DTWolfwood said:
always nice to have a kartgame with actual cars
I respectfully disagree - this falls right into the darkest depths of my automotive Uncanny Valley. When I see actual cars, I absolutely expect them to act like actual cars - as in
Gran Turismo territory at least, and I'll have more fun with the likes of
GTR Evolution and
Grand Prix Legends. The whole thing about car licensing shouldn't be, "Oh, I recognise that car" - it should be, "Holy crap, now I know how this car feels on the road".
It disturbs and annoys me to see actual cars being portrayed in ways that don't bear any semblance to their real-life versions, as I demonstrate here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.105860-Probing-The-Inaccuracies-The-Automobile]. If you're going to make a kart game or a driftathon with cars that are ostensibly real, I would call upon the developers to invent the cars for the game rather than waste good licences on portraying Ferraris and Lamborghinis as the sorts of cars that people actively try to drift. Watch some GT class racing [http://www.channel4.com/programmes/british-formula-3-international-series/4od#3077034] - you'll see very little that counts as a drift, unless the drivers have lost control for some reason. Considering that this is the weekend for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Canadian Grand Prix, both events that use cars that aren't set up for drifting, you have plenty of opportunities to watch real car physics in action.
Having power-ups and drifting cars at the touch of a button simply makes the game too easy. It takes more skill in my experience - and I've played plenty of racing games - to find those racing lines and know when to feed in the power so that you get the best run out of a corner without losing control of the car. So, every time I see one of these types of games, I come closer and closer to letting out a massive scream that will be heard on the other side of the Atlantic, and which will be followed by my head exploding into lots of little chunks. Thanks a lot,
Blur.