Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Top 10 Most Hazardous Racing Conditions in Video Games

We love us some sim racers, and think that Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, and GTR, are all great series. But you know what? Even though we love driving around in expensive cars that we’ll never be able to afford unless we win some huge cash settlements, sometimes, we just want to abandon realism and send our cars through motorized Armageddon. And that’s why we have a soft spot in our hearts for arcade style racers, a genre that’s all about achieving major dents and driving on unthinkable terrain. With Motorstorm Apocalypse coming out tomorrow, which is literally about racing during the end of days, we thought it’d only be right to look at the most hazardous racing conditions in gaming history, picking out the top ten games that force you to be reckless if you want to win the race and survive. So buckle your seatbelts, kiddies, as it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Actually, second thought, screw the seatbelts. Who needs them anyway when somebody’s shooting missiles at you and trying to knock you off a cliff?

10. RC Pro Am (NES)

Greatest Hazards: Other Racers, hindrances on the track

RC Pro Am was Mario Kart before there was Mario Kart. It was all about drifting and picking up power-ups like missiles and bombs to screw over your opponents. This was all in the purpose of winning trophies that didn’t really mean anything in the long run. There were also water puddles, oil slicks, rain clouds, and pop-up walls on the later tracks that you had to avoid if you wanted to stay ahead, so if you thought that you didn’t already have enough shit to deal with, then prepare to meet your maker.

You were also constantly being attacked by the other three competitors, so the frustration level was high when you were on that last lap and got shot down by an enemy missile right before crossing the finish line. We told you that this was like Mario Kart. The only catch? These weren’t real cars but rather, RC vehicles, so nobody wound up flying through a windshield when there was a collision. That doesn’t mean that fists weren’t bloodied when they went flying through TV screens at yet another near loss from a well-timed bomb, though. This game pissed us the hell off back when we were kids and it still pisses us off today. Damn enemy missiles.



9. F-Zero GX (Gamecube)

Greatest Hazards: Extreme Speed and Rollercoaster tracks

Yeah, sure, the original F-Zero on the SNES was dangerous, what with its futuristic opponents willing to knock you around the tracks. But F-Zero GX for the Gamecube took that danger to the next level, mostly because you were piloting a hovercraft at inhuman speeds around tracks that were usually no bigger than a roller coaster rail. Oh, and did we mention that your competitors are trying to send you off into oblivion during the race? Whoever thinks that racing in the future will be easier because of technology is an idiot and needs to plays this game to get a good schooling on what the future will look like—Death in hover car form. This game was also notorious for being insanely hard, and driving over the recharge strips to regain energy and hitting all of the speed boosts (As if the game wasn’t fast enough) is the only way that you would make it to the end of the race. We still haven’t beaten the Sapphire Cup on the highest difficulty. But we’ll get to it someday. We will. Honest.



See the rest of the article here: http://www.complex.com/video-games/2011/05/10-hazardous-driving-conditions/

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