What racing sims have really large cties to just explore?

One of my favorite racing games is Midtown Madness 2 because it has two large cities that I can just explore in cruise mode. I have not been keeping up with the latest in racing simulators/games because my old computer wasn't up to the task. But now that I have a new computer I would like to buy another racing game or two. And the main thing I'd want is really large tracks/cities that I can just explore without racing. I'd also want to be able to drive anywhere without invisible boundaries blocking my way. Racing, such as circuit and checkpoint races, is fun too, but I don't want it to be a necessity to drive. Any suggestions? The bigger and more detailed the cities are the better.

> the main thing I'd want is really large tracks/cities that I can just > explore without racing. I'd also want to be able to drive anywhere > without invisible boundaries blocking my way. If you're willing to accept the depression-era setting, fictional (although based on real-life) depression-era cars, and a fictional city, "Mafia" might be one to check out. The main game (which is very, very good, BTW) is a hybrid of first-person shooter + mission-oriented driving, but there's also a free-driving mode where you can tool around town as you please in period vehicles. The city is quite extensive, with different neighborhoods, bridges, stoplights, traffic, pedestrians, etc. -- plus you can drive a little ways out of town into the surrounding hills, as well. The physics modeling, while not exactly hardcore sim, is certainly not horrible, and for my money, it's at least on par with MTM. - Doug

> main thing I'd want is really large tracks/cities that I can just > explore without racing. World Racing 1 and 2 have complete 3d terrains, that allow you to drive anywhere, not just on the roads, but world racing 1 is hard to find these days. Need For Speed: Underground 2 has large city areas that you can roam around in. Need For Speed:Most Wanted also has large city areas, but if you're roaming, you're bound to pick up cops that will chase you. Some videos: World Racing 1: http://jeffareid.net/wr1/wr1nv5.wmv http://jeffareid.net/wr1/wr1c14.wmv World Racing 2: http://jeffareid.net/wr2/wr2it3.wmv Actual off road "course" in World Racing 2: http://jeffareid.net/wr2/wr2gl.wmv A track in NFS:Underground 2: http://jeffareid.net/nfs8/n8ob.wmv Outruns in NFS:Underground 2: http://jeffareid.net/nfs8/n8or.wmv A pursuit in NFS:Most Wanted: http://jeffareid.net/nfs9/n9fprw.wmv

GTA Vice City or GTA San Andreas come to mind.

"Gil" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > GTA Vice City or GTA San Andreas come to mind. Those don't count as "racing" games Gil. :)

On Thu, 22 Jun 2006 17:44:37 -0700, "Jeff Reid" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>World Racing 1 and 2 have complete 3d terrains, that allow you to >drive anywhere, not just on the roads, but world racing 1 is hard to >find these days. > >Need For Speed: Underground 2 has large city areas that you can >roam around in. Need For Speed:Most Wanted also has large city areas, >but if you're roaming, you're bound to pick up cops that will chase you.

Thanks. Yes, NFS Underground is a game I was already considering. I will take a look at the other NFS gane and World Racing too. I'll check eBay if I can't find any of them new. I have bookmarked the videos, but may have to wait until I get FIOS before downloading some of the largest ones. Still on dial-up right now.

On Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:24:05 GMT, Doug Olsen <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>If you're willing to accept the depression-era setting, fictional >(although based on real-life) depression-era cars, and a fictional city, >"Mafia" might be one to check out. The main game (which is very, very >good, BTW) is a hybrid of first-person shooter + mission-oriented >driving, but there's also a free-driving mode where you can tool around >town as you please in period vehicles. > >The city is quite extensive, with different neighborhoods, bridges, >stoplights, traffic, pedestrians, etc. -- plus you can drive a little >ways out of town into the surrounding hills, as well.

Sounds like fun. I will check it out. A good storyline can be fun. But often I just want to drive and explore, which is something I can't do for real because of my eyesight.

That is why the GTA games are so great. You can just drive and explore 3 huge virtual cities. Lots of stuff going on in them, too.

"Gil" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:1151168286.740054.22020 @y41g2000cwy.googlegroups.com: > > That is why the GTA games are so great. You can just drive and explore > 3 huge virtual cities. Lots of stuff going on in them, too. > Supposedly you can even take a 4x4 pickup into the surrounding hills and find Bigfoot. dh

On 24 Jun 2006 09:58:06 -0700, "Gil" <[email hidden]> wrote: >That is why the GTA games are so great. You can just drive and explore >3 huge virtual cities. Lots of stuff going on in them, too. Thanks. I'll be sure to add the GTA games to my list, even if the comment about bigfoot is not true. :)

> Any suggestions? The bigger and more detailed the cities are the > better. John... These are not exactly racing simulators, but they all have large city areas to explore: Driver and Driver2 GTA3, GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas 8-) *Peter* - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/petergagg/