I'm looking to get a racing game for my Xbox 360 and would like some suggestions.

I downloaded both demos for Nascar 08 and Forza 2 and both seem ok to me but I'd like to hear other folks' thoughts on them (or any other racers).

I used to play Nascar Season 2003 (the Papyrus one) on my PC and had a Logitech wheel for it back then. Now with my Xbox my option of a wheel is pretty limited so I may have to just use the controller. Is using a controller vs. a wheel that big of a difference or do you get used to it?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Bill

Forza 2. Best racing sim I have played. The game is much better than the demo suggests.

Nascar 08 was horrible.

you want a Sim? I'd assume so by your 2 choices. Because Dirt is also very very good, and pgr3...soon to be pgr4 but are not quite sims

I'm leaning toward a sim but not necessarily set on one. I'd consider other "great" racing games too.

Btw...for those with the MS Wheel - how's the "lap mount" work? I'm pretty limited on a table mount in my living room.

download the dirt demo then. although the full game is much better. Just realize that the 3rd person view of the car makes the physics seem all wonky. Hood view is the way to go, or one of the cockpit views.

The Campaign in Dirt is quite good, and some of the tracks are phenomonal . Having just finished it, it was the most "fun" I've had in a car game for some time.

Dirt.

PGR3 is a great game, especially for $30. Maybe even cheaper if you can find it used (and you should be able to) or on sale.

PGR4 looks like it will be amazing.

PGR3 and 4 are both arcade racers with simulation tendencies. They give you Kudos (points) for racing cleanly, doing donuts, power sliding around corners, etc... And the ultimate goal is to finish the race ahead of everyone else, of course. But all the cars handle pretty darn close to real life. You can't ignore the brake like you can in some arcade racers.

PGR also has different game modes where you get to wander the huge city and collect cones. And you can design your own tracks using the city layout editor in PGR, too.

Cars are not tunable in PGR. You drive what you get.

Forza 2 is a simulation that doesn't forget it is also a game. The cars all handle very much like their real life counterparts. They are all upgradable and tunable. You can tune minute details like the camber, caster, toe, spring rate, aerodynamics, gear ratios, etc...

Forza is fun because of the challenge of tuning these cars and racing them successfully. There are also TONS of leaderboards. You can watch the top 100 players fastest laps around each course. You can download their tuning setups. You can download a ghost of their car on that fastest lap and race against it!

Then there is the auction house, the fact that you can paint and sticker all of these cars in whatever way you choose, tournaments, career mode, arcade modes, etc... It is a VERy full featured game!

Both games are fantastic when racing on XBox Live! I say get both! :D

Ridge Racer 6 is loads of fun if you're looking for an enjoyable arcade-style racing game. Shouldn't cost more than $20 these days.

I am goint to point in a different direction and suggest one of the MotoGP series games. MotoGP 07 should be out sometime this month and past games have been excellent so far. Many of the people that play that game online are diehards and are very helpful and friendly. Best of all there is no need for any steering wheel. I can say the the depth of racing (not customizing your ride) is much deeper that the car racing games.

^^^
And if the OP plans on getting the MS wheel, PGR3 is packed in the box.

The "lap mount" sucks IMO, I'd rather use a controller if I can't clamp it down.

Forza 2 for sim, Dirt for fun.

And I agree that I really enjoyed Ridge Racer 7 for a while as totally mindless arcade racing...but some people absolutely hate RR.

If you plan to play online, then I'd suggest Forza 2. If single player is all you'll be doing, then consider both Forza 2 and Dirt.

GT: General Bourbon

^^^
And I agree that I really enjoyed Ridge Racer 7 for a while as totally mindless arcade racing...but some people absolutely hate RR.

RR is fun. It is total Arcade style. Nitros and drifting. Come on. Now that is fun. Hardcore racers won't like it. You don't even have to let off the gas in the game but it is mindless fun.

Forza 2... and a wheel (my preference)

Mad Tracks is good cheap racing fun too =)

I will put my votes into Forza 2, PGR4 (well, more so basing this vote on the quality of PGR3) and MotoGP. I will probably pick up dirt when the price comes down, have heard good things about it if you like that style of racing.

Fatal Inertia demo is up. Try that out.

I would try the burnout demo. I like arcady racers, not realistic. I'm actually trying out old exotic racers. Lots of fun. I want a new ssx so bad.

+1 more for trying out the dirt demo

For pure fun I would have to give the nod to Burnout Revenge , just don't expect to be able to play it with a wheel ;) .

--- Jason

For pure fun I would have to give the nod to Burnout Revenge , just don't expect to be able to play it with a wheel ;) .

--- Jason

Burnout Revenge is fun but the EA Online servers suck. It is hard to get 6 racers to stick in the room.

i forgot burnout. It's total fun if you've never played it on the xbox 1 before. Should be cheap too now. There's another one about to be released soon I think.

For a sim racing game:
- get a wheel
- a table -or- racing seat
- Forza 2

For less-sim, get dirt and use a controller.

If you are going to get a wheel, PGR3 comes with the MS wheel. So that is a good way to go if you plan to get a wheel sometime anyway.

As far as getting used to a controller vs a wheel, I have tried both and prefer the wheel by a large margin due to the simulation feel vs playing an arcade game.

Forza2
Dirt
Burnout Revenge
Project Gotham Racing 3
Need for Speed Most Wanted

disappointed. No mentions of TDU. Overlooked GOY.

I'm looking to get a racing game for my Xbox 360 and would like some suggestions.

I downloaded both demos for Nascar 08 and Forza 2 and both seem ok to me but I'd like to hear other folks' thoughts on them (or any other racers).

I used to play Nascar Season 2003 (the Papyrus one) on my PC and had a Logitech wheel for it back then. Now with my Xbox my option of a wheel is pretty limited so I may have to just use the controller. Is using a controller vs. a wheel that big of a difference or do you get used to it?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Bill

As a Papyrus racing sim veteran myself (ran leagues in NR2, NR99, NR3, NR4, and Season 2002) I would say definitely buy Forza 2 and rent N2008 before buying. The EA Nascar games just don't come close to the Papy racing games and you might be a bit disapointed.

Forza 2 with the MS wheel is still not as smooth/good as Nr2003 with one of the nice PC wheels (TSW2 or better) but it gets close. The force feedback is done well and you have tons of wheel settings you can tweak in game.

Ridge Racer 6 was fun for like the first hour or so. Then you realize that the game is absurdly long and really repetitive. It's really cheap though and fun to pull out every once in a while.

Forza 2 is what I would recommend. The game is really long but it's always different. The work they put into making this game what it is... it really is amazing. The demo does not do it justice. You'll spend hours tuning your car and making custom graphics alone.

I have:

Forza 2
DiRT
Moto GP 06 (2 copies)
PGR 3 (3 copies)
Burnout Revenge

All of them are fantastic, try to pickup a copy of each eventually whenever you spot good deals.

In order of personal preference:

Forza 2 is a great sim-style racer with tons of cars and a good selection of tracks. For my money no game is better at really conveying the feel of the cars - FWD, RWD, AWD - thru the pad.

PGR3 is a fun game that can be had for under $30. Lots of cars and tracks and a friendlier driving model. The in-dash views are really fantastic.

Burnout Revenge is a pure arcade racer: easy to pick up, blindingly fast and encourages violent, dangerous, unrealistic racing.

DiRT is a very good off-roading game as long as you can deal with the loose control these types of racers employ (you should definitely try the demo on this one).

I'd stay away from NASCAR 08; the graphics are average at best, control is very touchy, the AI is idiotic, and online racing is very problematic (a common problem with EA's servers).

Test Drive Unlimited was also disappointing to me; the visuals had a very coarse look to them, having to drive to each location at least once to unlock it on your map got very tedious, and I could never get a handle on the driving model as all the cars wanted to slide off the road.

I'd say Forza2 as well First racing game I actually prefer over GT

Forza 2 because of the custom paint jobs and tuning cars to your driving style.........Racing cars in different classes is fun..........

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I've downloaded just about every racer demo available on XBL.

I think my choices will be Forza 2 and Dirt for now. PGR3 was ok but a bit too "arcadey" for my tastes - MotoGP7 seems promising but wow....the controls freak me out - I'm sure they'd grow on me though.

I would say Forza 2 if you really want to get in deep, and DiRT if you just want to jump in and race (although you can adjust your car) - not that one is better than the other, just different. Remember that if multiplayer is important, go with Forza 2 for sure.

GT: General Bourbon

I would say Forza 2 if you really want to get in deep, and DiRT if you just want to jump in and race (although you can adjust your car) - not that one is better than the other, just different. Remember that if multiplayer is important, go with Forza 2 for sure.

GT: General Bourbon

That is pretty much your best bet.