A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first- or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings. In general, they can be distributed along a spectrum anywhere between hardcore simulations, and simpler arcade racing games.
Simulation style racing games strive to convincingly replicate the handling of an automobile. They often license real cars or racing leagues, but will use fantasy cars built to resemble real ones if unable to acquire them. Vehicular behavior physics are a key factor in the experience. The rigors of being a professional race driver are usually also included (such as having to deal with a car’s tire condition and fuel level). Proper cornering technique and precision racing maneuvers (such as drifting) are given priority in the simulation racing games.
Although these racing simulators are specifically built for people with a high grade of driving skill, it is not uncommon to find aids that can be enabled from the game menu. The most common aids are traction control (TC), anti-lock brakes, steering assistance, damage resistance, clutch assistance and automatic gearbox. Also driving views, other than the interior driver view, are arcade. This softens the learning curve for the difficult handling characteristics of most racing cars.
The Formula One World Championship has a fan base all over the world and is one of the racing series with the most simulation adaptations.
Some of these racing simulators are customizable, as game fans have decoded the tracks, cars and executable files. Large internet communities have grown around the simulators regarded as the most realistic and many websites host internet championships.
In a car racing game, the primary gameplay mode is driving the car. However, they sometimes offer a secondary mode for tuning up the car. There are various principles in winning car racing games, some of which apply to real life situations while most are unique to the game itself.
Many video game manufacturers like to call their creations race simulators. But believe me there aren’t more than 5 titles available at present that can be called race sims. And the main one is not even the full version. Yes, I am talking about the GranTurismo 5 Prologue. This is the nearest to the real life driving video game available today. Of course we have the Forza series, the Need for Speed series, the Project Gotham Racing etc. Which are all very very good, but for now the best driving game is reserved for PlayStation3. Xbox360’s range is simply incomplete without the GT.
And the other thing, you can not have a proper race experience without a proper steering wheel and a race seat simulator. And while the racing seat sims are compatible with almost every console or computer platform, the best wheels are only available for PS3 and PC.