Recommend me a driving sim!

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m1ldslide1

m1ldslide1

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2006
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So I'm going to visit my brother and his family later this week, and I would like to pick up a driving sim game for my nephew. He is 8 years old, and has been very vocal about wanting as realistic a driving sim game as possible. That said, I'm sure his definition of realistic is more related to PoV and basic mechanics than anything else.

He has a driving wheel for the PC, and so this game will need to interface well with that. Also I get the impression that a racing game may not really fit the bill - I think he'd be more excited about navigating a station wagon down a busy street than he would from going 190mph on a neon racetrack. First person view is a must, preferably with the dashboard in view.

Ideas????

Thanks.
 
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BladeVenom

Lifer
Jun 2, 2005
13,365
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I'm just not up to date on the best station wagon simulators. For racings sims I thought GTR2 was very good, although maybe a bit too difficult for an 8 year old.
 
mindcycle

mindcycle

Golden Member
Jan 9, 2008
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TOCA Race Driver 3 - http://pc.ign.com/objects/736/736262.html

I play it with a driving wheel and it works great. There are tons of different race types so i'm sure he'd find something that he liked. There is a slight learning curve, since it's a sim, but if I remember correctly you can change the difficultly level.
 
IcePickFreak

IcePickFreak

Platinum Member
Jul 12, 2007
2,428
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I'm a huge fan of GTR2 and the like myself, but (I can't believe I'm recommending this) perhaps something like Need For Speed Underground would be more fit for this situation. I'm not sure if they have dash views however. I actually did play the first one and to be honest it was quite fun for what it is (an arcade racer) and the controls I'd say were halfway between arcade and sim which IMO made it fun, the second one not so much. But I think he would be more in the driving down a street with other cars type of thing rather than trying to cut .02 of a second off his lap time at Spa as you said.
 
shortylickens

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,081
136
I dont know of any actual driving simulators for the consumer market.
A proper sim like that would generally cost hundreds of dollars and only be available to schools.

Most of the things people buy at Target and call a "driving simulator" is actually just a racing game, with varying degrees of realism.

Test Drive Unlimited might be what you need. Its a whole island with plenty of street and stop signs and cops and such.
Just buy him the slowest car available (probably the Chevy SSR) and teach him to keep it under 55.
 
C

Canai

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2006
8,016
1
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rFactor is pretty much as sim-ish as you can get, in that you can tweak everything you want, and download custom cars and tracks.

For an 8 year-old, I'd say give DiRT a shot, or maybe get him the Grid demo. Both are decent driving games that are semi-realistic, and a ton of fun to play if you don't pay attention to the wonky breaking and arcadey handling. TrackMania is very unrealistic, but still a blast to play.

I'd say burn the Grid demo to a disc and give that to him, and if he's into the whole rally racing thing, DiRT would be a good call as well, but also hook him up with Steam and the free TrackMania. He'll get a nice variety of options to play with.
 
m1ldslide1

m1ldslide1

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2006
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This is awesome guys - thanks so much for the suggestions. The best thing I had found on my own was a big-rig game where you deliver stuff from city to city. It was next to the 'John Deere's American Tractor Adventure' or something.

I've had a chance to check out a couple of these and I'll pick one tomorrow I think.
 
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BladeVenom

Lifer
Jun 2, 2005
13,365
16
0
There was also a Disney/Pixar Cars racing game. I'm sure it wasn't very realistic, but I think it was geared towards his age.
 
novasatori

novasatori

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2003
3,851
1
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try midtown madness 1 & 2
not exactly 100% sim, but they are damn fun for a city driving game
you can get car addons etc

I remember em being awesome back when I played em


may be too retro for a younger kid tho now adays
 
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BadRobot

Senior member
May 25, 2007
547
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0
If he is 8 you need to get him any GTA game. And Age of conan.


i can't think of any more inappropriate games at the moment but if i do i'll come back and let you know.

Oh yea leisure suit larry. Classic.
 
N

NYHoustonman

Platinum Member
Dec 8, 2002
2,642
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Another recommendation for Test Drive: Unlimited. Huge car selection (even greater than when it was released) and completely open world, even if it isn't quite what I would consider a true sim.
 
RallyMaster

RallyMaster

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2004
5,581
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I'm just not sure 8 year olds are up to the level of motor control that a 20 year old would have over a car. Sure you have examples of kids like Lil' Poison who own college dorm kids in Halo 3 but those are really rare. If he wants PURE simulation realism, go for Richard Burns Rally but he'll have to really know how to steer well or he's gonna cry. I took it for a run just last night and I took two times as much time to get to the finish line for one stage as what the par was...and I've been playing other rally racing games since I was 10 (hence the name). RBR is the only rally racing game that I haven't mastered thus far.

I won't deny though, Test Drive Unlimited is decent but the extra cars do cost money and may or may not be worth it (ends up making the game cost a good $50-60 bucks).
 
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CottonRabbit

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,026
0
0
Another recommendation for Test Drive Unlimited. Out of the box the car selection is plenty enough, and it's only about 20 bucks now.
 
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Marty502

Senior member
Aug 25, 2007
497
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That kid will probably kick and cry with something like GTR2 and TOCA 3.

Are you sure he doesn't mean, with realistic, "YES! Just like they drift in Fast and Furious!" ?? Because if that's so, he's gonna like anything Test Drive Unlimited or the latest NFS or whatever.
 
funboy6942

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,362
416
126
Nascar Racing season 2003, hard pressed to find it, or if you do for a good price. The same game minus all the mods that can be had for it would be Nascar Racing season 2002. DO NOT GET EA NASCAR, this is the Seiera made ones, the absolute best racing sim ever made for Nascar fans, and then you can mod it to what ever you like if you get the 2003 edition.

Other then that if the kid just wants to have fun, Nascar heat 2002, or NFS MW. I cannot see a 8 year old being to much into a "sim" considering he hasnt been driving a real car to notice anything between a game and the real deal.

You can also, for FREE, can play Colin McRae 2005 on Gametap, or do TOCA 3 to do ALL forms of sim racing from Carts to monster trucks. Toca 3, Nascar Racing season 2003, DiRT are my favorite "SIM" racing titles, then comes NFS MW for Arcade style.

But in any case dont waste any money yet, go to gametap, sign up, dl the player, and have him play Colin McRae 2005 for free and go from there if you should get him anything more, or can at that point tell what "style" he may end up liking.
 
m1ldslide1

m1ldslide1

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2006
2,321
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LOL at big rigs. That review was hilarious.

So I've decided on Test Drive Unlimited. I read up on some of the titles suggested here, and I think that'll be about the pace I'm looking for.

Thanks again everyone for your input... you rule.
 
JasonSix78

JasonSix78

Platinum Member
Mar 5, 2005
2,020
1
0
Originally posted by: m1ldslide1
LOL at big rigs. That review was hilarious.

So I've decided on Test Drive Unlimited. I read up on some of the titles suggested here, and I think that'll be about the pace I'm looking for.

Thanks again everyone for your input... you rule.
Click to expand...

Yup, that will be right up his alley. My 10-year old sister could spend all day playing it if you'd let her.

If you need any help with the game or want to pick up some mods for your brother, check this site out.
 
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