Baby you can drive my car
My fave driving game of all time is one of the Burnouts, although I can’t remember which one
Iam very excited. There is a brand-new Forza Horizon game out. I’ve never played a Forza Horizon game before, and that is because I am an idiot. For some reason I got it into my head that, like Forza, it was a dry racing game, similar to Gran Turismo. I should clarify, I’ve not played Gran Turismo since the first one where you spent hours trying to earn a licence, so who knows, maybe Gran Turismo isn’t that dry anymore.
Anyway, it turns out Forza Horizon is NOT a boring racing sim and is a lot more arcadey. When I heard this, a little shiver went up my spine. I’d forgotten just how much I used to LOVE driving games. From a very early age, they were always my favourite genre.
My first driving game experience was Sprint 2. This beautiful black and white beast of a machine was magnificent. It had actual steering wheels on it and sat amongst the other games like some big, old, wise Buddah. I’m actually getting emotional because I just remembered I used to play this with my dad. I think I’ve written before that my parents never played videogames, but suddenly I’m transported to Rose’s travelling fair on the field at the back of the Britwell Estate in Slough. It is so noisy, deafening there, and a bit scary for a seven-year-old boy. But I’m stood next to my dad, and we are driving and I feel like a big man. Incredibly difficult game to play but a beautiful moment for a boy and his dad.
Wow. That was actual time-travel typing that. I’m in Costa and I’ve just had to pop to the toilet to wipe my eyes. What happened there?
The next driving game to excite me was Pole Position. Thinking back, not a great game, but I guess it was colour and the sounds were pretty good. I do think I may be conflating the arcade machine with the lousy BBC version I also had. The latter was a real clunker of a game but I spent hours on it.
Speaking of BBC driving games, what was Revs all about? I remember it being a huge deal at the time but I never enjoyed it. It came in a big box and was an accurate reconstruction of the Silverstone track, I think? But it was impossible to drive. Like Defender, it took about three people to control it. Unlike Defender, it was boring and I don’t think I ever completed a single track.
My fave driving game of all time is one of the Burnouts, although I can’t remember which one. All I remember is it had a great online multiplayer mode where you had to crash and cause as much damage as possible. I had insane evenings playing that. Does that still exist? Answers on a postcard please my darlings!
As I said, I’m looking forward to the new Forza Horizon 5. On a selfish level, I just want a silly driving game where I can have a laugh. On a more spiritual level, maybe I can create a moment with my kids that will make them cry like absolute divvys when they’re in their late-40s.