of both NFS and Forza, meaning a game that has Forza level driving mechanics, but also having the street racing of NFS. One can dream...
Now that I think about racing games may be the one genre that has really changed or advanced the least. Like some of the other users have said there are only so many ways you can go around a track, so there is just not much that you can do. Of course the graphics are better, and some more features. Maybe something new is in the works.
No, racing games have not changed since PS2. The graphics look better but they do not add more that you can do in the game. After I played Tokyo Extreme Racer, I didn’t see anything better than Tokyo Extreme Racer. Maybe I’m just being a ****. But, racing games just suck now. You better off playing a game like Skyrim.
Driving physics hasn't changed a ton. Arcade type racing games in particular are pretty much the same. Graphics have improved a lot of the years though.
I don't think that they have changed much. The basic concept is the same and the features and only the graphics and features have changed.
Really? I don't think that racing games suck. There are many wonderful racing games out there that you may want to check out.
Yes, I agree with you. The graphics has changed a lot over the years. Now, there are many games with stunning graphics and even 4K.
You caught a good point. The unlocking of car is an awesome feature that was not present in eariler racing games.
I agree with you. The developers need to do something interesting. They need to make a completely unique game.
The graphics are pretty insane now. Even PS2 graphics were pretty off the charts. Now with some PC games, the games look so realistic. It's only going to get even better with VR systems.