5 Racing Games We Want Remastered

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Racing games of years past always bring a smile back to those who experienced them. So that got us thinking, which driving games do we really want to see remastered?

Whether touring car racing or stuntman driving, playing classic racing games is sure to re-ignite a wealth of happy memories. Racers all around the world were brought up on a range of iconic driving games.

Many titles across various genres have gotten remastered for more up-to-date hardware. Therefore we began wondering, which iconic racing games should get the remastered treatment?


TOCA 2 Touring Cars Remastered​

Supertouring cars, big names and Tiff Needell on commentary. What more could you ask from a British Touring Car game from the late nineties? Whilst the audience for a British Touring Car Game would be assumed to be small, TOCA 2 Touring Cars sold brilliantly across the world.

TOCA 2 also included support championships with Fiestas and Formula Ford on offer. The Fiestas were perfect for learning the physics of the game, whereas the Formula Ford's required a lot more precision to master.


TOCA 2 had a fully licensed career mode with all the tracks, drivers and cars from the 1998 British Touring Car Championship season. Tiff Needell lent his voice to the pre and post-race menu screens. Alongside the commentary, your pit chief would be in your ear telling you when to pit in the feature races, a revolutionary concept for 1998.

Motorsport Games currently holds the British Touring Car Championship licence. A remaster is almost impossible. But, there is always hope for the future that the 90s supertourers will once again return to our screens in the form of TOCA 2 Touring Cars: Remastered.

Burnout 3: Takedown Remastered​

There is an argument that the entire Burnout series deserves a remaster. Burnout 3: Takedown is the jewel in the Burnout crown and a remaster would certainly revitalise a series that holds a special place in a lot of sim racers hearts.


Players had to speed, drift, crash and force their way through traffic and hazards whilst racing a grid of other highly tuned street cars. The well-loved split-screen aspect of the Burnout series would be a welcomed return to a remastered version of this iconic racing game.

Released on PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. Burnout 3: Takedown's remaster would emphatically re-ignite the passionate fanbase. Additions such as the iconic 'CRASH' modes would be a welcomed return to the franchise.

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With Burnout Paradise's remaster missing the mark with fans, would you want a Burnout 3 remaster? Could it just be a cash cow and seen as recycling content? Let us know in the comments below.

Driven To Destruction/Eve Of Destruction​

A blissfully simple, and severely underrated title that defined the future of destruction racing games. Consequently, Driven to Destruction was a smash hit on the PS2 as well as the PC. A realistic view into the USA derby racing scene was a fresh view of the genre. Driven to Destruction was a ground-breaking title that paved the way for modern titles like Wreckfest.


A comprehensive and individualistic campaign mode defined this title as iconic. Buying scrap cars and repairing them gave the most realistic derby experience fans had seen back in 2004. The ability to spray paint and customise your cars created endless opportunities to decorate your derby car collection.

Modes like trailer racing and figure eight racing made Driven to Destruction a stand-out title that, if remastered, would fly off the shelves with the popularity of modern destruction games like Wreckfest.


Stuntman/Stuntman Ignition Remastered

Stuntman and Stuntman Ignition created a new outlook on racing games. Their clever point-to-point mission-style campaign was revolutionary. The incredibly unrestrictive map editor mode and engaging campaign have created a vibrant and active community, even in 2023.

The Stuntman series was designed around the base of a movie stuntman perfecting driving stunts like handbrake turns and jumping through various moving objects like a train carriage and a burning building. The AI in the chase sequences are basic, but with a remaster; there's so much potential for a truly great title.


FlatOut 2 Remastered​

Bugbear Entertainment's second instalment to the FlatOut series is the most recognisable. AI-controlled characters with their individual personality traits revolutionised the destruction genre on PlayStation 2, PC Xbox and PSP.

Flatout 2 defines what an arcade racer should be. A fun, fast-paced and rewarding game with plenty of progression and challenge as you progress through the rankings in the career mode. The upgrade system is basic but necessary and the gameplay is dynamic and provides hours of fun past just the career mode, even in 2023.


FlatOut 2 had, at the time, ground-breaking online multiplayer capabilities at release. Sadly, the servers have been shut for over a decade. Splitscreen multiplayer was a big selling point of FlatOut 2. The ability to play with up to four other people played beautifully into the 'Living room' style of games that ruled the market in 2006.

The ability to unlock hidden cars through cheat codes, such as the Batmobile-style car and a school bus, is a firm pillar of mid-2000s arcade game magic. Unfortunately, FlatOut 3 and 4 were disappointments at release, with FlatOut 3 being among one of the worst-reviewed games on Steam.

FlatOut 2 was the runner-up in E3's best PS2 racing game of the year in 2006. A title many believed it should have emphatically won. FlatOut 2 will forever be one of the greatest racing titles the PS2 ever had, but a remaster with all the original characters would be immensely popular.

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Which racing games would you want to see remastered? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
About author
Connor Minniss
Website Content Editor & Motorsport Photographer aiming to bring you the best of the best within the world of sim racing.

Comments

Toca 2 is yes of course, there is also many others to consider that should deserve another go with modern technology. But i really would like to see..

lataus.jpeg


So many hours.. :inlove:
 
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The only one of those I've actually played is Toca. Would have no interest in the rest, I just can't maintain interest in arcade racers. I'd rather play some other type of game to relax.

I don't see the point in remaking old games either. The more they stick to the original content the more obvious it is that it's just a new coat on an old dog. If they go to far with the remaster people will complain that it's not enough like the original. It seems like a lose lose to me.

Just make new games and sims, be a bit creative rather than hoping nostalgia will cover up the lack of creativity.
 
Premium
I mentioned GTR2, but it has already been remastered.
I mean, URD mods within assetto corsa +csp+sol.
It is already possible to almost redo 2003 and 2004 fia gt championship (except real 24h races)
 
Who are "we"? A sect?

I just love classic games as they are.
From a time when you used your brain cells to get the further immersion.

Oh wait.....an exception: When is GTR3 due?
I mean, without all the UE and licensing horrors, that is.

Besides, I'd reeally love to see a simple 640x480 pixel DOS version of some of the UE sims, users not getting distracted, focusing on improved core sim part, and all licensing included and not even mentioned as a sales parameter.
 
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Flatout 2 had a remaster, Ultimate Carnage. I'd rather have Flatout 1 remaster/remake.
 
Regarding TOCA 2, I have never understood how any developer has not opted to bring back the supertouring of the nineties.

Due to issues with licenses, they could not have the official liveries and drivers, but they could have the cars with random paint schemes.

The only game I remember that has some is Grid Legends, but it mixes Supertourers with Group A.
 
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed / Porsche 2000
A great roster of cars, continuity across a single great brand, career mode in order through historical eras, and they nailed a cool atmosphere that carried through from the tracks to the menus and music. One of my all-time favorites

Motor City Online - I wish I got to experience this back in the day

Beetle Adventure Racing - it was just so fun!
 
This article should have been called 5 arcade titles that are great on an emulator.

If I were to reboot an ancient game or three

Street Rod

Granted, None of these are proper sims either.
Street Rod 1 & 2 on GTA style freeroam map please
 
GT Legends.. Yes indeed and count me in for Remastered Whiplash (Fatal Racing) as already mentioned. I would also like to see any of the Ratbag racing games remastered like Dirt Track Racing.
I second Dirt Track Racing and Leadfoot!
 
I would like to see a remaster of:

- 4d Sports Driving aka Stunts
- Streetrod II
- The Need for Speed: Porsche
- Grand Prix Legends
- GTR 2
 
Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix Series. If that was ever remastered, EA would have to step up their game big time with their f1 series.
 
No "this is not Sim Content" Commentary here. I had a life with Racing Games before Simracing :)

Motorstorm 1 and 2, Road Rash, Rallisport Challenge 2, Project Gotham Racing 2 and 4, NFS High Stakes, Burnout 3, Flatout Ultimate Carnage, Sega Rally...
I miss these days, when Racing Games (not Sims) are not only Hipster Festival Open Worlds with Microtransactions


And still, sometimes I need a break from iRacing and only want to have Fun with a Beer and Racing Games.
Luckily there are Games like Wreckfest, Road Redemption (Road Rash Style) or Trail Out (in Style of Flatout 2/UC)
 

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