The remainder of this year and the beginning of 2010 promises an onslaught of racing games for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. We take a look at some of the best titles that will be available in the near future.




The king of all racers? Gran Turismo 5 will feature a staggering 1000 cars, 60 tracks and, for the first time, damage modelling. As announced at this year’s E3, GT5 will include both the WRC and NASCAR series. Expect eye popping graphics, authentic sound effects and painstakingly programmed realistic handling.




Xbox’s GT5, Forza 3 will have over 400 cars and more than 100 tracks. One of the biggest additions to this title is the in-car view. Cockpits have been meticulously modelled to look like the real thing – as have the cars themselves, which will have ten times the polygon count compared to the cars in Forza 2. Another perhaps more trivial change is the fact that cars can now be rolled, which will undoubtedly excite people who perhaps found Forza 2 slightly dull. You can also expect trucks and SUVs to make their debut in this game.




This game falls between the arcade and simulation genres, allowing you to seamlessly drift around a corner without being punished for bending the laws of physics. Building on its predecessor, this game features more than just straight up rally driving. This might irritate harcdcore rally fans as the game has taken a more ‘extreme’ route by featuring the X Games and stadium events. However, judging by the critical reviews of the game, DiRT 2 will prove to be an excellent racer with fantastic graphics and racing to keep you on the edge of your seat. One other thing to mention is the presentation of the game. Codemasters always go out of their way to make impressively slick menu systems and DiRT 2 is without exception.




The Need for Speed games have floundered the past few years but this year sees the revamp of EAs long running series. NFS has taken cues from Forza and GT by going down the simulation route. While 72 cars pales in comparison to the choice available in Forza 3 and GT5, it’s still a respectable number and knowing EA, each car will be authentically replicated. Anyway, it’s quality not quantity, right? EA have made a special effort to make the in-car view as realistic as possible. Neat touches have been added, such as seeing the driver move their head to look into the rear view mirror and hearing them take a gasp of breathe before totalling their car. Critical reception for this game has been more than impressive. The game will hopefully prove to be a visceral driving experience and take the emotion of racing to a whole new level.




Compared to the likes of Forza and GT, SuperCar Challenge is relatively unknown. Nevertheless, this title should not be overlooked. If you’re after a no-nonsense pure simulation racer then SuperCar Challenge might be the title for you. As the name suggests, SuperCar Challenge features a neat handful of supercars to drive, ranging from the stunning luxury of the Bugatti Veyron to the hardcore Koenigsegg CCX. It’s hard to recommend a game like this when Forza 3 and GT5 are just around the corner but it maybe worth a purchase if you’re itching for some racing action. Bear in mind, though, this game is only available for Playstation 3.

• Split/Second – Action racing game set in a reality TV programme. Expect plenty of explosions and crashes.


• F1 2010 – Developed by Codemasters and uses the same engine as DiRT and GRID. Will feature online play.


• Blur – Arcade racing from the makers of PGR. Lots of weapons and powerups.


• Gran Turismo PSP – It’s GT for your PSP. Will probably launch with PSP Go.

It’s uncertain whether Forza 3 or GT5 will prove to be the best game, but frankly both titles will without a doubt be excellent in their own right if the amount of time and effort gone into their development is anything to go by.

While you’re waiting for these titles to arrive, two other outstanding titles are now available for you to play, DiRT 2 and NFS Shift. If you’re feeling different take SuperCar Challenge for a spin, but don’t expect love at first site.

Luckily, there are even more titles to come with the likes of Split/Second and Blur, two very unique games. We will also see a welcome return to F1 with the forthcoming game, F1 2010.

So to conclude, it’s a good time to be around if racing games are your prerogative as a remarkable amount of games are or will be released. If you’re still not satisfied then there’s definitely something wrong with you. No offence.

• SuperCar Challenge out now


• DiRT 2 out now


• Forza 3 demo out September 24, full game released October 23/27 (Europe/N.America)


• NFS Shift out September 15/17/18 (N.America/Europe/UK)


• GT5 release TBA, possibly Christmas time, possibly not


• GT PSP possibly out October 1 with the release of PSP Go


• Split Second out Q1 2010


• Blur out November 3/6 (N.America/Europe)


• F1 2010 released sometime in 2010, TBA

---