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Posted by: Howard Nov 20 2006, 10:00 AM

My darling daughter wants to buy the 'best' car racing video game for whatshis name, and assigned the job to old dad.

PC or dedicated game box? Which software? Can you attach two sets of force feedback wheels for W2W competition? Or should we just get a shitload of tokens for Dave and Buster's?

Posted by: Brew Nov 20 2006, 10:26 AM

I like Gran Turismo on PS2, but others opinions may differ.

Posted by: rmconner Nov 20 2006, 10:34 AM

I really enjoyed Forza Motorsport on Xbox. So much so I had to force myself to mail it back to Gamefly (the "netflix" for games) in order to peel myself off the couch.

Posted by: Martin Baker Nov 20 2006, 12:10 PM

FORZA, without question. FORZA 2 is on the way, for XBOX 360...even has AX course's.

Posted by: mudfoot76 Nov 20 2006, 12:19 PM

It really depends on which system whathisname has. If he has Sony's Playstation2, get him Gran Turismo 4. IMO that is the best for PS2.

If he has the XBox 360, go with what Martin says.

If he only has a computer, then maybe that game that everyone on here was playing for awhile (GP Legends?)

Posted by: BMXerror Nov 20 2006, 12:26 PM

If he has a computer, get him GTR2. It's got the best physics of any racing game to date, and an arcade mode if he's too much of a wuss to handle a car that will kill him with a bit too much throttle (I never use arcade mode BTW). If you want to teach him about the oldschool, you can get him GT Legends. It was made by the same people, so it's prettymuch the same with older cars. Neither of these games have split=screen modes, but they both have online and LAN multiplayer modes if he's into that. However, the AI is pretty stinkin good.
Mark D.

Posted by: Howard Nov 20 2006, 12:36 PM

BMX, that seems to be the answer. They have a LAN, and assume could hook up a steering wheel to each PC. They are moderately(?) competitive

Do any of the boxes have split screen mode? I guess on a big screen that wouldn't be too confusing.

Posted by: BMXerror Nov 20 2006, 01:53 PM

I'm not the expert on console systems, but I'm pretty positive that Grand Tourismo has spit-screen, and I THINK Forza does too, but don't quote men on that. It'll say on the box. If you decide to go with GTR2 though, check his system against the system requirements. If he's serious a gamer at all, he should have enough system for it. But if he's using his dads 386, there'll be a problem! Also, I think they only sell it for PC and not a Mac.
As for wheels, it all depends on the budget. 90 bucks will get you what is prettymuch the best thing around, which is the Logitec Momo force wheel. That's what I use. But you can go cheaper and get a non-force feedback wheel for about 40-50 bucks. They both work fine, but force feedback gives you a bit more..... well..... feedback, on what the car's doing. That's about all I can tell you without getting into great detail and boring the hell outta you. Plus, I've gotta go do some more practice in my Lambo at the Nurburgring...... I love games!
Mark D.

Posted by: johannes Nov 20 2006, 04:48 PM

If he is on PC there are some alternatives

I confirm these two following games are the best you can find ...

- GTR2 is excellent and a lot of mods and tracks come out every day.
this will make the fun almost endless ...

- GT Legends is from the same staff. Great game for middle aged guys ;o) Almost one new "converted" tracks coming out every week.
Watch my GT legends video here ... http://youtube.com/watch?v=RMyIlbteFm0
The track is not from the game ... It's one of the numerous add on tracks you can find on the Net.

Then you have the download-only simulators ... They are cheaper and often better than the boxed one.
They are mostly used to run online.

- rFactor is considered as the best one. Unfortunatelly my PC is not strong enough. Lots of mods and tracks ...

- Live for speed (NOT "Need for Speed" that is an arcade game)
This is the game I like. It runs on old computers and the cars are really fun to drive. The demo includes two tracks and two cars. Unfortunately not an opened architecture, so you can't get no mods and no tracks ...

And if you want the ultimate wheel , buy this
http://www.force-dynamics.com/video/force-dynamics_301-lfs-1.wmv

Posted by: BMXerror Nov 20 2006, 05:53 PM

OR, just spend that few grand on a teener for the kid and be done with it!
Mark D.

Posted by: Howard Nov 20 2006, 06:12 PM

He ain't exactly a kid.. his daily driver is an AMG Gelandewagen.
Will get back to you with a road test after the holiday. That force dynamics thing is too cool but may be a bit over the top. Naaaah.

Posted by: BMXerror Nov 20 2006, 09:22 PM

Tell your daughter to marry him IMMEDIATELY! She can take one for the team.
Mark D.

Posted by: johannes Nov 22 2006, 04:58 PM

UPDATE

rFactor is the best !

I installed the new drivers for my videocard and this fixed the problem with rfactor.

Now it runs fine. I downloaded the demo (the demo is in fact the full game, but without the licence you can only drive on two tracks with one car!
http://www.rfactor.net/
The handling is awesome !
Half an hour later I HAD to buy the licence .
Now I have the full game running.

As I said, a lot of tracks and mods available ...

watch here http://www.rfactorcentral.com

About 70 mod cars from Stock cars to F1
About 120 tracks to download

And it's growing every week