These are five racing games that were no bad idea to release, but could definitely use a touch-up!
Photo credit: Project CARS 3
Some racing games out there just work perfectly from their release date: the community loves them, they receive great feedback and the sales speak for themselves. But with some games, it just is not that easy, and some changes need to be made. In other cases, the game itself was great, but it is just a little outdated and needs a little push to be brought back in the limelight. We present to you: five games that have a good reason to get some rework done.
Project CARS 3
The first candidate on our list is also the most current one: Project CARS 3 is the latest addition to the franchise and has been available since August 28, 2020. The game is playable on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. As Codemasters acquired the franchise in November 2019, the third title of the series has taken a different approach to sim racing than its predecessors – without pit stops and tire wear, the game seems more like an arcade title and received heavy criticism.
Furthermore, the offered classes in the gameplay have to be absolved in a strict order, require a lot of credits and yet get boring fairly easily. The career-mode is unfortunately quite underwhelming as well and could use a rework to make it more gripping. We elaborate all details about our criticism in our review of the game.
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midnight Club looks a lot like the neglected younger sibling of Grand Theft Auto and, seeing how both games are from Rockstar, that probably comes closer to the truth than we would like. The last part of the series focuses entirely on the city of Los Angeles and provides the player with a huge open world map, customizable cars and multiplayer game mode – still sounds a lot like GTA. Also including a map editor and a different feeling and mechanics to its races, Midnight Club still differs a lot from the cult series. A title like this could use a little rework to excite some old fans and even attract new players to the series.
TOCA Race Driver 3
TOCA Race Driver 3 was originally released by Codemasters in 2006. It is also known as DTM Race Driver 3 or V8 Supercars Australia 3 and came out for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and PC. Albeit certainly better than its predecessors in almost every way, there are still quite a few aspects about the game that could use some rework.
First and foremost, the story of the title is focused on letting the player climb the ladder of professional race driving to the very top. It therefore features a mentor-figure that teaches the player how to drive and regularly gives feedback. The approach is overall good, but with only that one person and generic cut-scenes, the feeling is not really transferred to the racer. Improving the already good graphics and reworking the career-mode could really make the game a highly interesting and fantastic-looking title nowadays.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
Most Wanted is probably the most successful part of the Need for Speed franchise. With great graphics for the time and gripping racing action, the game occupied players 24/7 for weeks. An alleged remake of the title came out in 2012, but was found to not be anywhere near the original. What made the game so good was first and foremost its story and the way it is told: bad blood with the local police and a ladder to climb in a gang for illegal street racing keep the racer hooked. Meanwhile, real actors and greenscreens in the cutscenes made the game’s graphics age well. A rework of the game that manages to keep the great, atmospheric story while massively improving how the game looks and the cars feel would undoubtedly be a hit once again.
Hot Wheels: Beat That!
While it might seem like an unconventional title to get a rework, Hot Wheels: Beat That! actually has great potential. Activision first published the game in 2007 on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, the Nintendo Wii and even the Nintendo DS. The game resembles more successful arcade titles like Mario Kart a lot, but has somehow wasted its potential.
The creative approach in Hot Wheels: Beat That! is driving in a miniature car on tracks made of toys indoors while larger creatures try to obscure the race. The game also features a multiplayer, but its big disadvantage is the sheer absence of a variety of tracks and other options to vary the gameplay. A remake of a title like this could still be popular, seeing how Mario Kart went through the roof.
Which of these games would you like to see reworked? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
