Gran Turismo Movie

Gran Turismo has provided 25 years of awesome in gaming. Now, it takes its appeal to the movie theaters. The Gran Turismo movie will hit theaters on August 11, 2023 in the United States; and it will tell the real story of one person going from Gran Turismo gamer to a real-life racing star. I wanted to blog about this movie before it officially is released in theaters. This topic may be a diversion from what I normally post in "John's Race Space," but everything featured in a post has to have some sort of connection to racing games or driving games. So this post is about a movie inspired by a racing/driving game series. So here goes...

BEFORE I BEGIN...

Please note I am not any kind of movie buff. I rarely watch movies. So do not assume I can tell you anything and everything about movies. Everything provided in this blog post is primarily opinion-based.

If I make reference to the Gran Turismo movie, it will be in quotation marks (""). Okay- let's get it!

A Note About "Gran Turismo"...

"Gran Turismo" will be released in theaters on August 11 in the United States. I think it will be released in August 8 in some other markets. This movie is rated PG-13 by the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA). It features intense action and some strong language.

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"Gran Turismo" Movie

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^ from: (YouTube) - "Based on the true story of an impossible dream." Welcome to "Gran Turismo!"

"If you miss a line in the game, you reset. You miss it on the track... you could die."

-"Gran Turismo"

Gran Turismo has grown to be a highly successful racing/driving game series since its circa 1997 roots. The racing game not even its creator would think be any kind of immense success basically became one of the greatest racing game series ever. The Gran Turismo series has legions of fans worldwide who have many fond memories of action across the multiple games in the series. Everything from going full speed and taking on some of the most intense races to collecting cars as if they were Pokémon have helped Gran Turismo become what it has become.

For those reasons, some people think the idea of a Gran Turismo movie seems silly. Why would you want to potentially bring down the appeal of the Gran Turismo series by making a movie? Why would you even want to take a chance expressing Gran Turismo's appeal into a movie? Well, let's make one thing clear. "Gran Turismo" is the telling of a true story. It is the true story of Gran Turismo gamers becoming professional racing drivers. So it is not as if the "Gran Turismo" movie is some purely fictional deal put together becoming a hot mess of fail.

Let's get one thing straight- this movie is NOT going to be full of cheesy one-liners and fabricated action like you may see in the "The Fast and the Furious" series. So I doubt this movie is going to be something that could have been some student's project or final for some class about 3D modeling or movie production. Remember that "Gran Turismo" is based on a true story. If you're going to re-enact a true story, it's best to be as real as possible. Throw in your usual thoroughfare of Hollywood effects, of course; but be true to the story.

Many people would think about something like the "Initial D" series as the Gold Standard of automobile/motorsports-based movies or cartoons. Sure, Initial D involves a much different discipline of automobile culture, but it is what a lot of people would think about in terms of racing games (or even manga) turned into movies.

Initial Concerns.

The one thing to be skittish about is if something like the "Gran Turismo" movie would fall in line with a handful of other games-turned-movies. Usually such projects mostly are cheap ways to cash in on a game's success or try to mooch for some extra money. Many people were disgusted with how the "Super Mario Bros." movie of the early-mid 1990s ended up. Even more people did not like the "Street Fighter" movie of about 1994. I don't really know how people felt about the "DOOM" movie featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. There was even a "Need for Speed" movie, and I'm not even sure how that movie ended up.

Lately, though, some more modern games-turned-movies have actually become pretty good. The newer "The Super Mario Bros." movie seemed to perform much better than the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie from the 1990s/ The recent "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie series have done pretty well in theaters. So maybe you have some hope that "Gran Turismo" will not flop based on more recent games-turned-movies based on success of recent movies.

Would a More Fictional Storyline be Better?

I actually imagined if I made my own fan fiction about an up-and-coming racer going from grassroots to Gran Turismo World Champion. If you are going to tell a more fan-made story as opposed to what the "Gran Turismo" movie is going to be about, a serious risk is being taken. The wrong sort of execution can make even the most well-devised story become an absolute flop.

If Sony and company wanted to make a more fictional story regarding Gran Turismo, they'd probably make one in the vein of being in the Gran Turismo ecosystem. It could be the story of one or multiple people trying to climb up the ranks of Gran Turismo to go from earning the B-License to becoming Gran Turismo World Champion. Therefore, I do not think it is entirely a bad idea for the "Gran Turismo" movie to take on this true story mindset rather than make something completely fictional. It is this "virtual reality to total reality" that I think will give the "Gran Turismo" movie its appeal.

How Will "Gran Turismo" Fare in Theaters?

I do not think "Gran Turismo" will be one of the all-time greats in raking in millions to billions of US dollars. I don't see it taking on "Top Gun Maverick" or "Barbie" or anything for top grossing movies. While I hate to use this word in regards to Gran Turismo, I do see "Gran Turismo" being a good niche movie for those into the Gran Turismo series. My hope is maybe those not into cars and not into racing can maybe find something to love about "Gran Turismo." I know there are lots of people not into racing/driving games or not into simulation racing games. "Gran Turismo" may possibly intrigue people into playing the Gran Turismo game series. Even if not about racing/driving games, this movie may encourage others to simply follow their dreams, not even knowing where their love and passion will take them. So there is a lot to take away from "Gran Turismo" prior to it hitting theaters.

A lot of things can go right for the "Gran Turismo" movie. Conversely, a lot of things can go wrong for "Gran Turismo." It all depends on what the critics say and how fans view this movie.

Don't even think of "Gran Turismo" as make-or-break for the franchise. It is not as if the Gran Turismo series is struggling to remain relevant that making a movie is a last resort to stay afloat. This is still going to be a gaming franchise loved and admired by adoring fans. I don't think "Gran Turismo" is going to damage the appeal of the Gran Turismo franchise unless the movie goes far off the path of the Gran Turismo series to a lackluster direction.

Could Other Racing/Driving Games Follow Suit With "Gran Turismo?"

Oh, imagine if Grand Theft Auto got its own movie. Imagine if Ridge Racer got its own movie. Imagine if Forza Motorsport and/or Forza Horizon got their own movies. There's even a series on Peacock involving the "Twisted Metal" series. Based on how well (or not so well) "Gran Turismo" does, you know other game franchises may want to take their shot at making a racing/driving game movie to challenge "Gran Turismo." Any other racing/driving games potentially getting a movie will be possibly telling fictional material as opposed to the true story nature of "Gran Turismo." It is still very well possible other directors may be coming up with their own movies based on racing/driving game franchises.

Trailers.

Most of you who have followed my work know that I do not show any sort of media until the end. So at this point, here is where I share some media with you all. Take a look at these trailers to get an idea of what the "Gran Turismo" movie will be like:


^ GRAN TURISMO - Official Trailer (HD)

And here is a more recent trailer:


^ GRAN TURISMO - Official Trailer 2 (HD)

I am not a movie watcher. However, if I was going to see "Gran Turismo" in theaters or at home, I surely would see this movie. I wasn't as intrigued about this movie until I saw the second trailer.





Once "Gran Turismo" is released proper in theaters, we all can make our own critiques about it. What say you, though?

Are you intrigued about "Gran Turismo?" How do you think it will fare in theaters?

This is kind of a departure from discussing racing/driving games in this blog, which is what it is normally about. Though, everything discussed in this blog has some kind of connection to racing/driving games. I hope you enjoy my efforts here. If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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What If: Gran Turismo Legacy?

"Legacy" can be a bad word. It is not a good word when something isn't dead. With that said, though, what would a legacy Gran Turismo be like? We think of a legacy collection as a way to remember something as it heads into its sunset. Gran Turismo is far from being "dead." Though, many could argue today's Gran Turismo Sport is not like any classic Gran Turismo title. One has to wonder what would be a proper sendoff or culmination of what all GT has brought to the proverbial table. It should be a collection that brings together elements from all Gran Turismo titles into one incredible package. Question is... how would you compile everything? How would one game compiling all of Gran Turismo be like? I have some ideas that I want to share in this blog post. Anyone who may be reading this and want to comment is (of course) free to do so.

About the Label: "GT Legacy"

This post is a series here on "John's Race Space" which focuses on what a Legacy collection of Gran Turismo would be like. It is based on a number of factors, including vehicles, locations, races, and more. It doesn't mean Gran Turismo is "dead" with no chance of improving upon what it has already improved upon. However, it also is a look at what a proper Legacy collection of Gran Turismo would be like for future generations to remember what all Gran Turismo has done and how far the series has come. This Label may feature a number of different individual posts specifically mapping out how Gran Turismo should be remembered for years to come.

About the Label: "Legacy"

Any discussion of legacies of racing/driving games are discussed under the Legacy category. This can include a basic discussion of a game series or an all-in-one game package compiling the very best of certain racing/driving game series.

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Gran Turismo Legacy: Making Of

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^ Let's envision what an all-in-one "Gran Turismo Legacy" game would entail with this blog post...

Gran Turismo has been around 1997 and 1998. In its time, there have been a handful of items that made the franchise exciting, fun, and entertaining. Some other elements, sadly... not so much. A legacy package that combines elements of all of the past GT titles into one will have to be something that takes at least something from past GTs and brings it all together in a past-meets-present manner.

GT Legacy: Vehicles.

Gran Turismo has always been an "Encyclopedia of Cars." These cars have ranged from real-life automobiles to tuned/fantasy models based on real cars. Everyone who has played through any and every Gran Turismo has had at least one favorite machine to tune and/or race. They are also aware of the various levels of tuning as well as being aware of all sorts of vehicles.

• I still go insane on the notion that I took a Mitsubishi 3000GT (also called the GTO) and tuned it to be a 240 mph demon that just does nothing but win races in Gran Turismo 1.

• I enjoyed racing both the Honda S2000 GT1 and the Toyota GT-One Road Car in GT2. And of course, I have to recall using that Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak to dominate certain races.

• I have enjoyed using the Formula GT cars that I unlocked. I also have enjoyed using the Toyota GT-One and the Mazda 787B in my time in GT3. I was even impressed with machines like the Gillet Vertigo and the Tickford V8 Supercar. My only real regret was selling the Toyota GT-One Road Car.

• There were a number of street cars I enjoyed tuning in GT4. On the racing front, the Pescarolo prototypes and the Nissan R92CP are total beasts! I also enjoyed the Honda S800 Race Car, the Suzuki R/4 concept car (when tuned to the max), the Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car, and the Toyota Tacoma X-Runner.

• Seeing the debut of Ferrari was great, as I enjoyed using my Ferrari F430 in GT5. There were some great times using my tuned Lotus Evora also. The Red Bull prototypes were totally unreal and awesome. It was also a joy to try out the different go-karts in GT5, though I would loved a superkart experience as well. As a first for the series, you can use paint colors from your cars to paint over automobiles. So if you want to replace that boring green color on your car to a crimson red color, you can do just that as long as you have the proper paint color in your collection!

• I thought it was amazing in GT6 to take the already fast Pagani Huayra and make it even faster with some power upgrades. 260+ mph never seemed so scary in such an amazing supercar. Also, this is the first Gran Turismo to offer Base Model racing cars for you to race and paint. These Base Model cars can be painted up using various paint colors in your collection. And unlike in GT5, any color you have in your collection could be used for any car that can be re-colored without worrying about buying some car just to have a copy of that same color. This game had all kinds of unique vehicles- even including a Lunar vehicle and the controversial Deltawing race cars.

(REMEMBER: I have NEVER played Gran Turismo SPORT as of the time of this post (March 6, 2019)
• I think Gran Turismo SPORT is a dream game in regards to compiling a series of racing vehicles in its own racing world.

A number of real and fantasy machines in GT games have helped shape each one equally. While it is mind-blowing to imagine all the various vehicles that have graced the Gran Turismo realm, it would be equally interesting to imagine combining as many past and present machines into one package. This even includes wondering modern interpretations of past vehicles. For example, would you ever wonder what the Honda Civic Del Sol LM Race Car be like? What about the Toyota Chaser LM from GT1? Maybe you wonder what the Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car would look like if given a modern makeover? Maybe you'd love nothing more than to race the Renault Espace F1 around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. You also have to take into consideration damage modeling, interior design, and things like that. You could even see modern variations of Racing Modified cars. So instead of seeing certain liveries restricted due to copyright issues, you could see more accurate versions (granted they are not alcohol or tobacco or sports betting companies) of racing liveries.

A Legacy collection would even open the possibility of driving certain cars previously not included in past GT titles that could have been raced for their time. One example could mean you could race a Ferrari convertible or Porsche convertible in the Spider and Roadster races. A more interesting example would be being able to race the old Lamborghini Diablo GT from the Japanese Gran Turismo 3 well before Lamborghini properly entered the Gran Turismo realm starting with Gran Turismo PSP. Perhaps imagine if you were doing Gran Turismo 1's style races, you could race the KTM X-Bow or the Light Car Company Rocket!

GT Legacy: Locations.

No Gran Turismo experience is ever substantiated without quality venues to compete in. Gran Turismo's location appeal became twofold once GT4 introduced Photo Mode. A number of courses evolved in subsequent versions of Gran Turismo. So let's look at Gran Turismo's legacy in regards to locations.

• Since GT1 was a relative unknown, we were first introduced to the world of Gran Turismo through a lot of the different venues. Some of the top-level venues were High Speed Ring, Grand Valley Speedway, Special Stage Route 5, and Special Stage Route 11. Trial Mountain and Deep Forest Raceway shown to be tough tracks as well. Autumn Ring and Autumn Ring Mini also became fan favorites.

• GT2 was the first to feature licensed tracks and actual locations. Rome Circuit and Seattle Circuit offered a nice view of the world. Grindelwald was the first Swiss venue in GT history. Laguna Seca Raceway became the first real-world race track featured in the series. Other favorites of the fictional variety include Red Rock Valley Speedway and Motor Sport Land. Also, GT2 was the debut of rally racing, so that added to the appeal of locations. Great tracks like any of the Tahiti courses and Smokey Mountain North were some of the better off-road venues. Albeit abbreviated, you could also race the iconic Pikes Peak Hill Climb either uphill or downhill.

• GT3 was unique in featuring some tracks on wet tarmac. The game featured the first real-world temporary course when Cote d'Azur was featured. Cote d'Azur is basically GT's version of the streets of Monte Carlo, home to the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. Swiss Alps was a great off-road course that debuted in GT3. This game also featured Tokyo Route 246, even including Polyphony Digital's headquarters before moving from Tokyo to Fukuoka. This game also included a challenging fantasy course called Complex String. It was more a test track than a practical race course.

• Gran Turismo 4 is important location-wise in having a combination of racing venues and non-racing venues. To me, GT4 had more of a "see the world" aspect to it. So this game had a combination of real and fictional courses. El Capitan was one of my favorite courses in GT4. The course based around Yosemite National Park was a great course. MotorLand was a great short course. A handful of city courses made up GT4, ranging from urban locales to Old World style cities. New York was the main attraction in GT4's development. At the same time, Citta di Aria and Costa di Amalfi were both intense challenges on their own. You could even race in Hong Kong and Seoul among others. For the first time in series history, venues on snow and ice were featured. You can race around Ice Arena and Chamonix if you fancy snow and ice locales. Most important to a lot of people location-wise, you could race Circuit de la Sarthe as well as the Nürburgring Nordschleife. These are two historic and long racing venues. On the Photo Mode front, you can take pictures of your cars in any of the different race tracks. However, you can also visit a variety of real-world locations to flash pictures of your vehicles. You can visit locales like Las Vegas, New York City, Boston, and Venice among other places.

• Gran Turismo 5 had a combination of real world and fictional courses, but it also offered certain environments used in the creation of custom race tracks. Sadly, none of the classic off-road locations from GT4 returned in GT5 (I am NOT counting the newer Chamonix). The creation of race tracks with certain environments made for a very interesting rally racing experience in GT5. Race courses could even be raced on in different times of day and/or with weather conditions. This added to the appeal of racing certain locations. A lot of the classic Gran Turismo venues either didn't show up or didn't take advantage of the newer time and variable features. You could still photograph your cars in a variety of settings, but there were significantly less Photo Mode venues in GT5 than in GT4.

• Gran Turismo 6 offered the first-ever Australian venue with the inclusion of Mount Panorama Circuit. Environments return for custom tracks in GT6, but away is the rally aspect of GT6. Later in GT6's development was a fictional course called Circuito de la Sierra, a lovely long course utilizing the Spanish countryside. You can even race around a track in a sports arena with GT Arena. An interesting perk of GT6 was how it had proper star locations from star charts at night. As for real locations, you can actually race on the moon with the Lunar Missions.

(REMEMBER: I have NEVER played Gran Turismo SPORT as of the time of this post (March 6, 2019)
• Gran Turismo Sport offers a great variety of different racing facilities. However, it is disappointing a lot of the classic and original racing locations- such as Grand Valley Speedway and Special Stage Route 5- are missing.

Even different versions of certain locations have evolved and have character different from other variations. Take High Speed Ring, for instance. High-Speed Ring was a very nice circuit in GT1 and GT2. When GT4 came out with this course, High Speed Ring had some newer water sections as well as a little bridge. GT5 made things a bit more beautiful for this course.

GT Legacy: Competition.

Let's look at a GT Legacy in regards to different competitions.

• All of the competitions are pretty much basic circuit racing. You can practice, qualify, and race on just about any course. The Test Course was available to test acceleration and top speed. Spot Races allowed for quick races without needing a license. Races last anywhere from two to five laps. A lot of the races allow you to compete in almost any trim. Some races, however, have certain rules. Some series prohibit the use of Racing Modified cars. You can even race three different Endurances. As long as you can make the time to run the Endurance races, these are great to compete in.

• Gran Turismo 2's race structure had a number of races restricted by horsepower. There were far less championship series in GT2 compared to GT1. You could not simply enter any car you want. You have to make sure you had a car that did not exceed the horsepower requirements for races. Tone down the horsepower as much as you can to compete in certain races. Rally racing is simply a one-lap time trial against a ghost driver. Beat the ghost, and you win! This game also debuted One-Make Series. There are races that require you to have a certain car for which to compete in one race on a random track. Some Race Events require your car have a Racing Modification to compete in another race. You can not use a Racing Modified car in a Normal Car Race. Watch the Demo events to get an idea of what cars you can use for these Race Events.

• Gran Turismo 3 is fairly exclusively circuit racing. You can now save in Championship Series. So maybe you can work to try to win all of the races by being able to Save when you like. GT3 rallying is done in one-on-one, wheel-to-wheel racing. You even can run in a race on wet tarmac for the first ever time. Even the first timed endurances in series history is in this game.

• Gran Turismo 4 has a number of great races to choose from across a number of categories. Different individual halls of racing offer different racing experiences. You can even run one-off races as well as certain photo drives. Controversial to GT4 was that of B-Spec races, which many have said is the game playing itself for you.

• While Gran Turismo 4 was to promise online play, it never had proper online play. Gran Turismo 5 had a level system that allowed you to race certain events and own certain cars. You can race a number of events, even being able to do in-race saves for longer racing events. B-Spec returns, but you now can be like your own team owner to raise B-Spec racers as quality racing talent. For what seems scarce for racing events in GT5, you can do many more styles of racing online. There are a lot of special series and events you can take part in to get into many more styles of racing with many more styles of cars. You are racing machines in Special series ranging from go-karts to the unreal Red Bull prototypes. Besides circuit races, you can compete in Time Trials and Drift Trials. Compete in Seasonals offering a variety of races for a good amount of prizes.

• Gran Turismo 6 is a lot more restrictive in letting Performance Points (PP) limit a lot of the races. So you can't use your Le Mans Prototype to defeat Kei cars or sport compacts. This means that at least the official style races are more competitive. A lot of the different race types and such from GT5 have carried over into GT6. However, GT6's races have seemed more dumbed down than GT5's races.

(REMEMBER: I have NEVER played Gran Turismo SPORT as of the time of this post (March 6, 2019)
• The use of classes for Gran Tuurismo SPORT bunches up the different cars into a nice assortment. How the classes are handled are unique in their own right. These designations allow for interesting races of the original and custom race varieties. You can be rewarded or admonished based on maintaining a certain Safety Rating. Racing foolishly and constantly making driving errors can hurt your Safety Rating. Good driving and practicing proper racing skill will help your Safety Rating. So you are best served to drive professionally and properly to get the best results. GT SPORT has mostly been online-exclusive until providing more offline races.

GT Legacy: Sounds and Music.

I am not making any serious concentration towards things like music. However, the music and sounds of Gran Turismo are as much of the character of Gran Turismo as any other game franchise. Some people consider sounds as the weakest link of the Gran Turismo series. Sounds began to improve ever so much as future iterations of Gran Turismo came about.

With music, there is no denying there is something for everyone. Most people will usually fancy rock music more than any other genre of music for any game, let alone Gran Turismo. A lot of others love some good electronic dance music (myself included). However, Gran Turismo games have offered a lot of classy style music with its jazzy musical offerings. It also excels with wonderful lounge and chill music. While a lot of people may argue racing/driving games shouldn't have jazzy or chill style music, you can at least appreciate their presence in a Gran Turismo game. Most people will immediately hark towards composer Daiki Kasho for a majority of the more memorable Gran Turismo songs. It was Gran Turismo 4 that debuted classical style music. Though mostly, these Classical songs were slightly remixed and modern pieces so they don't seem too much like study music. Gran Turismo 5 was the first Gran Turismo to allow for your own playlist of music to be used in menus and races. So even if you don't like the music provided to you in the game, you can always listen to your own music.

It would be possible to combine some of the most popular songs from Gran Turismo games into a GT Legacy collection. You could even incorporate favorites from "Tourist Trophy." It would be an amazing compilation to have at least some of the most popular songs from Gran Turismo games past into a Legacy collection. So you could be racing the modern Deep Forest Raceway listening to songs from Gran Turismo 1 or Gran Turismo 2. The music could range from get-you-going songs like "Lose Control" by Ash in Gran Turismo 1, all the way to even include the baby-making or night-of-passion song "Farewell" by Satoshi Bandoh.

GT Legacy: Tuning and Features.

Over the course of Gran Turismo's existence, tuning and various features have helped shape the series to what it is today. As the series matured, the level of tuning and the accuracy of featured models became more meticulous. So what tuning options were great for Gran Turismo 1 wasn't going to cut it for realism with Gran Turismo 4. In addition to tuning options, different factors including the environment and certain damage modeling greatly impact how a vehicle performs in a Gran Turismo game. Remember how you could get away with running Super Soft tires in non-endurance races in Gran Turismo 1 and Gran Turismo 2? Well, those tires won't work too well in non-endurance races in GT3 on out. Piling on horsepower will make you go faster, but your vehicle may not be able to perform very well in future GT games. That's why your Mitsubishi GTO/3000GT with a Stage 4 Turbo in GT1 may not be up to snuff against Le Mans Prototypes or even high-end GT racing cars from future GT titles.

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Gran Turismo Legacy... What About the Motorcycles?

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There was a reason I didn't mention "Tourist Trophy" in regards to Gran Turismo's legacy. The simple reason is because Tourist Trophy is its own game outside of the realm of Gran Turismo. I questioned long ago the future of motorcycles in the Gran Turismo realm. If Gran Turismo wanted to encompass their cars as well as their motorcycles into one collection, then this "Legacy" collection will need to include Tourist Trophy, unless Polyphony Digital may somehow want to revive Tourist Trophy and give it new life. That is why I labeled a section as "Vehicles" and not exclusively cars.

If Polyphony Digital wanted to try adding motorcycles, it will need to include various motorcycle-specific courses. For example, including Suzuka Circuit into this GT Legacy collection would mean including the motorcycle course for which the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race takes place on. Cars could even race a motorcycle configuration if one wants to race on a motorcycle course. Tourist Trophy even had Valencia (Ricardo Tormo Circuit). It has never been featured in a Gran Turismo.

What if "Gran Turismo Legacy" Had Motorcycles?

A few things would need to change to update the formula. For one thing, you could buy motorcycles and tuning parts rather than try to win them in Challenges. You could also purchase rider gear rather than unlock them. While the roster of motorcycles in Tourist Trophy is impressive, it SERIOUSLY would need an update to feature a lot of today's motorcycles. There are a lot of fine motorcycles out now compared to Tourist Trophy's 2006 release. For example, we have newer machines such as the updated Honda Goldwing and the Ducati 1299 Panigale R. There could even be vintage Vespa scooters that could be featured. They may even try to incorporate supercross, motocross, and supermoto with various dirt bikes. If PD wanted to, they could even include tricycles and even UTVs. Heck- even Forza Motorsport 7 has the Polaris RZR Spec!

Having these additions would only improve Gran Turismo's impressive lineup of vehicles.

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Gran Turismo Legacy: Final Thoughts

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This blog post was mostly meant to be a post to introduce the concept of a Gran Turismo Legacy. To build a proper post and look at this topic, a number of different topics and talking points have to be mentioned. Anyone who has followed this blog knows I try to follow everything as detailed as possible. So to that end, I did all I could to try to post as many different opinions and talking points as possible. If you would like to contribute to a look at what a Gran Turismo Legacy game would be like, then feel free to offer your thoughts here.

I will be working with this topic as much as I can with topics under the "GT Legacy" label. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this blog post. I am grateful for all of the support I get from the greater public-at-large. If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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My Retrospecive on 30 Years of Ridge Racer

In October 1993; NAMCO (now Bandai-NAMCO) created Ridge Racer. It has been a franchise characterized by fantastic drifts, sometimes at high speeds. It has withstood the test of time and has delivered many an amazing experience. The year 2023 marks 30 years of the Ridge Racer series. While this blog post was not intended to be a cumulative look at the Ridge Racer franchise, I do want to pay some respect to this franchise and what it has brought to racing/driving games.

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Ridge Racer at a Glance

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Thirty years of Ridge Racer, and it all began with this:


^ from: (Glitchwave) - As of 2023, 30 years of awesome from the Ridge Racer series.

The Ridge Racer series has always been about fantastic drifts. Earlier games in the series have had soundtracks that were mostly quirky. The cars were mostly fictional. The majority of games in the Ridge Racer series were on the Sony PlayStation consoles. However, games in the series did find their way onto the Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, XBOX 360, and mobile devices. This game also features a handful of past NAMCO titles on the cars, so the Ridge Racer series even stands as a commemoration of past NAMCO titles such as Pac-Man, Mappy, and more.

Why Should You Care?

The Ridge Racer series has its own charm as an arcade racer. You are not going to be playing these games for accurate driving dynamics or amazing engine sounds. No. You want to want to slide around corners like a maniac. That's what these games provide. Whereas some later arcade games would be gritty, offer up illegal street racing action, or allow you to destroy the world around you to try to win; Ridge Racer is all about enjoying speed and just overall good times. Ridge Racer games are simply about enjoying high-speed racing with not much frills or fluff.

Besides the provided action, Ridge Racer was one of the first games to take advantage of fully-textured polygons. The action ran smoothly, but not as smooth as Daytona USA or even Virtua Racing.

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My Retrospective on 30 Years of Ridge Racer

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I'd like to offer my own thoughts on various Ridge Racer titles, even including those I don't consider as true Ridge Racer games. Again- this post is NOT meant to be a proper tribute to the Ridge Racer series. This is mostly a commentary piece. (NOTE: I will only provide comments on Ridge Racer games I've played or seen before. I will NOT feature every Ridge Racer title, which means I will not be covering the PSP and PSVITA Ridge Racer games.)

Ridge Racer.

From the flashy action to the eccentric announcer, "Ridge Racer" holds a place in many peoples' hearts. Its quirkiness just made it so fun to play again and again. The Ridge Racer action was fun whether at arcades or at home. If you were fortunate enough, you may even see a theater arcade game version of Ridge Racer held in a Mazda Miata. The first Ridge Racer offered a handful of different features. For one, you could notice day become night and night become day. Besides trying to win all of the races, the ultimate form of gratification was to defeat the black No. 13 car in the Time Trials. If a driver is able to acquire the feared 13th Racing car, the player will have the most powerful and fastest car in the game.

The PS1 version of Ridge Racer was unique in that you could play a quick game of Galaga as the game loads. (Something happens) if you manage to clear that quick game of Galaga in the PS1 version of Ridge Racer.

Ridge Racer 2 (Arcade).

Ridge Racer 2 is an arcade game that doesn't seem too much different from its previous title. You still had the same tracks to race on, just with some different songs and graphics.

Ridge Racer Revolution.

I have no experience with Ridge Racer Revolution. What I do know, though, is that you can now battle against this white car that is super powerful. You also race in a new locale that mixes downtown with some beachfront and some country roads. You can enjoy a more tropical setting here. This new locale will challenge you for sure.

Rave Racer (Arcade).

"Rave Racer" was a rather gritty title. Enhanced graphics and some faster cars made up this title. You could also race in a number of different environments ranging from a more industrialized city to some rural areas. The game also featured some more stylish cars to choose from with enhanced graphics details. You can also enjoy some cool music while getting your racing on. It also had an edgy rock girl featured with a skull necklace, a black top, jean short shorts, black tights, and combat boots.

Rage Racer.

Ridge Racer was about to get a bit more serious with the advent of "Rage Racer." The game series that was so colorful and quirky now just got serious. This 1996 racing game exclusive to PlayStation 1 delivered some wicked racing on a very challenging locale. You could race on four different courses. It also was the first game where you could spend credits to buy cars and enhance their performance. You start off in a more-than-capable Gnade Esperanza but work your way up to the Grade 4 (Manual only) cars and even the unique Assoluto Ghepardo.

"Rage Racer" even had something never before seen in a Ridge Racer game- actually licensed sponsors. The game featured sponsorship from Yokohama and ADVAN. You could also paint up your cars and adjust their driving characteristics. Each of the game's four tracks take place in a locale that combines a lot of urban setting along with some challenging country roads. You will see tall hills, cascading waterfalls, Greek island style buildings, and a lot more. It was also the first Ridge Racer title to feature an oval among the racing venues. While most road racing fans may not be attracted to ovals, this at least provides an interesting challenge.

If there was one thing that this game surely brought, it was the game's mascot- Reiko Nagase. This was an early form of Reiko Nagase as she would forever be tied into Ridge Racer lore in future titles.

This is actually one of my favorite racing games on PS1. I was glad to play and enjoy it for the time I played it. I recommend it to any PS1 gamer or PS1 game collector.

Ridge Racer Type 4.

"Ridge Racer Type 4" could best be described as the ultimate swan song for Ridge Racer on the PS1. RRT4 (or R4) was released in 1998 with the best graphics of any Ridge Racer title on PS1. R4 was all about Real Racing Roots '99- an eight-race season taking place in Japan and the United States in 1999.

The game featured 80 cars for you to unlock across four different teams. If you manage to get them all, you can unlock one more car. So in total, you could unlock 321 cars in R4. Unlocking all of those cars, however, will require you to race the RRR championship in different ways... including finishing in certain positions for certain races. Dare I say it- this game's awesomeness even rivals Gran Turismo 1 and Gran Turismo 2!

Whereas past Ridge Racer games had mostly quirky dance music, Ridge Racer Type 4 had a great array of dance songs. A lot of them had jazzy or lounge style flow to them. A few songs even had a rocking edge to them. This game was beginning to mature a bit more with this title, at least, on this front. The game has amazing music. This game even got me to appreciate the singing of Kimara Lovelace. However, there were two songs I didn't like in the game- and "The Objective."

I spent lots of time playing and enjoying this game. Each time I play it, I just get so enamored and immersed in the fabulous racing experience this game provides. It doesn't get old or frustrating in the least sense. Even for fun, I pretend Real Racing Roots is still a thing and pretend certain races of the year are coming up. So for example, when it's New Year's Eve, I pretend it is, "Real Racing Roots (the current year) in... Shooting Hoops!" The thing I loved most about this game is that it has the best drifting dynamics of any Ridge Racer game. Even the Grip cars from Terrazi and Age Solo were excellent driving machines.

RRT4 had an interesting bonus to it, which sets things up for the next section...

Ridge Racer Turbo.

Exclusive to PS1 and included with Ridge Racer Type 4 is "Ridge Racer Turbo." Think of this more like "Gran Turismo Hi-Fi" for Ridge Racer. "Ridge Racer Turbo" is basically an enhanced version of Ridge Racer 1 but runs at 60 frames per second. As cool as this sounds, a lot of sacrifices were made to make this game run on PS1 hardware. For one, there are no day-to-night cycles or a full field of cars. This is no true Ridge Racer; it is more a tech demo.

Ridge Racer 64 and Ridge Racer DS.

I am putting together RR64 and RRDS because they are basically the same game on different hardware. Ridge Racer 64 was the first non-Sony, non-arcade Ridge Racer title. RR64 had a look and feel of the classic Ridge Racer. You could race on tracks from the original Ridge Racer and from Ridge Racer Revolution. However, you could also race a brand new locale that takes place in a desert setting. There is also a new Ridge Racer Extreme course you could unlock that takes place at night on a completely new track.

Since Ridge Racer 64 was on a Nintendo 64, one of the perks of playing it was local multiplayer for up to four players. You also didn't have to worry about long loading times since everything is accessible on a cartridge. The graphics were not as impressive on the Nintendo 64 as on the PlayStation 1, but the action was still pretty intense.

You could compete in Duels to win new cars. All you have to do is defeat certain cars in a one-on-one race to add that car to your garage. Can you acquire them all?

I mostly rented Ridge Racer 64. For the times I played it, it was a great game to play. I always considered the RT Ryukyu to be my "Old Reliable" in racing. I enjoyed listening to "Manual Overdrive" and "Speed Nation" in this game. This game had a lot of influence from Digipen, a school where aspiring game developers honed their skills. There is even a Digipen car you can unlock in this game.

The later "Ridge Racer DS" had most of the features and cars of Ridge Racer 64 but optimized for the Nintendo DS hardware. Some different cars are in the game apart from the ones offered in RR64. The game also has a different lady featured besides Reiko Nagase; it instead featured the antagonist of a future Ridge Racer game (explained later in this blog post).

Ridge Racer V.

A PlayStation 2 launch title, Ridge Racer V blew the minds of many a Ridge Racer fan with beautiful graphics and intense racing. Ridge City is your race track, and you have many different locales for which to compete in the city's events. Everything you love about classic Ridge Racer is enhanced completely. It even features an incredible soundtrack with a lot of hard-hitting beats and instrumentals. You have much fewer cars to choose from, but this game delivers the goods. While Reiko Nagase may not be in this game, Ai Fukami is in. What some people may not know is that there was an arcade version of this game made by Konami.

Ridge Racer V can be played on three different difficulties. You can choose to race in Easy, Normal, or Hard modes. There is even a bonus championship if you clear all the Hard races. You had to finish in a certain position to advance through the races. Try to win them all if you can. Perhaps to rival Gran Turismo, there is a race you can unlock called the 99 Trial- a 99-lap race around Sunny Beach. Make time for that one!

This game had you unlock new cars but also new engines. You had Standard engines, Extra engines, and Oval engines. You had some Duel cars to unlock. You take on Duels the same way in Ridge Racer 64 or even RRT4. If you got all of the Duel cars, there is a special race you can compete in only consisting of Duel cars.

I think Ridge Racer V is one of the loveliest games on PlayStation 2. Even with jagged textures, it still is one of the most beautiful games on PS2. Yes- this game I put among the most beautiful PS2 games even with the likes of Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, Gran Turismo 4, Final Fantasy X, and a bunch of other PS2 titles. And this game was a LAUNCH TITLE!

I enjoyed a lot of the music in this game. The beat style of these songs was great to listen to along with the instruments. The soundtrack was becoming a bit more intense and not as chill as RRT4's music. I found the most fun racing the Kamata Fortune. I also enjoyed the Rivelta Mercurio. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game and still do.

R: Racing Evolution.

Once at an E3 convention, I thought "R: Racing Evolution" was Enthusia Professional Racing or something. This game may not be a true Ridge Racer game, but it was an interesting diversion. "R: Racing Evolution" is a simulation-oriented racing game.

Unlike other Ridge Racer titles, this one has a storyline to it. You play as an ambulance driver-turned professional racing driver named Rena Hayami. Rena's primary rival is Gina Cavalli. You race real cars and even race on some licensed courses like Twin Ring Motegi. A big part of this game's racing appeal was in pressuring other drivers. The more you try to slipstream or trail racers ahead of you, you rattle their minds into having them make mistakes. Pressure them enough, and you can pull a sick overtake on them.

I wish I played more of this game. If you ask me, this game seems very underrated. It even has a very nice soundtrack. My favorite song in this game is "Liquid Soul." Even if this game doesn't have the appeal of a classic Ridge Racer game, it has a very good racing focus that makes it intriguing.

Ridge Racer 6.

Exclusive to XBOX 360, Ridge Racer 6 gave Ridge Racer fans on XBOX 360 a dosage of awesome. Much more beautiful graphics and more intense game play were what this title provided. I played a little of it on my cousin's XBOX 360 for a bit. You could enjoy classic and newer songs in this package. In addition to the lovely graphics, RR6 provided a more futuristic touch with the tracks and the cars. It still maintained the classic Ridge Racer look and feel. That is... wait- is that a Nitrous system? YES! You could race with some nitrous by charging them up with drifts. This made for some intense drifting while also adding an element of strategy for races. You could enjoy XBOX Live racing with Ridge Racer 6 if you fancy some multiplayer racing action in the Ridge Racer realm.

Ridge Racer 7.

Among the PlayStation 3 launch titles was Ridge Racer 7. RR7 picked up where RR6 left off. This Ridge Racer allowed you to purchase vehicles and customize their appearance. A more serious style soundtrack with many more artists made up the music for this game. This game also featured an even more futuristic appeal to it.

You will be speedfreaking all around Ridge State and compete in the UFRA. Upon completion of the main game mode, you can try some more intense races that are very challenging to win. The many tracks to this game will test your racing abilities. You can compete in a handful of different race events to earn money and unlock more content. It will keep you busy for sure!

The amount of depth this game has is incredible. It is the deepest Ridge Racer you will ever play. I enjoyed the experience. It felt like a true Ridge Racer game while not being overly foreign or exotic- even including the nitrous system. I'd enjoy the game more if I had more luck in the more extreme races. However, I been so trash at those races that I have not given much thought to trying most of the other races.

Ridge Racer 3D.

Released in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS, this is perhaps the last true Ridge Racer game. Beautiful graphics, cool cars, and intense racing make up this beautiful racing game. I have no experience with RR3D, except that I wanted to include this as being the last true Ridge Racer title.

Ridge Racer Unbounded.

Easily the most gritty, extreme Ridge Racer game ever conceived is "Ridge Racer Unbounded." Never have I been intrigued to play it. You could think of "Ridge Racer Unbounded" as NAMCO's and Ridge Racer's answer to Burnout or Split/Second. This is NOT a traditional Ridge Racer game. It was not even developed by the classic Ridge Racer team. In addition, this was the first(?) Ridge Racer you can play on PC. Since I am not into the Burnout scene much, I can't say I would play this. If you want the appeal of destroying the environment and even destroying your car, "Ridge Racer Unbounded" will serve you well.

I guess if you wanted a gritty racing experience in the realm of Ridge Racer, this is the game you should play. Since I have no experience with this game (and since I usually think of this game when I hear of "Need for Speed: Unbounded") I can't offer any comments on this title.

Ridge Racer Slipstream.

"Ridge Racer Draw and Drift" is a Ridge Racer title for mobile devices. The way you compete in this game is to draw a drift line and then execute drifts in said sections. I never played this game. I have, though, seen some videos about it. It has some annoying voice acting that was a turn off for it. Then again, this is not a proper Ridge Racer title.



Whew! That was a lot of retrospective! So with 30 years of Ridge Racer, will we ever see a true Ridge Racer title again? How should Bandai-NAMCO commemorate 30 years of Ridge Racer?

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How Should Ridge Racer's 30th Anniversary be Commemorated?

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Fans of the Ridge Racer series would hate to see one of the most successful racing/driving game franchises not be celebrated in any such way. So what I want to do here is talk about what could be done to maybe honor or recognize 30 years of this franchise. These are not what Bandai-NAMCO SHOULD do, but more like what I think could happen.

OPTION 1: Offer Special Merchandise or Memorabilia.

This may be what Bandai-NAMCO could do. This could range from special mixes of past Ridge Racer songs, maybe launch a line of collectible model cars of the most famous vehicles in Ridge Racer history, or even have some clothing. This would seem quite likely.

OPTION 2: Offer Ridge Racer-Related Downloadable Content.

Maybe for the most popular Bandai-NAMCO games, you could have stuff like giving your avatar Ridge Racer-themed material. Maybe you could have a special version of Pac-Man where instead of Pac-Man, you control the Pac Racing Team against with the ghosts being other teams. This would seem likely while also being kind of a cheesy way to remember 30 years of Ridge Racer.



Do these sound boring so far? Well, check these next ideas out:

OPTION 3: Create a "Legacy" Collection of Ridge Racer Games.

Imagine being able to race some of the most famous (and infamous) vehicles and tracks in Ridge Racer history. I think the collection would come with some fancy and updated graphics, but imagine if you could race the Crinale around the very first Ridge Racer track. Maybe imagine if you could race RR1's RT Ryukyu around Bayside Line from RRV. Maybe you want to race a fully upgraded Danver Hijack from RR7 around Rage Racer's tracks. Imagine if Real Racing Roots took on the tracks and atmosphere of Ridge Racer 7. One of the great things about the Ridge Racer series is that all or most of the vehicles and tracks are fictional, so you won't need to worry much about licensing issues. This would be a challenge to try to rework a lot of past Ridge Racer games to make a modern legacy collection where you could race almost any Ridge Race vehicle around almost any Ridge Racer track- even including arcade and portable Ridge Racer titles! This seems like a great idea, but I have great doubts it will ever happen. If this did materialize, I'd say it starts small but then gets bigger and better with updates and downloadable content (DLC)

OPTION 4: Create a Ridge Racer-Inspired Game.

Rather than make a totally new Ridge Racer game, come up with a successor or a game that pays homage to Ridge Racers past. This would seem likely by an independent developer rather than the Ridge Racer team. This COULD happen, but I think more people would want to see a true Ridge Racer game with all the furnishings that only a true Ridge Racer game can provide.

And finally...

OPTION 5: Make a Brand-New Ridge Racer Game.

Let's give this the hypothetical title of "Ridge Racer 8." Fans been waiting since Ridge Racer 7 or Ridge Racer 3D for a true Ridge Racer title. Let's say the Ridge Racer team (or some other developer) wanted to make an authentic racing experience worthy of being called a Ridge Racer. Either this new Ridge Racer would follow the futuristic style of RR7, or it maybe goes with cues from the PlayStation 1 Ridge Racer games. Maybe we get a Real Racing Roots for the 21 Century and with many more cars and with many more teams. Or maybe... Ridge Racer goes back to its roots from 1993 and not be so overly fancy. You know- like how MegaMan/RockMan 9 and MegaMan/Rockman 10 went back to a classic 8-bit style as opposed to the beautiful work of art that was MegaMan/RockMan 8. Maybe we see challenges in a "Ridge Racer 8" similar to "R: Racing Evolution" like rally, drag racing, or maybe even drifting. We could see many of the past cars and manufacturers return alongside some new ones. And what about the likes of Reiko Nagase? The feared RT Solvalou? Could the 13th Racing car return? Where will all the racing happen? What music will fuel the "Ridge Racer 8" experience?

This would be the ultimate dream for any Ridge Racer fan to see a true successor to Ridge Racer 7 and continue the franchise. However, these ideas are too good for us, and I'm sure Bandai-NAMCO doesn't care too much to even entertain the thought of "Ridge Racer 8." This is VERY unlikely to happen. The best chance of this happening is if some other dedicated developer makes a Ridge Racer title as authentic and as complete as any true Ridge Racer game.

I hate to wish this to my fellow Ridge Racer fans, but dream on if OPTION 5" is what you are hoping for.

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Special Offer

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If you want to search for Ridge Racer series games online, please be search around on these sites for "Ridge Racer" listed below. Your involvement is voluntary, but it would be appreciated:

• Gamespot
• Amazon
• eBay


Happy shopping! :)





Retrospective, speculation, and memories... thank you for checking out my blog post regarding celebrating 30 years of Ridge Racer. Here's a question if you care to discuss:

How do you think Bandai-NAMCO should celebrate 30 years of Ridge Racer?

If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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All-Star Racing 2

A year after "All-Star Racing" was released, along comes "All-Star Racing 2." The same tandem of Kung Fu Games and Mud Duck Productions give you another round of racing goodness only they can provide. HOW good, though? You're going to have to find out by reading this blog post. So let's go!

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All-Star Racing 2

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"All-Star Racing 1" showcased four different disciplines of racing. "All-Star Racing 2" features different styles of vehicles in a variety of different racing challenges. It was released in 2003 for PlayStation 1 by Kung Fu Games (developer) and Mud Duck Productions (publisher). This game was released towards the sunset of the PlayStation 1.

Get ready for four different styles of racing featuring five tracks in each of those styles.

The Modes.

You can choose between Start and Options. Options will allow you to adjust difficulty and lap distance. You can input your name after choosing a Game Mode.

• Bikes - prove your racing mettle on two wheels.
• Karts - race with agile go-karts on competitive kart tracks.
• GP - race the high-speed, highly-fragile formula-type racing cars.
• Trucks - go road racing in over five-ton semi-trucks with over 1000 horsepower!

Once you select a mode, you input your name. You then go to the next menu.

The Tracks and Vehicles.

Like how each mode in "All-Star Racing" has its own set of tracks, the same applies to "All-Star Racing 2." However, unlike the previous game, each mode have five tracks to them. After picking a track, you then select which vehicle you want to use. You go racing afterwards.

The Racing.

You will be competing in however many laps you set the lap counter to (3 to 15 laps). There will be six vehicles to a track, yours included. Try to win using whatever vehicle you are using. Each of the vehicles have different handling characteristics. For you to win, learn the ways of your machine and try to win on the tracks for that discipline of racing. Go for the win!


Let me provide some final thoughts for you all on "All-Star Racing 2." Please read the next section.

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"All-Star Racing 2" - Final Thoughts

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"All-Star Racing 2" improves upon "All-Star Racing 1," but it is still not an overall good game. At least the different vehicles feel different from one another. Each discipline feels like a different game. Despite this, more can be done to make "All-Star Racing 2" a better game. It is serviceable at best.

While this game still feels like it could be at least decent, at least not every vehicle feels the same but in a different aesthetic. The more dedicated racing gamer will not be impressed in the sense of no qualifying, race weekends, tuning, or championships. This is simply a racing game to enjoy racing but with no real incentive or replay value. Once you complete everything, that's it. The Memory Card is actually used in this "All-Star Racing 2" unlike "All-Star Racing 1."

The vehicles all feel different. The Bikes are tough to control, and it really feels like you are trying to move your weight properly to handle better. These races can be tough. The karts are quick, and you'll need to be attentive and active to try to win with these karts and on kart tracks. The GP machines is basically Formula 1. They are the purest racing and most capable racing machines in this game. The Trucks, while unrealistic to real semi-truck racing, offer a decent challenge trying to drive these monsters on the track. They will keep you busy for sure. No matter which vehicles you race with, they are all met with the same shaky driving/riding model and fidgety AI.

You can still do better than "All-Star Racing 2," but you can't really do too much worse. At least this is better and more of a game than "All-Star Racing 1." "All-Star Racing 2," though, still falls short overall as a quality racing game.

Video Preview.

Get your video insight of "All-Star Racing 2" here:


All-Star Racing 2 ... (PS1) Gameplay


Hopefully this blog post has given you some insight on this game.





That's all for this one. If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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All-Star Racing

All-Star Racing challenges you to prove your racing mettle across four different disciplines of circuit racing. This game came towards the sunset of the PlayStation 1. If most people moved onto the PS2, then did people care for this game? All-Star Racing gets the attention of me and this blog for this blog post. So come along with me and get my thoughts on "All-Star Racing."

BEFORE I BEGIN...

HAPPY NEW YEAR (2023)!!!

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All-Star Racing

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Most people moved on from the PlayStation 1 to the PlayStation 2 when "All-Star Racing" was released in 2002. "All-Star Racing" was developed by Kung Fu Games and published by Mud Duck Productions. The game challenges you to take on four styles of circuit racing. Pick a discipline, pick a car, pick a track, and go race. It is dirt simple.

The Modes.

There are four disciplines to choose from when you start the game. Take a look:

• Supercar Challenge - race with some sports cars.
• Classic Cars - race with some classic automobiles.
• Stockcar Frenzy- take on the intense realm of stock car racing.
• GT Racer - race in full anger with high-powered GT race cars.

Once you select one of the game modes, you will be greeted to a screen that lets you choose between starting the game, game options, or going back to the main menu. They all operate the same, only with different fonts and graphics. So don't expect any purely unique experiences among the modes.

The Cars.

You have a choice of three cars to use through your racing adventure. Pick one and go racing.

The Tracks.

Each of the four disciplines of racing feature three tracks each unique to each style of racing. With no reverse or mirror options, you have a total of 12 tracks in this game. You can go into the Main Menu to adjust difficulty and lap count (from 3 to 15). It is a fairly straightforward process.

The Racing.

Six cars can be on the track at a time, including yours. Your job is to [obviously] win the race. Try to outlast your opposition as best as you can.


Now that you have an idea about this game, allow me to review it for you.

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All-Star Racing: Final Thoughts

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If you were reading this blog post being unimpressed with how I am discussing "All-Star Racing," there's a reason for that. That is because this game is absolute trash. No replay value, no incentive, completely boring experience, and lackluster game play. This "all-star" effort is more like an all-star effort on making a PlayStation 1 game as a class project rather than a complete game people would enjoy for years to come.

Qualities that makes most racing games fun is tough to find in this game. This is an arcade-style racing game that tries to surpass "Gran Turismo" and "Gran Turismo 2"... and fails miserably. If this is an all-star collection, what is this an all-star collection of- the same game with four different aesthetics? That's all this game is. Don't even think about trying to set up your car or go for the best lap times because this game doesn't even utilize your Memory Card. You don't even get to choose between Automatic or Manual/Standard- all cars are automatic transmission. The tracks themselves will take up about 50-70 seconds of your time for each lap. There are not even pit stops or damage to this game. As for the cars themselves, it's a matter of personal preference which is better. Even if you beat the Lap Record for each track, you don't get recognition or anything exciting for it.

The racing is not much better either. The game has a shoddy driving model and a twitchy collision system. On Easy difficulty, do not be surprised if you win the race by at least five seconds if you are a semi-decent racing gamer. You don't even get any fancy graphics or honors for winning a race.

The only things "All-Star Racing" gets right is that it works and is playable. Other than that, you don't need this game unless you're trying to add this to some collection. There are much better racing/driving games you can play on PlayStation 1 than this one. "All-Star Racing" is all-fail racing. You COULD use this game to simply learn how to make a simple racing game... then try to make something much better.

Video Preview.

If you would like a video look at "All-Star Racing" to see if your thoughts differ from mine, take a look at the following video:


^ All-Star Racing ... (PS1) Gameplay


I hope I swayed your interest on this game in case you were curious.





I hope you enjoyed my post. If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

Visit my JohnMarineDesigns Weebly site, subscribe to My Blog(s), and/or Follow on Bloglovin! Let's connect:
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Half-Life Rally

Half-Life is one of the greatest games ever. The Half-Life series itself is one of the best gaming franchises ever. Half-Life couldn't possibly make for a racing game, right? Well, modders thought otherwise. Meet Half-Life Rally. Half-Life Rally utilizes the GoldSource (or GoldSrc) engine and built a racing game mod around it. This blog post takes a look at this mod for Half-Life.

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Half-Life Rally

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Although Half-Life is an excellent first-person shooter and first-person shooter series, there isn't much to making a racing mod for it. However, the GoldSrc Engine for Half-Life is told to be entirely versatile. Versatile enough... to be the base of a racing/driving game mod. Now before you go thinking this game mod will replace any of your favorite racing games of its time, think again.

Half-Life Rally lets you take on a series of tracks consisting of open circuits and closed circuits. All of the cars you can choose from are real-world rally cars. Many of them, though, may be fictional to avoid copyright issues. You can race any number of the included venues offline or online. Funny enough, this game even has some maps where a bomb is attached to your car, and you have only a certain amount of time to drive around with that bomb. Other than that, get ready for a cracking good time racing!

If you intend to download the Half-Life Rally mod, you must use the original "Half-Life," NOT the "Half-Life: Source" version.

Half-Life Rally: Experience.

To begin "Half-Life Rally," you must set up a server, either online or offline. You then select what map you want to use. One thing you may want to note is the prefix of each map name. Seeing "ab" means a point-to-point. "RC" is a closed-circuit rally course. "HC" notes a location with your car having a bomb attached to it. You then go ahead and set lap distance, time between races, and other options. Once you have everything set, it's time to race!

When you begin a race, you then select what car you want to use. Each car is rated for Acceleration, Handling, and Top Speed. Acceleration concerns how quickly the car gets up to speed. Handling affects how well the car can take on turns. Top Speed relates to the maximum speed the car is capable of. You start off with $600 to customize cars. That is not much, but once you complete a race, you will earn credits to use to buy performance parts. You can buy tires, exhausts, intercoolers, and turbo systems to improve the performance of your car.

When actually racing, you are trying to clear checkpoints. Your co-driver will tell you when you clear a Checkpoint. Keep track of the checkpoints you clear. If you miss a checkpoint, you will need to go back and clear it. The best way to ensure you clear a checkpoint is to drive through the center of the checkpoint gates or markers. If you are doing races with time extensions, you need to clear checkpoints in time. You can change car views at any time during the event. You may even add bots to race against when offline.

Half-Life Rally: Final Thoughts.

Half-Life Rally is a great mod utilizing the GoldSrc Engine. The graphics look great, and the driving model is actually quite good. It is sometimes a bit of a bug to think you cleared a checkpoint but really didn't. It happens in Half-Life Rally. At times, the game crashes as I raced; however, those crashes were not frequent and consistent. Some people talk about the game crashing upon loading. I didn't have such loading problems. It is a solid mod no matter how you look at it. This game will not replace "Colin McRae Rally," but it is a very good rally experience using the engine from the award-winning "Half-Life."

For More Information...

Learn more about "Half-Life Rally" by visiting www.hlrally.net. If you bought Half-Life on Steam, you need to use the original Half-Life to play this mod, NOT the "Half Life: Source" version.

Video Preview.

Here is a sampling of what "Half-Life Rally" has to offer:


^ Half-Life Rally (2004) - Every PC Rally Game


I tried to find some real trailer for "Half-Life Rally," but this was as best as I could find and share.

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Proton Rally (Bonus Section!)

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Developed with the GoldSrc engine and developed in the same vein as "Half-Life Rally" was an unreleased game called "Proton Rally." This game utilized models from Proton, a Malaysian automobile company [that even once made a motorcycle competing in MotoGP]. This game is nowhere to be found online for what I know. However, I will provide you this video as kind of inspiration for modding ability with Half-Life Rally:


* Proton Rally - Half-Life 1 Rally Mod

Again- no further information on this game/mod is known. To read an article about "Proton Rally," visit the following: Proton Rally game based on Half Life engine.





That is all for this blog post! I hope to see you again when I make another post, whenever that will be. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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