Made2Game's 2011 Video Game Awards: Driving Games

Welcome to Made2Game's Driving Game Awards 2011! We've got everything covered, from the best engine sounds to the most impressive damage modelling and how not to treat a license. 

It’s fair to say that 2011 was an incredibly eclectic year for driving games. While we sadly waved goodbye to the developers that gave us the criminally underachieving Split/Second and Blur, the year continually surprised us with a slew of high quality, memorable driving games, with many helping to revitalise what had started to become a declining genre.

There was truly something for everyone. Serious racing fans were treated to Forza Motorsport 4, arguably the most pivotal racing game of this generation, whereas F1 fanatics revelled over Codemaster’s sophomore effort with F1 2011, which brought authenticity to a whole new level – it even answered the prayers of many fans by finally including that most requested of features, the Safety Car. Even the obligatory Need for Speed went all serious in terrifying track racer Shift 2: Unleashed, but was promptly brought back to the open road when it went on a 3000 mile long cross country race in Need For Speed: The Run.

More compelling were the arcade racers that made bold attempts to innovate the driving genre as we know it. MotorStorm Apocalypse wowed us with its dynamically destructible tracks, but it was DiRT 3 and Driver: San Francisco which introduced us to entirely new game mechanics in the form of Gymkhana and Shift.

So, without further ado it’s time to shift into reverse and trawl back through the year to reveal DGP’s driving games of 2011.

Best Car List
Forza Motorsport 4
For the true petrolhead who has an encyclopaedic knowledge and unrelenting admiration for the automotive industry, there is currently no video game equal. Sure, it doesn’t boast about having over 1000 cars like its competitor, Gran Turismo 5, but Forza Motorsport 4 triumphs by focusing on quality over quantity.

Instead of narrowly focusing on manufacturers from the developer’s home country (okay, so there’s a bit of over-abundance of US muscle cars), manufacturers from all across the globe are given equal spotlight, resulting in a 500 + strong car list with ample diversity. We’re also continually impressed with Turn 10’s efforts to expand Forza’s car list with monthly DLC, which has included many cars previously unseen in driving games.

Besides which, Forza also has Top Gear’s Reasonably Priced Cars, i.e. the immortal Suzuki Liana and Kia C’eed. That alone makes it an instant win.

Honourable Mentions
Driver: San Francisco
In Driver’s pledge to pay tribute to cinematic car chases, it understood one crucial thing: the car is the star. Yes, the protagonist is, as ever, undercover cop Tanner, but in practically every cut scene both him and partner Tobias Jones are regularly seen in their iconic Dodge Challenger R/T, which makes it a character in its own right.

For the first time in a Driver game, Driver: San Francisco featured authentic licensed cars, and the result was the embodiment of a Hollywood car chase fan’s heavenly wet dream. I could ramble pedantically about how they included the 1969 Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard but not the 1968 version from Bullitt when three Pontiac Trans-Ams made it to the list. But when Martin Edmondson proclaimed to us that Driver: San Francisco contains virtually every famous Hollywood car, he wasn’t exaggerating.

Worst Use of a License
Need for Speed: The Run
Fact: EA love to hog car licenses. One of those licenses happens to be German giant sports car manufacturer Porsche. This means other developers cannot include Porsche in their games - it’s a sore subject for Turn 10, who openly appealed for EA to give in after they previously collaborated in Forza Motorsport 3.

We wouldn’t mind, but Porsche wasn’t exactly treated with respect in Need for Speed: The Run. Case in point: after the camera focuses on a series of close-ups of prestigious Porsches at the start of the game, they toss one into a car crusher as if it’s a scrapped Vauxhall Corsa. There were only a handful of Porsches to drive too, leaving you with the feeling that Turn 10 would take more advantage by providing a more comprehensive catalogue in Forza Motorsport 4.

Time to hand over the keys, EA.

Honourable Mentions
FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction
FlatOut 3 was stealthily announced a mere week before its release on Steam, and for good reason – it’s a steaming pile of putrid poodoo. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when a third rate developer acquires the license of a once quality franchise originally made by a reputable team. Team6’s reputation is that of producing games that make Turkish Star Wars look high budget.

And yet despite the shudderable graphics and rubbish physics on display, the terrible trailer had the audacity to proclaim FlatOut 3 as "one of the year's best driving games." Yeah, we're still laughing too. 

Burnout Crash
It’s been some time since we took a trip to the Paradise City, and frankly the Burnout series is in need of a refuel. Burnout Crash was not the answer.

We can’t slate it too much considering it was a budget-priced downloadable spin-off, but the polarising top-down viewpoint and goofy voiceovers made it resemble a stripped down mobile phone game. Then there were the bizarre marketing campaigns, which featured none other than a demoralised David Hasselhoff…in a chicken suit. And a cheerleading outfit. Oh the humanity.

Best Car Handling
Driver: San Francisco
You’re probably wondering why Forza Motorsport 4’s sensational simulation car handling isn’t in this spot. Well, the rationale is simple – when I asked myself which game I had the most fun driving in, the answer was unquestionably Driver: San Francisco.

There aren’t many games that make simply driving around a city such damn good fun, which is a testament to the strength of Driver: San Francisco’s handling. No other game completely nails the joy of tailsliding a ‘70s muscle car around a tight 90 degree corner, which has been true since its inception in 1999. Never will you see more smoke bloom from the tortured tyres after a burnout. And don’t forget the hill jumps. Those spectacular, suspension-jarring jumps.

Honourable Mentions
Forza Motorsport 4
While Driver: San Francisco wins for the pure entertainment value of hooning about, Forza Motorsport 4 parks itself on the other end of the simulation spectrum. Equip yourself with a Forza-licensed Fanatec CSR Wheel setup, which we heartily recommend, and Forza remains in a class of its own.

DiRT 3
When it comes to car handling, every evolving DiRT game has significantly improved on each other. DiRT 3 represents Codemaster’s most accomplished model yet, striking a perfect balance between arcade accessability and realism, and is leaps and bounds from the unrefined, wooly physics of the first DiRT.

Best Visuals
Forza Motorsport 4
You probably guessed it and you were so right: Forza Motorsport 4 is breathtakingly beautiful, and completely deserves this award. Every car is immaculately rendered with an absolutely absurd number of polygons – we’re genuinely left astounded at how Turn 10 somehow managed to seemingly squeeze every last ounce of juice from the ageing Xbox 360.

Then there’s the lavish Autovista mode, which is the very definition of virtual car pornography. Here you get to marvel at a choice selection of cars with complete freedom to walk around each model, using Kinect to sensually caress the bodywork before opening each panel to roam around inside. Saucy.

Honourable Mentions
DiRT 3
Codemasters’ visual standards always impress us in their driving games, and DiRT 3 was no exception. But while the cars were as detailed as you come to expect, the distinct contrast between each location is what made DiRT 3 a visual delight, from the dusty trails of Kenya to the frosty mountain roads of the Monte Carlo. Never has dust, dirt and mud looked so sumptuous.

MotorStorm Apocalypse
MotorStorm Apocalypse drove down an entirely new direction for the series, set in a city ravaged by a devastating earthquake, creating some of the most dramatic set-pieces we've ever played in a driving game. As you race, tremors trigger new routes, buildings collapse and all manner of planes and trains mangle directly into your path. There’s even a seaside tornado which was deemed too insensitive since the release was timed rather unfortunately with the real-life Japan earthquake disaster.

Not that it was meant to be taken seriously - these were cinematic sequences that rivaled the bombast of Roland Emmerich’s disaster flick 2012. Remember the standout scene where the family literally drive through the end of the world? MotorStorm Apocalypse lets you do just that over and over again. Coupled with what is undoubtedly the best use of 3D in a game to date, MotorStorm Apocalypse is an original, entertaining and salivating spectacle from start to finish.

Best Cockpit Camera
Shift 2: Unleashed
Other driving games may have featured more detailed dashboards, but the fact remains that Shift 2: Unleashed offers the most visceral representation of what being a hardened race driver actually feels like.

The unique “helmet cam” provided a perspective that allowed you to see the action literally from your driver’s eyes – you can actually see the lining of the protective balaclava from inside your helmet. Meanwhile the camera simulates your head movements, conveniently peeking round upcoming corners and wincingly jostling about during impacts. Cockpit cameras have never been so immersive.

Honourable Mentions
Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco comes in at a close second. Honestly, the attention to detail is outstanding. For example, unlike most driving games, Tanner can be seen fully turning the wheel and visibly honking the horn.

Best Damage
DiRT 3
Driving at ludicrous speeds down treacherous rally stages designed to catch you out is bound to leave your car with a few knocks. DiRT 3 allowed you to batter your car beyond recognition, a trait that should be familiar to Codemasters’ legion of fans.

Honourable Mentions
Shift 2:Unleashed
Shift 2’s damage modelling was surprisingly authentic, though the physics were sometimes a tad extreme. Having said that, I couldn’t get enough of deliberately turning into gravel traps at high speed just to see the resulting ballad of destruction as the car flipped over with violentvelocity.

Driver: San Francisco
Reflections Interactive have a lot of heritage when it comes to smashing up cars – just ask their PlayStation debut, Destruction Derby. Creative Director Martin Edmondson even admitted to us that he would scour destruction derby events to get a closer look at the wrecked cars when he was younger. Little wonder Driver: San Francisco’s dynamic damage system satisfies my destructive cravings, then.

Best Engine Sounds

Forza Motorsport 4
Vroom, *shift*, Vrooooom, *shift*, VROOOOOM, *down shift*, *brake hard*, screech. How hard is it to replicate car engine sounds in a game? Very hard, apparently.

For whatever reason, engine sounds in driving games are often woefully underwhelming. Take Gran Turismo, a series which labels itself as “The Real Driving Simulator” yet consistently makes its cast of cars sound like dying Dyson Vacuum Cleaners. It’s baffling.

Fortunately, the young, spritely Forza Motorsport 4 showed the granddaddy how it should be done. Put your foot down in Forza, and prepare to have multiple eargasms as every motor sounds as authentic as the real thing. You haven't lived until you've experienced the V8 bellow of a Ford Mustang rocking your surround sound system. 

Shift 2: Unleashed
While slightly exaggerated at times, Shift 2’s raw engine sounds were punctuated up to 11. Its sole aim was to scare you – it made the sensation of driving a really fast car at top speed in a heated race a practically terrifying ordeal. We loved it.

Best Soundtrack
Driver: San Francisco
When cruising the streets of San Francisco, you need an accompanying soundtrack to set the appropriate vibe. In Driver: San Francisco’s case, it was to make you feel like Steve McQueen.

Indeed, Driver’s soundtrack had a deliberately ‘70s tone to it, but we applaud it for mashing together so many funky tracks you’re not likely to have heard of.

DiRT 3
Exasperatingly American DJ Christian Stevenson proclaimed that DiRT 3’s soundtrack was “the best since Vice City.” Well, not quite Christian. But there’s no denying that DiRT 3’s meticulously hand-picked collection of rocking and electronic tunes fitted the game perfectly.

Best Multiplayer
Driver: San Francisco
I’ll say it now: Driver: San Francisco's Tag is by far and away the best multiplayer mode I have ever played in a driving game. Playable both online and in split-screen for a more personal rivalry just to rank up the tension, cursing and punch-ups, it’s a multiplayer match that works because it puts emphasis on pure devilish driving skill.

With Shift allowing you to morph into any car you see fit throughout the entire city, it’s an incredibly intense experience as one player hovers above monitoring the opponent, whereas the other drives desperately to avoid getting  hit by any means possible, using every possible trick to outmanoeuvre them. Nothing beats the exasberated vocal reactions when you narrowly escape a head-on collision with your vengeful rival, frankly.

And that’s just one of Driver: San Francisco’s many addictive multiplayer modes. We can’t recommend it enough - if anything, it's a wake up call for developers to stop neglecting 2 player split screen.

Honourable Mentions
Forza Motorsport 4
By utilising the community in its Car Clubs and livery design editor, Forza Motorsport 4 goes beyond the standard race-to-the-finish-line experience.

DiRT 3
DiRT 3 contains the usual high-octane online races and rallies you would expect, but we weren’t expecting it to have a new Party Mode, a more light-hearted take on the sport with mini games that offered some respite from the serious competition. Smashing cardboard aliens in Battersea, anyone?

Most Disappointing Driving Game
Need for Speed: The Run
Oh dear. We had a hunch this would disappoint as soon as we found out that EA Black Box were back in the driving seat after Criterion’s successful dabble in Hot Pursuit.

Funnily enough, it actually wasn’t the controversial on-foot action that spoilt this iteration. For one, the car handling felt unrefined in its attempt to blend realism with arcade.

But it was the promise of its ambitious premise that disappointed most. We were promised an epic 3000 mile cross country race that trekked across the United States. Instead we were given short, segmented, scripted races that either required you to pass a set amount of opponents, make up time or elude the supersonic police force. And then the main campaign was over in just 2 bloody hours. Not what you would call engrossing, to say the least.

I could go on. The much touted storyline turned out to be even more shallow than your typical Michael Bay flick. Oh, and dare I mention that sodding auto recovery system. I lost count of the number of times it reset me after straying off the track when it would have been so laughably easy to recover. Grr.

Honourable Mentions
WRC 2
Whatever happened to rally games? Last generation was practically saturated with big rally game names, but now even DiRT has more to do with showing off to Ken Block than traditional rallying. It was therefore all down to WRC 2 to revitalise this niche, and show us just what we've been missing. Unfortunately, it failed.

Blame it on the budget, but the graphics were inexcusably generic, and it never captured the spirit of the WRC sport. Whether or not we will see another WRC game remains to be seen - in an ideal world, Evolution Studios, past developers of WRC when it was decent and current developers of MotorStorm, would show some good will and reacquire the rights. If not, there's always DiRT 4 around the corner.  

Test Drive: Unlimited 2
Test Drive: Unlimited 2 shared something in common with PSN in 2011 – its online functionality, i.e. the main selling point of its MMO setup, was completely broken and took weeks before it was playable. Sadly, the damage was already done.

Driving Game of the Year
Driver: San Francisco
It would have been all too easy to simply crown Forza Motorsport 4 as GOTY. Don’t get me wrong, it's a fantastic addition to the franchise that puts many 360 games to shame. It even managed to practically draw me away from my life-long relationship with Gran Tuismo, which is no mean feat. But if we're talking about the game that captivated me the most then Driver: San Francisco wins hands down.

Simply put that Driver: San Francisco’s innovation cannot be downplayed. And it’s all down to Shift.

After the commercial failures of Split/Second and Blur, many feared the racing genre was in trouble. But then Driver: San Francisco’s debut at E3 2010 showed off its Matrix-style system that allowed you to hover through the air and “shift” directly into any moving car on the fly. Shoehorning in Tanner’s crazy coma context felt a bit forced, but as a gameplay mechanic Shift is revolutionary - all of a sudden, people were rabidly talking about a driving game once more, and everyone's fears that Shift would be too bewildering were all forgotten once you sat down, played it and realise it's absolutely ingenious.

Add in Driver’s trademark terrific handling, wild chases and an extensive range of cinema’s most iconic cars, and you have the ultimate Hollywood car chase tribute. The Wheelman is well and truly back, and we couldn’t be happier that this wasn’t another Driv3r-scale disaster. 

Honourable Mentions
Forza Motorsport 4
While Driver: San Francisco now has plenty to gloat about, there’s no denying Forza’s position as the best console car simulator of this generation. That’s a very top prize indeed - it's everything a car enthusiast could ever want from a driving game.

DiRT 3
With the focus finally back on Colin McRae’s rugged rally roots, DiRT 3 was full of win. And yet it also catered to the contemporary Ken Block audience with the advent of Gymkhana, a Tony Hawk's for driving games if you will made famous by Ken Block in which you perform manuevers and stunts to chain together points. Refreshingly challenging and so ludicrously addicting, Gymkhana proved that the driving game genre is far from running pm empty for ideas. 

So there you have it, the ultimate round-up of 2011’s greatest achievements in the ever evolving driving game genre. But what will 2012 bring, I hear you ask? Find out soon in our upcoming preview of the driving games of tomorrow.

Words by Martin Bigg (Twitter: @drivinggamespro)

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