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[A Black Falcon]

Two more that may be futuristic, but I'm not sure... what does anyone else think?


Impact Racing (PSX/Saturn)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDdVKNJBp2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU3ClLnRkN0

Probably futuristic given that the third track is in space, but you never know... I don't think I'd call Cruis'n Exotica futuristic and that has a track on Mars, for instance... or should I consider that game semi-futuristic?


Also... is this game futuristic, or not? I can't quite tell from the footage... it could be, or it could just be a really cool looking fanciful car. Which is it?

Gale Racer (Saturn) aka Rad Mobile (Arcade)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6RLFK9nzo4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnFli0f-r7A



I also missed the PSX version of Motorhead, so that's added.

 

[A Black Falcon]

I just learned that Voltage was released for the PC in Europe in November 2008: http://translate.google.com/transla...Game.aspx?id=2064&sl=ru&tl=en&history_state0=

Evidently Tim Langdell and Edge Games are supposedly going to release the thing for PC, PS3, and 360 in the US...http://chaosedge.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/racers-coming-with-a-blast-of-voltage/#comments

Yeah right. We'll believe it when we see it, considering the kind of person he is (if you've missed it all, that blog will give you all you need to know about him...). But anyway, that Russian PC release did happen.

Oh, and also since the last post of course Speed Zone came out in the US for the Wii. I know a lot of people at GAF weren't exactly fans.. I'd probably like it anyway if I played it though, I enjoy or at least tolerate virtually all futuristic racing games.

 

[Goldrusher]

Add WipEout HD to the PS3 discs.
A disc version is available in Europe and Asia. Includes the original game as well as the Fury add-on.

 

[Nasreddin]

Awesome thread. Thanks!

 

[ZephyrFate]

Kinetica was a fantastic PS2 game.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Add WipEout HD to the PS3 discs.
A disc version is available in Europe and Asia. Includes the original game as well as the Fury add-on.

Cool... added. It includes the original Wipeout HD's content and Fury, that's cool... too bad this didn't get a US release!
... Europe only on disc, or Europe and Asia only? GameFAQs only lists the European release. And it's Asia and not Japan?

 

[TTP]

Do Home Computers matter? Cos the original Powerdrome was released on the Atari ST and later on Amiga.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/powerdrome_

 

[autobzooty]

F-Zero GX

That's all you'll ever need.

Came in here to post this exactly

 

[CrunchinJelly]

 

[abstract alien]

Awesome work

 

[Osuwari]

F-Zero GX

That's all you'll ever need.

F-Zero X + Expansion Kit disagrees.

too bad 99% of gamers can't play it so GX wins by forfeit.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Do Home Computers matter? Cos the original Powerdrome was released on the Atari ST and later on Amiga.

It's on the list already. Looking at it though, I messed up the release date on both versions, it's 1989 of course and not 1998. Fixed that.

Never heard of that game. That's set in the future? *looks it up" Huh, yeah, hoverboard racing... added.

 

[TTP]

It's on the list already. Looking at it though, I messed up the release date on both versions, it's 1989 of course and not 1998. Fixed that.

Ah sorry. I totally missed the home computer list cos I was looking for it at the top

 

[Slavik81]

Was it just the fact that I was 10 years old when I played it, or is POD: Planet of Death an incredibly difficult game?

I suppose that's kind of off-topic, but it does seem to be a common trait among futuristic racers. They tend to be very, very hard...

 

[A Black Falcon]

Was it just the fact that I was 10 years old when I played it, or is POD: Planet of Death an incredibly difficult game?

I suppose that's kind of off-topic, but it does seem to be a common trait among futuristic racers. They tend to be very, very hard...

No, Pod is a tough game. It's one of my favorites though, I did an appreciation thread for it a while back... I love that game. Still though, yeah, it is still tough. I'd say more, but my thread does a pretty good job of it I think... It's such an awesome game!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328773

Overall though, while many futuristic racing games are indeed hard, thanks to the Wipeout influence I think, they aren't all hard. Another futuristic racing game I love isn't hard, for instance -- XGRA. That's an awesome, awesome game, and compared to a Wipeout or F-Zero GX or what have you the game's dead simple... you just drive, turn, and have fun. Extreme-G 3 was a Wipeout clone, but the fourth game returns more to the style of the first two games on the N64 and PC, the second of which I had loved. XGRA is so good... graphics, music (in Dance mode), gameplay... it's short, but fun. Despite beating it in days after first buying it, it's still one of my favorites in the genre.

So yeah, there definitely are lots of tough futuristic racing games out there, but they aren't ALL super hard. For more evidence look at F-Zero, F-Zero (SNES) and F-Zero X (N64) are nowhere NEAR the level of insanity of F-Zero GX (GC). They're tough later on for sure, but not nearly as ridiculously so as GX...

Ah sorry. I totally missed the home computer list cos I was looking for it at the top

Yeah, I didn't make it clear enough how I organized it, did I. I did have "Consoles", "Computers", and "Other Platforms" sections, but hadn't said that was how I was organizing it... Added a table of contents at the top to try to help with that. The post is close to the character limit, I've already moved the changelog out to make room, I wonder when it'll hit it again... but that is something useful to have.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

looks like Death Track Resurrection for PC isn't listed. it's available worldwide from gamersgate and steam I think. also A.I.M. Racing isn't europe only, pretty sure you can buy it from wherever on gamersgate. edit: also, what about Super Laser Racer? http://www.newstargames.com/slr.html .. and scrapland maybe?

oh and what about either geargrinder or clutch. clutch is more like a zombie car game, like carmageddon. but it's vaguely futuristic. another recent game like that is zombie driver. but geargrinder, clutch's retarded cousin, is all transformers looking trucks with huge jet engines and cannons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hquDwTNXdBs all pc only. these two are by the same devs that did hard truck apocalypse, targem. which is two games btw, only the first one is listed, the second one is called hard truck apcalypse rise of the clans.

edit: I keep adding more to this post.

 

[AlternativeUlster]

Does Road Rash take place in the future?

 

[A Black Falcon]

looks like Death Track Resurrection for PC isn't listed. it's available worldwide from gamersgate and steam I think. also A.I.M. Racing isn't europe only, pretty sure you can buy it from wherever on gamersgate. edit: also, what about Super Laser Racer? http://www.newstargames.com/slr.html .. and scrapland maybe?

oh and what about either geargrinder or clutch. clutch is more like a zombie car game, like carmageddon. but it's vaguely futuristic. another recent game like that is zombie driver. but geargrinder, clutch's retarded cousin, is all transformers looking trucks with huge jet engines and cannons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hquDwTNXdBs all pc only. these two are by the same devs that did hard truck apocalypse, targem. which is two games btw, only the first one is listed, the second one is called hard truck apcalypse rise of the clans.

edit: I keep adding more to this post.

You've got a bunch of additions to the list there... first though the one I disagree with, Scrapland... that really isn't a racing game, I think. Maybe should it be in the 'other games with racing minigames or something' group at the bottom? That isn't really an attempt at a comprehensive list though, I just mention a few examples. That'd be a pretty hard one to get a complete list of I think...

Anyway, I think a list of the rest of the games you mention would be good. These are all games available in online sales; I'd really like to know exactly which are also available boxed, I definitely want to note that and separate PC games that are online-sales-only out from the rest, like I do with consoles.

--
Geargrinder (online sales only?)
Clutch ("Not available in your region" on GamersGate for me here in the US) (online sales only?)
Hard Truck: Apocalypse
Hard Truck: Apocalypse - Rise of the Clans
Death Track Resurrection (online sales only?)
Super Laser Racer (online sales only)
--
A.I.M. Racing (online sales only in the US, also available boxed in Russia I believe) (already on list for the Europe-only boxed release, but the multi-region online-sales verion needs to be added)

I haven't added these quite yet, but I will.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

ok. I think you mean steam for clutch there. but I guess it's europe only then.

geargrinder and death track resurrection are download only yeah.

A.I.M. Racing (online sales only in the US, also available boxed in Russia I believe) (already on list for the Europe-only boxed release, but the multi-region online-sales verion needs to be added)

I don't think it ever had a european retail release. most of those games released at the same time from 1C through 505 there were supposed to have, but either didn't or had a super limited run. only widely available ones were necrovision, men of war and cryostasis. I think tomorrow war had a almost non-existant run. and 4x4 hummer, aim racing and uh a couple of others I apparantly forgot didn't get retail released at all.

You've got a bunch of additions to the list there... first though the one I disagree with, Scrapland... that really isn't a racing game, I think. Maybe should it be in the 'other games with racing minigames or something' group at the bottom? That isn't really an attempt at a comprehensive list though, I just mention a few examples. That'd be a pretty hard one to get a complete list of I think...

Yeah, I can agree with this. There's a bunch of other stuff going on in the game apart from the vehicle customisation and racing.. and it isn't really the main focus, so fair enough.

 

[A Black Falcon]

First -- Hard Truck: Apocalypse was on the list already. Rise of the Clans wasn't, though, and nor were the rest of those games of course. Is it a sequel or a stand-alone expansion?

ok. I think you mean steam for clutch there. but I guess it's europe only then.

geargrinder and death track resurrection are download only yeah.

Hmm, I was wrong, Clutch is available in the US on Steam. Can't find Geargrinder on either Steam or Gamersgate though, where is that one?

Excepting Super Laser Racer which of course is sold via its own site, I found all of the ones you mentioned except Clutch and GearGrinder on both sites. Clutch was only on Steam. GearGrinder as I said I can't find.

I don't think it ever had a european retail release. most of those games released at the same time from 1C through 505 there were supposed to have, but either didn't or had a super limited run. only widely available ones were necrovision, men of war and cryostasis. I think tomorrow war had a almost non-existant run. and 4x4 hummer, aim racing and uh a couple of others I apparantly forgot didn't get retail released at all.

Alright, thanks for the additional details. I'd have thought that it's more likely some would have gotten boxed releases, in Russia at least... guess not.

I added a new PC Digital Download section in the guide. It's for games that are digital download, not just online-ordering but they ship you a box. If a game is available in both online and boxed, it'll be in both lists; if only in one format or the other, it'll be in only the appropriate list, as with the consoles.

Yeah, I can agree with this. There's a bunch of other stuff going on in the game apart from the vehicle customisation and racing.. and it isn't really the main focus, so fair enough.

As I said I haven't played it, but from what I've heard of it there's a lot of action-adventure-style wandering around on foot, right, and only limited racing... reviews compare it to GTA and such, and that's definitely not a racing game. Still, it definitely merits some kind of mention, so I'll add it to that list at the bottom of the post, with BG&E, etc.


On that note, something I touch on in the original post is what to do with games like the modern SpyHunter remakes. Now, I've only played the first one, not the other two (SpyHunter 2 or SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run). In it you drive your car from the start to the finish of the stage as fast as you can, trying to destroy the enemies and accomplish your objectives along the way. The objectives are the focus of the game, not time, but because you are in a car, going through a stage to a goal... I don't know. It's really an action-driving game, but it does have individual stages and goal points. I include timed-only games like Outrun, etc. in this list, so you don't need to be racing AGAINST anyone for it to count. It's not in the list because I don't think it qualifies (it really is about the shooting), but I thought about it enough to mention it. Anyone else agree, disagree, what? (Oh, and I actually liked the game. Fun stuff... the only reason I don't have the other two is because only the first one came out on GC, and that's all I had last gen, I didn't get a PS2 until last year... I'll pick up the second one sometime I'm sure, but haven't yet.)

 

[Joseph Merrick]

Hmm, I was wrong, Clutch is available in the US on Steam. Can't find Geargrinder on either Steam or Gamersgate though, where is that one?

I see. So it's the other way around then, hehe. http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-GEARG/geargrinder

Alright, thanks for the additional details. I'd have thought that it's more likely some would have gotten boxed releases, in Russia at least... guess not.

Oh yeah I didn't respond to this part. They all have russian retail releases.

First -- Hard Truck: Apocalypse was on the list already. Rise of the Clans wasn't, though, and nor were the rest of those games of course. Is it a sequel or a stand-alone expansion?

Yeah, that's what I meant originally. HTA is on there, but Rise of the Clans was missing. It's a standalone expansion.

 

[FormallyMegadrive]

I wuv Rollcage 1 and 2. So much. I need more.

 

[A Black Falcon]

I see. So it's the other way around then, hehe. http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-GEARG/geargrinder

Yup, I just got them backwards. Searching for GearGrinder finds nothing, but that link indeed says 'game not available in your country'.

Oh yeah I didn't respond to this part. They all have russian retail releases.

Yeah, that's what I suspected. Digital-download everywhere else though.

(By "all had Russian disc releases", you mean this list, right?)

*A.I.M. Racing (S, GG)
*Hard Truck: Apocalypse (S, GG, I)
*Hard Truck: Apocalypse - Rise of the Clans (S, GG, I)
*Clutch (S)
*GearGrinder (GG) (Europe only)
*Death Track: Resurrection (S, GG)
*Pyroblazer (S, GG)

Yeah, that's what I meant originally. HTA is on there, but Rise of the Clans was missing. It's a standalone expansion.

Oh, okay, yeah, I see what you meant now... right.

I wuv Rollcage 1 and 2. So much. I need more.

Rollcage 3 would be so awesome, I'd still love to see it... Rollcage really is as good as Wipeout, they should definitely make more! It's really too bad Sony killed the series...

 

[faridmon]

you forgot Star Wars Episode I: Racer for PC and other platforms.
that game was dupe.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

Yeah, that's what I suspected. Digital-download everywhere else though.

(By "all had Russian disc releases", you mean this list, right?)

*A.I.M. Racing (S, GG)
*Hard Truck: Apocalypse (S, GG, I)
*Hard Truck: Apocalypse - Rise of the Clans (S, GG, I)
*Clutch (S)
*GearGrinder (GG) (Europe only)
*Death Track: Resurrection (S, GG)
*Pyroblazer (S, GG)

yeah. pyroblazer also had a regular retail release for europe though.

 

[Giard]

MEGARACE!! WOOOOOO

Tons of nostalgic moments of my childhood are coming back. :lol

 

[A Black Falcon]

you forgot Star Wars Episode I: Racer for PC and other platforms.
that game was dupe.

... Uh, no, it's listed for all of the platforms it came out on, PC, Mac, Dreamcast, N64, and GBC.

I have it for N64. Great graphics and some cool track designs, but the game got so ridiculously hard... never could finish it. Still, I would like to try the sequel. At the time I was kind of annoyed the second one was PS2 only, after the first one was on so many platforms... and now that I actually have a PS2, the few copies of the game I have seen have been somewhat pricey. Oh well.

yeah. pyroblazer also had a regular retail release for europe though.

Alright, edited. (Why don't futuristic racing games do better here, compared to Europe... they really are more popular there, aren't they.)

 

[A Black Falcon]

Found and added another game, H-Craft for the PC, on both Linux and Windows. It's developed by a couple of German guys and is only sold online. 2007 release. Website here: http://www.irrgheist.com/

There is a demo available on the site, try it out.

... Oh, like with most PC games it seems, there appears to have been a boxed Russian release.

I just tried the demo. Well, it takes a bit of getting used to for sure... the cars are all hovercars, with giant fans in the middle of them holding them up. They have the almost complete lack of grip that you'd expect from such a vehicle, and the game is played on very narrow, mostly wallless tracks suspended in the air. You've got to brake early and hard to get around the corners. That's not going to happen immediately. As a result, I fell off a lot. It respawns you near where you fell, but still, it's got a real learning curve for sure, and this kind of thing can get frustrating fast. I'd definitely recommend playing it with an analog controller, it really helps... I played it with my joystick, way better than keyboard. Getting used to the braking so that you don't fall off is kind of annoying though, but the game as a whole isn't bad really. The car designs look pretty cool, with those giant fans... it just depends on how much you like this style of game.

 

[CurlySaysX]

This is how you make a racing game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRX6uz06H4E&feature=related

W'o"2097 :bow :bow

 

[GodfatherX]

Galaxy 5000: Racing in the 51st Century

best on the list..sooo many great memories

 

[A Black Falcon]

http://www.gfi.su/index1.php?langid=2&idt=1007&categ_id=&menu_id=&page=Past_action

Clutch for the PC. Looks like a 'present day or very near future but post-apocalyptic' game, with racing as one of the main gameplay components. But does 'modern day alternate earth' stuff count as 'futuristic'? I was thinking no, because that's alternate, not future... but you could argue yes if you use a more broad definition of "future" to include things like alternate history.

There are some other games like that, and if they're explicitly "today but in an alternate post-apocalyptic world" I did not include them in the list. If it's "near future" I may have.

 

[twinturbo2]

I wouldn't count Hydro Thunder, Arctic Thunder or Cyber Cycles. Bits and pieces of Hydro Thunder and Cyber Cycles are futuristic, but not the whole thing.

 

[A Black Falcon]

I wouldn't count Hydro Thunder, Arctic Thunder or Cyber Cycles. Bits and pieces of Hydro Thunder and Cyber Cycles are futuristic, but not the whole thing.

Wha... Cyber Cycles? Robots on motorcycles? Not futuristic? How?

As for Hydro Thunder, doesn't the manual, game, etc. make it clear that it's set in the future? Stuff like New York Disaster, those giant jets on the boats, etc. should make that obvious too...

As for Arctic Thunder, I'll admit that I'm less certain about that one. I thought it was, but maybe not... hmm, I'll try to look into it.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

just found this-- Ground Effect for iphone/ipod

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30UBj6vfshU&fmt=22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eca2Xg_V8s&fmt=22

looks great. it's by an old bullfrog programmer. he's credited on most of the bullfrog games (http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,1265/), but most importantly for this, hi octane

Found and added another game, H-Craft for the PC, on both Linux and Windows. It's developed by a couple of German guys and is only sold online. 2007 release. Website here: http://www.irrgheist.com/

Oh nice. Hadn't heard of this one.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Ground Effect is added. Looks pretty cool...


Looking at this list though, it's kind of annoying, looking at the list keeps making me want to list things not really in the category of the list but "similar" in that they also are not realistic racing games, such as kart racing games, other racing games with fantasy elements, RC car racing games, etc...

And there are also the twin issues of "what should count as a racing game" and "what should count as futuristic"... which are much more complicated questions than they may sound.

For instance, I think it's obvious that a key component of a racing game is having some kind of goal point you need to reach with some kind of transportation. Okay. There should also be either some kind of time system, opponents you are racing against, or both. Sounds good.

Futuristic, of course, means it's set in the future.

So... what about something like Marble Madness, or more obviously futuristic games with somewhat similar themes like Vertigo on the Wii (video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV1afFFFg2U )? Should Vertigo count as a racing game? It calls itself one. Should the other games like it on the iPhone, etc count if they're futuristic, too? I think of these games as more puzzle games than racing, but futuristic ones like Vertico technically fit the qualifications...

Or how about Stunt Cars here ( http://www.icongames.com/?p=34 )? It doesn't look futuristic, but should it count in the "Extreme" modern day list I have there, the one of the aforementioned "categories that aren't in the main category but I kind of want to list anyway" that I've actually attempted to post something of... but then that would get me into wanting to list a whole bunch of the RC Car/Micro Machines games all in that list, I think, which isn't really the point of that category, so I'm not sure what I should do there.

 

[ram]

Death Track: Resurrection

ic coming to psn

 

[twinturbo2]

Wha... Cyber Cycles? Robots on motorcycles? Not futuristic? How?

As for Hydro Thunder, doesn't the manual, game, etc. make it clear that it's set in the future? Stuff like New York Disaster, those giant jets on the boats, etc. should make that obvious too...

As for Arctic Thunder, I'll admit that I'm less certain about that one. I thought it was, but maybe not... hmm, I'll try to look into it.

The Neo-Yokohama track in Cyber Cycles is kinda futuristic, but not the whole thing.

The only part of Hydro Thunder that's futuristic is the Rad Hazard boat, IMHO.

 

[Dave Long]

Damn it. Saw this thread and now I have to dig out Dethkarz.

 

[Joseph Merrick]

aim racing and death track resurrection were added to impulse yesterday

 

[poppabk]

Spectrum 48k is missing Battlecars - had shooting but was also a racing game - based on a Games Workshop game no less.

 

[A Black Falcon]

aim racing and death track resurrection were added to impulse yesterday

Spectrum 48k is missing Battlecars - had shooting but was also a racing game - based on a Games Workshop game no less.

Thanks, added these. Namco had a futuristic racing game called Battle Cars on the SNES, so I added names and years to both to make it clear that they're not the same thing.

I also realized that I had somehow forgotten Direct2Drive in the PC DD services list, so I checked it and added (as D notes in the PC DD section) what it had -- Hard Truck: Apocalypse, Hard Truck: Apocalypse - Lord of the Clans, Pyroblazer, GearGrinder (which is also available on GamersGate in the US now, I think it wasn't earlier, so I added that and removed the "Europe only?" note), and Death Track: Resurrection.

Another questionable case, like several others I have mentioned here and no one has commented on... SPOGS Racing (for WiiWare and PC DD (Direct2Drive only)), an evidently very bad racing game with semi-futuristic-looking vehicles (they have jets on them, etc) in fairly modern-day-looking environments. Here's an example video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0RbwYQa0rg . Any thoughts? On this or other ones I mentioned earlier? For now I'm not adding it, but I thought I'd mention it anyway, and based on the vehicles maybe it could count.

 

[mclem]

So... what about something like Marble Madness,

At some point you stop being 'futuristic' and start being, I dunno, 'abstract'? I was wondering similarly about a Spectrum title called Impossaball. You'd have to get from left to right within the time limit, but in doing so you'd also need to bounce on all of the columns in the level without hitting the spikes (which would cost time, not lives). It's a vaguely futuristic style; you could imagine it being a game from the Tron universe, for instance.

Another one I was musing about was Wheelie, also on the Speccy. Again abstract; the theme is loosely dirt biking but you're jumping over cars and buses... and being jumped on by giant mutant hedgehogs. Definitely not futuristic, definitely not realistic, so fits the 'abstract' bill roughly.

Finally, and another game I first encountered on the Spectrum (although this has an arcade original, too), we have Metrocross, which I think might just be fit enough of the qualifications to actually get included. It's kinda abstract, but not as much as the other ones; it's just about fathomable that this could actually happen in the future.

 

[A Black Falcon]

At some point you stop being 'futuristic' and start being, I dunno, 'abstract'? I was wondering similarly about a Spectrum title called Impossaball. You'd have to get from left to right within the time limit, but in doing so you'd also need to bounce on all of the columns in the level without hitting the spikes (which would cost time, not lives). It's a vaguely futuristic style; you could imagine it being a game from the Tron universe, for instance.

That's a good point, Marble Madness isn't really futuristic... but I was more talking about games like that, or the other similar games I listed there. Could they really be called racing games? I mean, every game with a timer and a goal isn't a racing game. Platformers with timers (like Sonic games) aren't racing games, for instance, I think.

I don't know, somehow I just don't think of that kind of thing as "racing" even though I can see why it'd be called that... it's more like "arcade/puzzle", you know?

If we agree that these games should count, though, then Vertigo should definitely be on the list, it's definitely futuristic. Impossaball... I don't know, that sounds sort of like a sidescroller. You'd call it a racing game and not a sidescroller, though? If so, perhaps it could go on the list.

Another one I was musing about was Wheelie, also on the Speccy. Again abstract; the theme is loosely dirt biking but you're jumping over cars and buses... and being jumped on by giant mutant hedgehogs. Definitely not futuristic, definitely not realistic, so fits the 'abstract' bill roughly.

If it's not futuristic I don't think I can count it...

Finally, and another game I first encountered on the Spectrum (although this has an arcade original, too), we have Metrocross, which I think might just be fit enough of the qualifications to actually get included. It's kinda abstract, but not as much as the other ones; it's just about fathomable that this could actually happen in the future.

Metrocross? I think I looked into that one for this list, but I decided it was more a platformer than a racing game... you disagree? It is a borderline case between the two genres, so perhaps it should go on with a qualifying note that it's as much or more platformer than it is racing. Hmm, I'm not sure...

It was on Arcade, NES, Spectrum, C64, Atari ST, and Amstrad CPC. Video of the arcade version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVefQ8hNg_E

 

[Gen X]

Add another to....

Commodore 64
Trailblazer

You play a ball, but you're racing down a grid in space so I guess it fills all the requirements.

Aside from that, great list. I really hadn't noticed the 360 only had one futuristic racer on disc. For shame.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Add another to....

Commodore 64
Trailblazer

You play a ball, but you're racing down a grid in space so I guess it fills all the requirements.

Aside from that, great list. I really hadn't noticed the 360 only had one futuristic racer on disc. For shame.

And that's one more than the PS3 has, outside of Europe and Asia. It really is sad. We need more futuristic racing games! Too many racing games these days are trying to be hyper-realistic... I'd have no problem with that if more games like these were still being made too, but they're not. The Wii does have a couple, but still, compared to any last-gen system its list doesn't look so great either. Heck, any last-gen system probably has a better lineup of futuristic racing games than all three of this gen's combined... well, maybe. Wipeout HD does sound pretty amazing.


Anyway, as for that game, cool... added. It looks somewhat similar to SkyRoads, the PC shareware (now free) classic! I mean, SkyRoads has way better graphics, polygon-looking environments, etc, are very similar. SkyRoads doesn't have bonus games like that, though. Skyroads is an awesome game though (yes, SkyRoads is on the list).

SkyRoads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdEVc_Ok6cg (the first level)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkelotivGcA (one of the last levels, to show how incredibly hard it gets)

 

[A Black Falcon]

The saddest thing about this update is, are there really no futuristic racing games whatsoever upcoming? Those two in the "upcoming" section obviously aren't going to happen, by this point, I'd say... and there's absolutely nothing announced in the genre? So, so sad...

Changes since my last post in this thread in January:

-3/28/10 - fixed Street Racer/Speed Racer confusion. Street Racer is the one I was thinking of for PSX and Saturn and it is a kart racer, not a futuristic racer. However there was a Speed Racer game for PSX, so that was not changed (it just refers to a different game now); there were not Saturn or Game Boy versions of Speed Racer, so those two were removed. Added Speed Racer in The Challenge of Racer X for PC (DOS) which I had previously missed. Added Speed Racer in My Most Dangerous Adventures for SNES as well (it's half racing, half platformer).
-7/27/10 - added Space Slalom for the Sega SG-1000, a very simple space-based go-through-the-gates game, Cosmic Causeway: Trailblazer II for the Commodore 64, Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers for SNES, if it counts (the bikes look futuristic, but the series is sort of set in the present day, right? Any thoughts?), Black Viper (Amiga, Amiga CD32). Added other versions of Trailblazer; it wasn't just for C64, but for five other computers on the list as well. Added the Mac versions of Locus, which means it's not PC only on computers, and Zone Raiders, which removes its PC exclusivity mark. Added C64 Classix (Overlander, Elektraglide) for PC and Mac. Added Laser Dolphin (main game is a platformer, racing side mode) for PC and Mac. Added Tasty Static (freeware Skyroads clone from last year) for PC, Mac, and Linux. Added Badlands' older home computer ports, it was only listed for arcades and Midway Arcade Treasures 3 but was released on various home computers when it came out. Added Amiga, Atari ST, and PC versions of Psyborg; it wasn't just for Amstrad CPC. I wasn't sure about Nitro (Amiga, Atari ST), but it appears to be a 'apocalypse modern day' setting, so I put the game in the "Alternate World Modern Day" section. I'd love if someone could find the manual for this game, so I could know whether it should be where I put it, or in the main list... Finally, added Mars Explorer (freeware browser/iPhone/Mac/Windows game); it's mostly not racing I think, just driving and stuff, but I believe there is some in it.


Space Slalom (1983, Sega, Sega SG-1000) is a very simple game that gets boring quickly, I would say, but it is the oldest console futuristic racing game I know of so far. Taito's 1973 arcade game Astro Race is probably the first futuristic racing game, and Williams had an 1983 arcade racing game too in Star Rider, but Space Slalom is the first console one I know of. It's before all of the computer futuristic racing games as well, I'm pretty sure, even with these additions.

Of course, this assumes that games where you are flying spaceships through space are set in the future, even if the spaceships look fairly modern day, as they do in both Astro Race and Space Slalom... I'm not certain about that. Spaceships today couldn't do this kind of thing, though, so I think of them as futuristic. So, is Space Slalom the first ever home console futuristic racing game?

 

[Joseph Merrick]

death track resurrection is on psn btw. since a while ago, couple of months maybe. it's got added multiplayer over the pc version, the port was made by gaijin entertainment since the original team at skyfallen is no more. http://gaijinent.com/projects/deathtrack.htm really nice port

also some random other stuff on gamersgate, ranging from horrible to ok.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-HA/hover-ace
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SKYTRACK/sky-track
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SLIP5K/slipstream-5000
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-GPE/grand-prix-evolution
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-STATESHIFT/stateshift
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CB/clusterball

 

[A Black Falcon]

The first post has hit the character limit again, so what do I do now... move the introduction section into one of the other posts too? Not exactly the greatest presentation, I wish I'd taken several posts at the top... oh well, nothing I can do about it now really.

... Yeah, I moved most of the introduction to another post. Just left the key in the main post.

death track resurrection is on psn btw. since a while ago, couple of months maybe. it's got added multiplayer over the pc version, the port was made by gaijin entertainment since the original team at skyfallen is no more. http://gaijinent.com/projects/deathtrack.htm really nice port

That's cool, I'll definitely add it. As I've been saying, there are so, so few futuristic racing games this generation on consoles... it's fantastic to see anything, just about! And that's a solid one too I think, as you say.

also some random other stuff on gamersgate, ranging from horrible to ok.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-HA/hover-ace
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SKYTRACK/sky-track
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SLIP5K/slipstream-5000
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-GPE/grand-prix-evolution
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-STATESHIFT/stateshift
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CB/clusterball

One thing I always have to be careful on is that games are racing games... I mean, sometimes something described as "futuristic racing combat" actually is entirely arena combat, and that would not go on this list. There have been several games I haven't listed because of that.

That is, Clusterball definitely doesn't sound like a racing game going by its description, and I'm iffy on Hover Ace. Is it actually racing, or just arena combat? I suspect Hover Ace has racing, but I'm not sure, and there is no demo...

As for the other titles, StateShift, Nelson Piquet's Grand Prix Evolution, and Slipstream 5000 are already listed as retail PC releases, but I added the download versions too. Sky Track wasn't on the list but clearly belongs, and has now been added, download only.

Sky Track is another Russian PC game, so I suspect that there might be a Russian boxed release of the game, as usually seems to be the case, but I'd need the Russian title to find it, I'm sure, and the publisher's website is so barebones that I think it'd be no help... (their official site versus this list of their GamersGate titles -- I can easily identify Mini Golf, Ping-Pong, and Billiards on both lists, but beyond that I have no idea which is which. If I had to guess though I'd really think that there was probably a boxed Russian release (plus the boxart image is of something with a "PC CD-ROM" logo on it; that's not proof, but something), so I will list it there too, as Russia only.

Also, when looking at Hover Ace I found that Strategy First's online store sells a Space Haste 2 download version, so I added that (I just have it listed as boxed).

 

[A Black Falcon]

It's been a while, too long really, but here's an update... tell me if anything else new has come out or is coming though, I've probably missed something, for the current gen systems particularly.

First, some small updates from later last year that I didn't bump the thread for. The more interesting updates are below this part, along with a few new titles/prospective additions I'm not sure about.
-9/1/10 - added the upcoming game Fast - Racing League for WiiWare, from Shin'en.
-9/11/10 - added the mediocre and utterly unremarkable futuristic racing/educational game "Galaxy Racers" for the DS. (a new release, just recently came out)
11/20/10 - added Space Track for the iPhone and PC. It's a Skyroads knockoff. The PC version is a demo only with level creator, the full version is only on iPhone but has no level creator.

Here's the main new update.
9/26/11 - added FAST Racing League (WiiWare), Metal Fangs (Genesis), Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing (PS2), and Impact Racing (PS1/Saturn). In the "Extreme but not futuristic" category moved both TrackMania games to released (2 for PC, and the Wii game), plus added the second DS TrackMania game, TrackMania Turbo. Metal Fangs I just learned about, it's a topdown-style racer, looks okay. Super Bombad Racing is a Star Wars kart racer, but because of the Star Wars setting I'm including it even if gameplay-wise it's kart and not futuristic. I see that at the top of pg. 2 I asked about Impact Racing. Now I've played it, and it's definitely futuristic, and it is a racing game because you need to finish before time runs out. Like Offworld Interceptor Extreme, you do a lot of shooting and there aren't opponents you're racing against, just enemies, but the timer is tight and killing enemies can get you more so you can finish the race before time runs out.


10/16/11 - So apparently Ben 10: Galactic Racing releases in a couple of days, for the PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, and DS. It looks like a futuristic kart racing style game, but of course the Ben 10 franchise technically isn't set in the future, just a present with futuristic aliens in it. I guess it should count, maybe?

Also, I just thought of the Sonic Riders franchise... hoverboards sure seems futuristic to me, they probably should be in, yes? Sonic Riders is for PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, and PC; Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is for PS2 and Wii; and Sonic Free Riders is for Xbox 360 (Kinect required). I guess they should count as futuristic racing games, hoverboards do seem to suggest it. Any thoughts though?

I haven't added the 10/16 games to the main list yet, but I have for the ones from the 9/26 update and before.

 

[Rattles]

Sodium 2 on ps Home?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U194szOE7FU&feature=related

Edit: Better gameplay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYDgbapsqi4&feature=related
Was a rumor it was going to get put on the ps store.