Rubber Meets the Road: 2017's Racing Titles
Submitted on: 05/25/2017 by
Robert Kollars
A genre once close to drawing its last breath has enjoyed a grand resurgence over the last few years. Amazing racing titles such as F1 2016, Forza Horizon 3 and Dirt Rally have helped push console racing forward, and some would argue the genre is as strong right now as it was during the days of the PS2. To compound the rebirth, titles such as NASCAR Heat, Need for Speed, F1, Dirt, Project Cars, among others, all have sequels that will be appearing on a console in 2017. The depth and quality of some of these titles will still need to be fully absorbed before we can quantify them as excellent (or even great), but the good news is 2017 should be an exciting year for racing fans.
So let’s take a look at some of the more popular and anticipated titles coming out in 2017 and what they could bring to the table.
DIRT 4
So let’s take a look at some of the more popular and anticipated titles coming out in 2017 and what they could bring to the table.
DIRT 4
(Codemasters) - Releasing On June 9 (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
With the Dirt series you know what you're going to get, a great driving model, solid controls, a plethora of options and high fidelity graphics. Dirt 4 is the official game of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, and what that means to the community is you are going to get some great racing on multiple surfaces, and solid physics. Codemasters has always provided a great experience, whether it be single player or multiplayer, and Dirt 4 should be no different. Dirt 4 also promises to have an enhanced career mode that will allow you to climb through the ranks, earn money, buy cars and much more. Even if you’re not a fan of Rallycross racing, you should at least keep your eye out for this one.
F1 2017
With the Dirt series you know what you're going to get, a great driving model, solid controls, a plethora of options and high fidelity graphics. Dirt 4 is the official game of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, and what that means to the community is you are going to get some great racing on multiple surfaces, and solid physics. Codemasters has always provided a great experience, whether it be single player or multiplayer, and Dirt 4 should be no different. Dirt 4 also promises to have an enhanced career mode that will allow you to climb through the ranks, earn money, buy cars and much more. Even if you’re not a fan of Rallycross racing, you should at least keep your eye out for this one.
F1 2017
(Codemasters) Releasing On August 25 (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
Coming off the heels of what many consider to be one of the best titles in the 9-year history of F1 and Codemasters, it will be hard to surpass the success of its predecessor. So how will Codemasters top F1 2016? Well bringing back classic F1 cars is a good start, and that’s exactly what they are doing. F1 2017 will include 12 classic F1 cars, and one of those will be the 1988 McLaren MP4/4, a car Ayrton Senna described as his favorite car ever to race. While there is not a lot of information out right now, we do know that the game will include enhanced multiplayer options and a deeper career mode.
NASCAR Heat 2
Coming off the heels of what many consider to be one of the best titles in the 9-year history of F1 and Codemasters, it will be hard to surpass the success of its predecessor. So how will Codemasters top F1 2016? Well bringing back classic F1 cars is a good start, and that’s exactly what they are doing. F1 2017 will include 12 classic F1 cars, and one of those will be the 1988 McLaren MP4/4, a car Ayrton Senna described as his favorite car ever to race. While there is not a lot of information out right now, we do know that the game will include enhanced multiplayer options and a deeper career mode.
NASCAR Heat 2
(704 Games) Releasing On September 12 (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
Although the year-one release of NASCAR Heat Evolution stalled a bit coming out of the (pit)box due to lack of a strong multiplayer system and depth of content, one of the areas it did excel at was the driving model and AI competency. The foundation is there for a great series, but the follow-up title will need to provide more of what the racing community wants. Paul Brooks is the new CEO of 704 Games and has strong ties to the sport of NASCAR, so that should bode well for the future of NASCAR Heat. While very little information is out, we can assume the new rules, track updates and scoring system will be in place. And we can hope that the Xfinity and Camping World truck series will be included this time around.
Project Cars 2
Although the year-one release of NASCAR Heat Evolution stalled a bit coming out of the (pit)box due to lack of a strong multiplayer system and depth of content, one of the areas it did excel at was the driving model and AI competency. The foundation is there for a great series, but the follow-up title will need to provide more of what the racing community wants. Paul Brooks is the new CEO of 704 Games and has strong ties to the sport of NASCAR, so that should bode well for the future of NASCAR Heat. While very little information is out, we can assume the new rules, track updates and scoring system will be in place. And we can hope that the Xfinity and Camping World truck series will be included this time around.
Project Cars 2
(Slightly Mad Studios) Releasing In Fall (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
Building off the strong performance of the first Project Cars, the sequel plans to go a bit bigger and better. What does that mean? Well, over 150 cars and 60 tracks to start, addition of Rallycross, and enhancements and variations of those tracks. You will now be able to race on different surfaces and conditions in Project Cars 2, and the developers have added day-to-night transitions and seasonal effects to each track, all courtesy of Livetrack3.0. The graphics have been improved from the first title, which is saying something since the original Project Cars looked beautiful. If you’re not looking for specific racing genre, but rather just a mash-up of racing genres, then the chances of you enjoying Project Cars 2 is strong.
MXGP 3
Building off the strong performance of the first Project Cars, the sequel plans to go a bit bigger and better. What does that mean? Well, over 150 cars and 60 tracks to start, addition of Rallycross, and enhancements and variations of those tracks. You will now be able to race on different surfaces and conditions in Project Cars 2, and the developers have added day-to-night transitions and seasonal effects to each track, all courtesy of Livetrack3.0. The graphics have been improved from the first title, which is saying something since the original Project Cars looked beautiful. If you’re not looking for specific racing genre, but rather just a mash-up of racing genres, then the chances of you enjoying Project Cars 2 is strong.
MXGP 3
(Milestone) Releasing On May 30 and then June 20 in the US (PS4/Xbox One/PC)
If you played either of the first two installments of MXGP, then you know that while the series may lean to the arcade side of racing, the series still provides a lot of fun on the track. So what’s the biggest change for the third installment from SMS? We can start with MXGP 3 being developed using Unreal Engine 4. So that means "graphical improvements and unprecedented game play will ensure amazing texture quality, spectacular particle effect and improved lighting that will affect the rider’s visibility and change according to weather and ground conditions.” It also means that the physics have been improved, which is a welcomed addition. The game is fully licensed, will carry all the official drivers and teams, and each of the officially licensed 18 tracks will also be included in the title. They also promise a better multiplayer system, and of course, a deeper and more realistic career mode this time around.
Obviously, 2017 is looking like another great year for racing fans, and to be honest I just scratched the surface of the titles above. What’s even more exciting is there are titles I didn’t even mention yet. Games such as Need for Speed, Grand Turismo 7, WRC 7, Moto GP 17, Grip, Gravel, and others will find their way to PC and console this year, and we will have more on them at a later date. There is a lot of racing to be had this year, and even if you are just a casual fan, you should be excited.
What title(s) are you looking forward to the most, and why?
If you played either of the first two installments of MXGP, then you know that while the series may lean to the arcade side of racing, the series still provides a lot of fun on the track. So what’s the biggest change for the third installment from SMS? We can start with MXGP 3 being developed using Unreal Engine 4. So that means "graphical improvements and unprecedented game play will ensure amazing texture quality, spectacular particle effect and improved lighting that will affect the rider’s visibility and change according to weather and ground conditions.” It also means that the physics have been improved, which is a welcomed addition. The game is fully licensed, will carry all the official drivers and teams, and each of the officially licensed 18 tracks will also be included in the title. They also promise a better multiplayer system, and of course, a deeper and more realistic career mode this time around.
Obviously, 2017 is looking like another great year for racing fans, and to be honest I just scratched the surface of the titles above. What’s even more exciting is there are titles I didn’t even mention yet. Games such as Need for Speed, Grand Turismo 7, WRC 7, Moto GP 17, Grip, Gravel, and others will find their way to PC and console this year, and we will have more on them at a later date. There is a lot of racing to be had this year, and even if you are just a casual fan, you should be excited.
What title(s) are you looking forward to the most, and why?
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