5 racing games in dire need of an overhaul

5 racing games in dire need of an overhaul

Dec 27, 2020 1 Min Read Posted by OverTake Team
Big Rigs Over the Road Racing (2003) Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing entered the market in 2003 in a pre-alpha state – which the title by GameMill Publishing doesn't seem to have moved past yet. While the game is meant to offer players gripping races in big rig trucks of all sorts, the whole concept fails at a horrifying number of bugs and glitches in the game's physics. With trucks glitching through the ground, standing in one another or not driving at all – like your AI opponents – the game has become more of a joke in the sim racing scene – a hilarious one, though, if not taken too seriously. Dangerous Driving (2019) Dangerous Driving is a multi-platform game by Three Fields Entertainment and officially intended as a spiritual sequel to EA's BURNOUT series. Arguably, this ambition was quite too high for the game to reach: Even though the interface is largely identical to the one in BURNOUT 3: Takedown, that is about everything that Dangerous Driving can live up to. The game hardly runs on its maximum fps on Xbox One, PS4 or PC, shows various bugs and unrealistic physics as well as way too long loading times, so there is next to nothing gained from the alleged sequel. Need for Speed Payback (2017) Many of the newer Need for Speed games receive harsh criticism by the community, but Payback is by far the most controversial part of the series. Developer Ghost Games included an open world, a multiplayer, a detailed storyline in the offline mode and different car categories – with all that, the game unfortunately had a little too much on its plate. Due to a way too long prologue, repetitive events and shallow characters, the story grows boring rather quickly. Unbalanced quests, plain map design and questionable physics complete a gameplay that, well, needs revision. Ridge Racer (PS Vita; 2011) The Ridge Racer series by Namco Bandai is not a terrible franchise per se – in fact, on the paper, it offered a quite promising iteration for the handheld PS Vita in 2011. Unfortunately, the game lacks one fundamental component that makes a good racing game: content. Starting the game up on your handheld device, it provides you with no more than three racing tracks and five cars. Updates to the game hardly add to that and DLC content will obviously charge you in addition to the actual game. This is quite a deal-breaker for the otherwise fine game – a huge disappointment. Nash Racing (2017) Nash Racing is an indie racer by Tero Lunkka that has been available on Steam since 2017. This game is probably the best choice if you're not too keen on a decent driving experience, but just having fun with absurd in-game physics for as little money as possible. Then, for around $3, Nash Racing is your way to go. For all it's worth, as soon as you're bored with the eight cars to choose from, underwhelming AI-opponents and flat graphics, there is a crash mode for you to release some frustration – and with its physics nowhere near realistic, that will surely make you laugh.

These five racing games could really use a generous overhaul, to say the least.

Photo credit: Origin/Electronic Arts Inc.

Be it a lack of content, chunky graphics, lame force feedback or just utterly unrealistic physics – there are countless reasons why a racing game can disappoint its players. While a bad game obviously has many negative sides, at the very least it can be a stepping stone for the developer to improve – right? Well, maybe you can see for yourself if our five candidates for the worst racing games so far have the potential to do better.

While these games are objectively bad for numerous reasons, we have to admit that they can still be entertaining – or rather, some of them. If you don’t agree, maybe try out Big Rigs and attempt to drive on one of the bridges – we’re eager to hear your review!

What were some racing games you’ve played that really needed fixing? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!

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