Playstation games

[catfood]

Well it looks like my son has talked us into getting a Playstation 2 for his birthday. So can anybody recommend any good driving games. For my son, who is quite young, I'd be looking for something with a cartoon feel that doesn't involve violence to pedestrians!!! For me (yes, I admit it I want one too) I'd like a game that lets me have a chance at driving some of those classic cars of the 50s and 60s. Does such a game exist?

I'd also like to hear of any other games that might be suitable and entertaining for a seven year old.

Suggestions please...

 

[Baxter]

Hands down, no contest, the best driving game for the Playstation is GranTurismo. Simply the best physics, the most realistic, it's really something.
Gran Turismo 2 had more classics than 3 (A-spec), but it looks like GT4 will shift that back a bit, and it'll be out soon. Most of the classics get clocked pretty bad, but there are exceptions. I REALLY liked my Lotus Europa in GT2, but it took me forever to sort out the handling. My six-year-old enjoys the simple circle tracks, with the really fast cars, so we both play.

Other than that, it's a thin field. Most of them are pretty violent, or are pale imitators of GranTurismo.

Simpsons Road Rage is kinda fun. But does involve (cartoon) violence to pedestrians and some of the language is iffy. May want to rent it and try it out.

Watch the ratings. Some of these games are REALLY horrific.

 

[Steve]

Hi Steve,

There are a few kid-friendly games out there that I could recommend for James.......one of these would be "Spiro The Dragon", rather cute actually, and you might want to consider the Harry Potter games.

Okay, for racing, I echo the Gran Turismo games.....great action. You might also want to find the game "Mille Miglia"......in which you can drive the classic sports-racers of the fifties and sixties. Definitely right up your street! Only available that side of the pond, not here in the US of A. Trouble is, these things can be so addictive you might not want to get off the machine until you finish the race.

Say "Hi" the family for me. Let us know what you pick up.

[ 04-06-2004: Message edited by: Steve ]</p>

 

[78Z]

Don't get him Grand Theft Auto - its piles of fun but definitly not for a seven year old.

 

[Matthew E. Herd]

Gran Tourismo 2 is hands down my favorite (the first one isn't bad either). I rarely play video games (as I get impatient when I can't beat them and I'm not particularly fond of computers for a 20 yr. old engineering student who goes to a very computer oriented school). At any rate, GT2 has mini's which are by far my favorite!

 

[Baxter]

GT3 (A spec) also has Minis.

GT2 had an MGF, but it was a dog, I'm sorry to say.

Both 2 and 3 have some nice Lotuses, but 3 only has new ones. 2 had a nice Elan and Europa.

No Triumphs.

2 had a DB5 Aston Martin. Not very good, but fun to drive.

Both have good Cobras. (Hey, it's AC, that's British!)

Nice assortment of vintage Japanese stuff, including a giant-killer 510 sedan, and the gorgeous Toyota s2000 (am I getting the model number wrong? It's late).

 

[Jon12]

Lol, your son may want grand theft auto but it is a very violent game which involves hookers, killing and drugs. Myself being 19 I really enjoyed it.

gt2 = 450 cars, gt3= 150, for a 7 year old, I'd go with gt3(its far easier to play), gt2 is pretty cumbersome, all the gt games are a steep learning curve though. Gt4 should have the best of both worlds, i cant wait for it to come out.

 

[Bret]

Hey Steve,

Hmmm? As it turns out I am traveling at the moment with my two teenage sons. So I asked them for their advice.

For playstation they recommend Crash Bandicoot (spelling?) more of an adventure game according to my sons but there are a few driving levels. Also noted that this is kind of an old game and might not be available anymore so check around for either used or stores that stock older games.

There is also a game called Loony Toons Racing. In case you don’t know Loony Toons is Baby Bugs Bunny & his buddies. But my sons & I can’t recall anymore than that. They told me that the neighbor’s teenage daughter has one so we’ll ask when we get home. No problem getting them to volunteer to go over and ask as they both really like her.

Ahh youth...

Also worth noting is that Nintendo has several Mario Brothers games available your son would like but they don’t think they make them for Playstations.

Anyway, we’ll up date or recommendations after we get home.

[ 04-05-2004: Message edited by: Bret ]</p>

 

[William]

For racing racing, you can't go too far wrong with any of the Gran Turismo games, although Jon12 is right in saying that GT2 is kinda cumbersome (they all are, come to think of it). EA Sports NASCAR games offer some good clean racing action, as do their F1 series. My only issue with the F1 game that I had is EA's stupid little driving test "feature", which was very difficult to pass. Problem was, you had to pass all of them before you could race. At least the Gran Turismo tests were easy to get a pass on, if not a gold award. For rally fans, Colin McRae series is good, as is WRC.
-William (whose PS2 is used mainly to watch DVDs anyway!)

 

[mongoose]

Put me down for a vote to GranTurismo 1-3. I ve had them for a long time (GT3 since the release date back in '00, I think) and I still put GT3 in fairly often.
Another one (or 3) to check out would be the Need for Speed series if available there in the UK. No classics, but alot of exotics.
Something your 7yo might like is an older game called Gadget Racers. Cartoonish and cute aimed at putting "gadgets" on your car - wings, floats, rockets, etc. Again, that's an unknown if it's available in the UK.

 

[BuddyJ]

I've been totally loving GT3. My TVR Tuscan is totally built, as well as my Mini and both Corollas. They game is rather heavy on modern Japanese cars, but it's still quite enjoyalbe and has lots of replay value.

When GT4 comes out in July I'll probably become a recluse for a week. The list of cars in that game is unimaginable and the graphics are photorealistic. I can't wait.

 

[mongoose]

Take a look at "Anyone for some GT3 fun" in the freeforall section.

 

[waltesefalcon]

Steve,

Do you know of any place where you can get Mille Miglia in the states?

Cheers,

Walter

 

[mongoose]

Walt, even if you could find Mille Miglia in the states, because it's a UK game, you wouldn't be able to play it on your North American PS2 without modifications. Bummer, eh? I think it sounds like a cool game.

 

[CDK]

Walt, give a search for Rally Trophy it is a PC game But I am hooked on it. Our favorite cars are available, many are add-ons as the game has a lot of items that you can edit. If you are interested in learning more send me a note.
CDK

 

[waltesefalcon]

mongoose,

Why can't you play a British game on your playstation 2 but you can play Japanese games? Just curious cause I have a freaky anime orinted friend who imports about 5 japanese games a month. He is even taking Japanese so he can learn what they are saying in the games.

Cheers,

Walter

 

[mongoose]

He may have modified it. It involves opening it up and doing some fine soldering. There's a bunch of sites that have info on modifying consoles to play copied games and games from other regions. At least that's what it was like with original PSx. I'm pretty sure PS2 is the same. There are 3 different regions I'm aware of: North America (if it's not segregated to US & Canada), Europe - which is PAL, I believe, and Japan.
I haven't done anything to my PS2, but my PSX has been modded to play copies and imports. Some games won't play on a modded system.

 

[William]

You have to open it up. This of course invalidates the warranty, but if you have an older PS2 then it's most likely out of warranty anyway. You can get them to play PAL DVDs too, which I am sorta interested in but too cheap to do.
-Wm.

 

[TR7/8 TPI]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Baxter:
[QB]Hands down, no contest, the best driving game for the Playstation is GranTurismo. Simply the best physics, the most realistic, it's really something.QB]<hr></blockquote>


I agree that the physics in the GT series are great except for one thing. Apparently, to make it easier, all the cars have an incredible amount of understeer. This is especially the case in GT3. You will come up to a turn, slow and try to turn and the front end acts like it is riding on jelly. I know that understeer in real life is safer but this is just a ridiculous amount of understeer in the game and no car in real life I have driven acts like the cars in this game except for maybe a 2 generation supra or a 280Z or 1st generation 300ZX.

I hope GT4 will remedy this fiction.

 

[mongoose]

That, and the fact that the cars won't lean past 30 degrees - like flyin' through the air over a rally jump.
I'd love to see some crashes, but the rumored reason for the first three in the sreies was that the car manufacturers didn't want their likenesses being crunched.