gran turismo Archives - JCW Adventures

Digital Racers: Best Car Games With MINIs

Ali Mir — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:11:58 +0000

Owning a MINI is all the community around it, and it’s the only car brand to come with friends included. MINI owners share a universal love of this four-wheel wonder which has changed our lives for the better as many different characters, journeys and memories to share a lifetime in the open world. The world has now changed as we know it due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), but the digital world is still there. We all can remain connected with the one love that we all share our MINIs so here is a rundown of the great car games with MINIs in them to keep those smiles per hours going.

This list will include a mix of PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, Stadia & Mobile so you can play on your favourite gaming platform.

The Crew 2 – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC & Stadia

The Crew 2 is an open-world game that has land, sea and air cover as you can switch between any time of vehicle anytime you want to give you the vehicle fix while you’re stuck indoors. The open-world is a mix of the US states in a large map which can be covered by a variety of vehicles including cars, motorcycles, boats, and aeroplanes.

The game features a nonlinear story that follows the unnamed player character as they go to become a racing icon in the United States by winning in all racing disciplines available in the game. There are four disciplines: Street Racing, Off-Road, Freestyle and Pro Racing. In Street Racing, the player is assisted by Latrell. In Off-Road, the player is assisted by Tucker “Tuck” Morgan. In Freestyle, the player is assisted by Sofia and her father. In Pro Racing, the player is assisted by Alexis.

MINIs in the game:

2010 – R56 MINI Cooper S

2013 – R60 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Both have a rallycross edition to them, and another plus to the Crew 2 is that you modify your car to your liking with visuals to fully race car with engine mods etc.

Need For Speed: Heat – PlayStation 4, Xbox One & PC

NFS: Heat returns to it’s rooted with the latest iteration with racers and police but this interesting take on it all. By day is a certified league of professional racing to climb up the ladder and then switch over to the darkness of the night it’s illegal street racing and avoid the police. The police are on the hunt for street racers, so they won’t let you go easy and they will hunt you down whether your cruising around or in a race and the gloves will be off.

Heat’s key feature is modifying your car to your dreams right down to the colour to the actual exhaust note of the car which can be done in the game or through the mobile NFS Heat Studio app. Your car can also be modified to different disciplines ranging from road racing to drifting so you can have the edge over the competition both online and offline.

The games start with you the player arriving in Palm City for the Speedhunter Showdown, a citywide exhibition which draws in racers to compete in legally sanctioned races throughout the day, and illegal street races throughout the night. Lt. Frank Mercer, leader of the police department’s High-Speed Task Force, announces his intent to ruthlessly pursue and arrest all street racers in the city. Lucas Rivera, a local mechanic and retired street racer, sells the player their first car, helps the player enter their first Showdown race, and becomes their mechanic and mentor for much of the game. Lucas’s younger sister, Ana Rivera (Ana Marte), is a street racer whose crew recently disbanded after a task force raid nearly killed one of her friends.

MINI in the game:

2017 – F60 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Gran Turismo Sport – Playstation 4

The lastest run in the longest-running Playstation exclusive real driving simulator from Polyphony Digital on the PS4. This is not your arcade racer but more of sim so your inputs will need to be like how they would be in real life; otherwise, you will crash or spin out. Gran Turismo has always tried to blend the line between real life and the digital world, so there are real tracks, cars and competitions which have FIA approved around the world. The tweaks to your car are all about the suspension, aero, gearing setup etc like you would have in real life in order to gain that extra second on lap time.

Gran Turismo Sport has VR for a feature which is cool to look around cars and there is photo mode to get your clicks to make the best images around the various locations and scenes. Gran Turismo will receive one-off concept cars made by manufactures exclusively to the game which will not be found elsewhere like the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo.

GT Sport doesn’t have a story mode or anything is just go out there and race on real or original tracks and go compete online to win to be the best and actually become a real racing driver.

MINIs in the game:

MINI Clubman Vision Gran Turismo Concept

1965 – Mini-Cooper ‘S’

2005 – R53 Mini Cooper S

GRID – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC & Stadia

This is another return to beloved franchise but more of reboot to bringing back white knuckle bumper to bumper racing. GRID was created by the Codemasters who made the TOCA, Colin Mcrae, DIRT & F1 s they know how to make a great car game.

GRID covers the following disciplines Touring, Stock, Tuner & Invitational which ranges the cars from Hot Hatches to F1 to bring out your inner Stig. The game has an arcade feel to as it allows some liberalities as there is a rewind feature which lets you go back to where you ran out of talent then move forward from correcting your mistake. There is a mix of racing from the day, night and different weather effects so there plenty of locations on the drive on through your career.

There is only visual customisation with liveries on the vehicles and setup of suspension etc to make the most of laps times.

MINIs in the game:

2012 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works

1965 – Mini-Cooper ‘S’

Driveclub – PS4

This one on the list is one of my personal favourite car games of all time. Driveclub gave you all the cars you could dream of and made you feel like you were driving them with the sounds and visuals. There is an arcade feel to the driving, but that was built in to give you some fun straight away so the words easy to learn and hard to master come to mind.

The car list is something to lust about as there is everything from Hot hatches to hypercars, but there are no mods just changing the colour or the liveries.

Driveclub makes up for the lack of changes with the weather effects in the game ranging from sunny days to snow. Along with the best locations in each corner of the world, so one race your racing through the Scotland highlands to Tokyo Turnpikes with a fantastic level of details with lighting, backdrops and the most realistic cars sounds ever with backfires, deeper noise echoing in turns with in-car views outlaying every single stitch in the Ferrari 458 speciale.

Another feature that was added later on was the DLC of having to drive on two wheels if that tickles your fancy with Drive Club Bikes along with the paid-for upgrade to play in VR for more sensory overload.

MINIs in the game:

2013 – R56 Mini GP2

Forza Motorsport 7 – Xbox One & PC

A Microsoft exclusive that runs with the leader of the pack Gran Turismo with giving you real racing to hoon your skills in the digital with fastest cars on the street to every series of racing on the track.

Forza Motorsport 7 features over 700 cars—including new Forza Edition cars, most of which have been brought over from Forza Horizon 3—and more than 200 different configurations to race on across 32 locations at launch, including all from Forza Motorsport 6; a fictional street circuit in Dubai is one of the new circuits and several tracks returning from Forza Motorsport 4 including Maple Valley Raceway, Mugello Circuit and Suzuka Circuit. Two features that are new to the Motorsport title include dynamic weather which changes over the course of the race and customisable drivers.

Don’t be brushed off by this sim racer as it can be tailored around skill level as you can a lot of driving aids on like it show the racing line as a minimum to auto braking for corners to help you learn cars and tracks the easy way.

Most of these games do have an online feature but Xbox wins hands down on the community given the number of laughs I have had in lobbies and racing on the track.

MINIs in the game:

1965 – Mini Cooper S

1965 – Mini Cooper S Forza Edition

2012 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works

2013 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works GP

2013 – R56 Mini John Cooper Works GP Forza Edition

2014 – R60 Mini Monster Energy All4 Racing X-Raid

Forza Horizon 4 – Xbox One & PC

Another open-world car game with an arcade feel, but this includes real cars with added FUN to the world as you go about racing for money, prizes and doing ridiculous with cars like racing a train or Vulcan bomber to a finish point. The aim here is to buy and drive your favourite car in open-world which changes through the seasons yes you hear me right seasons, so it changes throughout your time from summer to snow-filled winter. Every type of racing is here from circuit racing to drag racing on a frozen lake and that’s just the start with the DLC adding more depth and madness to the mix like LEGO world where you can drive lego versions of the Bugatti Chiron.

Whatever car you can imagine it’s in the game ranging from James Bond’s DB5 to V10 howl of the Lexus LFA. If any of those cars don’t tickle your fancy you can modify to your heart’s content by taking a Land Rover Defender and shove in big V8 race motor and change it to rear-wheel drive then modify the bodywork or paint to any colour want.

The game is continuously updated for free and with paid DLC of new cars or races so the fun will always continue until the next iteration comes out.

MINIs in the game:

1965 – MINI Cooper S Traveller

1965 – LEGO Version MINI Cooper S

2009 – R56 MINI John Cooper Works

2012 – R56 MINI John Cooper Works GP

2014 – R60 MINI X-Raid All4 Racing Countryman

2018 – F57 MINI John Cooper Works Convertible

2018 – F60 MINI John Cooper Works Countryman ALL4

2018 – MINI X-raid John Cooper Works Buggy

Dirt Rally 2.0 – PS4, Xbox One & PC

Codemasters worked their magic as they always do with car games as they made the legendary Colin Mcrae rally games.

Dirt Rally 2.0 is focused on rallying and rallycross across timed stage events on tarmac and off-road terrain in varying weather conditions. The locations for races are in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Spain and the United States, Finland, Germany, Greece, Monte Carlo, Sweden and Wales. There are remastered versions of the stages included in the original Dirt Rally.

The car roster covers 50 cars: World Rallycross Supercars, historic rally cars from the 1960s through the 1980s, Groups A, B and R rally cars, and modern rally cars from the 1990s to the late 2010s.

There is a new weather modelling system changes the level of grip, visibility and the surface of the stages degrades as more cars pass over a stage. The level of detail with damages not only be visual but also mechanical effect so have to fix a race without a wheel or broken gearbox.

MINIs in the game:

1965 – MINI Cooper S

2018 – XITE Racing F56 Mini Cooper SX1

Gear.Club Unlimited 2 – Nintendo Switch

The game is an arcade-style racer which uses the switch controllers to its advantage with the face buttons are used for braking and accelerating. The game has local split-screen with online multiplayer covering more than 250 different races across the four main environments and over 50 licensed cars.

The game includes a story mode as well as a Club feature they can be shared with friends and challenge rival clubs across the world. There is a garage feature so players can upgrade and customise any model of car from the paint and bodywork, or change the performance with engine tuning.

MINIs in the game:

2015 – F56 MINI John Cooper Works

CSR Racing 2 – Mobile (Andriod/iOS)

Custom street racing 2 is a free to play drag racing game on mobile devices. The game is split into five tiers, with each tier introducing progressively faster opposition and vehicles. To move on to a new tier, the player must race and beat the crew boss for the level. After beating the boss of each level, the player will be challenged to a high stakes rematch to which if you win again you win the boss’s car. However, if the player loses, they must give back the gold won from the previous boss race.

The car list ranges from hot hatches to hypercars for straight-line drag races as the racing is limited to 1/4 mile or 1/2 mile races. The game focuses on timing gear changes and use of the nitrous upgrade by tapping the screen, which allows a low barrier of entry to the game so anyone can play.

MINIs in the game:

2015 – F56 MINI Cooper S

That’s my list of car games to get you through the lockdown and I hope to meet some of you online and keep the MINI community going online. If there is any that you know, please chime in the comments or reach out to me on social media.

Gamer Tag Playstation: AM_AUTOS

Gamer Tag Xbox: AMAUTOS

If anyone needs me during this difficult time, please do not hesitate to reach over social media and over the time of the lockdown, I will be reaching out to the community to keep all of us moving forward.

Hope to see you at the next corner for the next MINI Adventure…

Ali

Founder of JCW Adventures

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The post Digital Racers: Best Car Games With MINIs appeared first on JCW Adventures.

The Digital Divide: MINI VISION GT Review

Ali Mir — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:14:24 +0000

Technology has evolved so much now its very much part of our lives and who are as a person as we move from reality to the virtual world. Electronics have integrated into cars to relay information to the driver to make life behind the wheel simpler and safer. The modern car is become a more of tool in the transporting people from point A to B but to a MINIac its a place to call ‘Home’.
The PlayStation was my ‘Home’ before I could drive. The PlayStation was my escape from the real world but I have grown up with every generation of this game console and remained a PS owner only. I would play endless of amount of PlayStation classic such as Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, Wipeout, Driver, Tekken and most importantly Gran Turismo. Gran Turismo was my little nirvana of high octane adrenaline racing as I couldn’t reach the pedals at 11. In this world I could lose myself as I could go racing after completing B & A licenses for racing where you would start with a revtastic Honda Civic. That Honda was your stepping stone to learning the racing line and keeping momentum in the corners to catch up with the computer as often most you were up against faster cars but the AI back then wasn’t too clever.

Fast forward to the future and the Gran Turismo series by Polyphony Digital since 1998 has sold over 72 million copies with the game its 6th iteration exclusively to the Sony PlayStation. The brand has won the hearts and minds of gamers and petrol heads as it is still seen as the ‘Real Racing Simulator’ as the brand expanded into the real world. This first happened in 2002 where Gran Turismo creator and series producer Kazunori Yamauchi attended SEMA to judge exhibitors to give them a chance to have their car featured in a future version of Gran Turismo as a drivable vehicle. It didn’t stop with the after market world as GT brand was invited he prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to present the Gran Turismo Trophy – an award “to support those who make efforts to preserve irreplaceable, precious automotive culture for future generations to come”.
This shows how the brand has very much come a big part of the automotive world in show scene but it doesn’t stop there with the GT series sponsoring the Pikes Peak, 24 Hours of Nurburgring etc. Kaz the game creator doesn’t shy away from racing in the real world either as he is through and through petrol head as he races in various championships under the GT brand with his most prominent being the 24 hours of the Nurburgring in a modified Nissan R35 GTR.
Japanese manufacturers have often capitalised off the brand for marketing and tapping into future owners as they understood at some point these gamers will grow up to buy a car. Nissan has done this most effectively with Nissan Skyline which is now known as the GTR in its current R35 form. The official unveiling of the GTR was done in the real world and in the game at the same time giving the chance of the gamers to attempt the lap shattering record time on the Nurburgring of 7 minutes 28 seconds back in 2009.

Nissan didn’t stop there instead it went straight after the players to start the GT Academy is a driver discovery/development program initiated in 2008 through a partnership between Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Polyphony Digital. This was competition to see if gamers could be turned into real racing drivers to compete in GT3 racing series. The digital divide was truly broken as winners of the Gran Turismo Academy include Lucas Ordóñez, Jordan Tresson and Jann Mardenborough have all gone on to compete in professional real-life racing with great success.
Taking the racing line back to MINI who have teamed up GT to unveiled the MINI Vision GT Concept which is essential the forth coming MINI Clubman in its JCW form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYyjj_7osdo
This digital concept is giving us an eye to where MINI will be taking the Clubman as the all engines, platform and JCW will provide. It was interesting to learn that this concept has a four wheel drive with 395 Bhp with 0 to 62 dispatched in 3.5 seconds. This MINIac has a sequential 6-speed transmission directs engine power to the permanent all-wheel drive system, guaranteeing optimum power transmission at all times, while gear shifting is achieved using wheel-mounted paddles. Fully adjustable dampers at the front and rear ensure an optimum connection with the road. The maximum speed is up to 290 km/h dependent on gear ratios.
This is not the first time MINI has added four wheel drive to the mix the Countryman being the first with All4 with great success as the uptake has been significantly high which is why most likely the forthcoming Clubman will get All4.

Looking at the concept there is a lot to like with the flared arches, front and rear carbon fibre splitters, roof spoilers and racing inspired black X headlights. The elliptical X headlamps are a hark back to the past of long-distance racers which masked their headlights to prevent the headlamp glass from splintering to avoid broken glass on the track. Sadly MINI didn’t give this concept an interior so there is no sneak peek into seeing the new Clubman interior.

Looking at just makes me hope that MINI build a touring car version of this car to take racing as it would be great speculate to see MINI having David and Goliath battles to make its way to a podium finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfGHKqL3-iw
Given this a digital car only as of yet it would only be fair for me to test this MINI to its limits on track. Time to step into my bedroom for surreal review of the MINI VISION GT concept on my PS3 as for once I am not bonded by rules of the road. Rest assured I am no slouch in the digital world as the hours I have put into the GT series through the ages but this allows to me give a comparison with previous generation MINI model which are front wheel drive.
You have been pre-warned as I do like to drift and tease the competition when I am winning which is quite often than most as I know my lines, I am patient and I know exactly when to make my move.

If your game here is my PSN: AM_AUTOS
The track I selected to review this car is the High Speed Ring in GT6 as which is a well know track I know and often use to fine tune my car collection in the digital world. The High Speed Ring gives you a good indication of how the car is at speed whilst fast corners and S corners allow you see the grip levels and corner transitions the car makes under throttle, direction change and braking. This gives me a base line on how to fine to the power levels and suspension setup to dial in toe in and chamber or oversteer to my liking.
With any race I do I always switch off the traction complete and just have the ABS set to normal to stop the brakes from stop locking up and gear changes are left in auto with opponents turned to the professional level. I opted to get the GT in the obligatory red and black JCW colours as this brought out the carbon details and key design features, there was no option to go DARK KNIGHT.

I hit the GT’s original test track of the High Speed Ring and the GT concept doesn’t hang out on the back straight as we hit a high of 160mph going into the left high banked turn. There is alot traction from the four wheel drive but it seems to under steer when pushed hard as it refuses to turn as it just gentle turns giving you worrying moments of we are too close to the barrier.
To quell the under steer you have to bring the speeds right down which is annoying when your racing as you have to opt for the slow in and fast out technique. The brakes are good and strong even with all the systems off as there is no squirming under heavy braking but again the four wheel drive system doesn’t allow any rotation or mid corner adjustments. This leaves a poor after taste which isn’t MINI go karting touch but some four ringed quattro numpty mobile as I expected a rear wheel bias on the four wheel drive system to give you some fun.

I tried numerous techniques to get the back end to rotate or get any adjustments but it doesn’t allow you at all as did the Scandinavian flick, floored the accelerator mid corner and the only thing that did it was gripping the hand brake which would send into a 90 degree slide. The slide would be short lived as soon as you got onto the power to control it as the throttle would just as equally as violently bring the car back into the straight just to tell you ‘NO I AM NOT BUILT FOR FUN’.

Told you I know how to drive ; )
Through the S bend the transitions of the car was poor as direction change was soooo slow which resulted in quick slam on the brakes to get speed low enough to get more turn in. You had to be on the brakes the for the next corner otherwise it would just under steer into the barrier as the four wheel drive system doesn’t allow any rotation or adjustment which is why I had to adopt the slow in and fast out technique.
I posted a quick time of 1 minute and 9 seconds around the circuit which is league well above any hot hatch, MINIs have always punched above their weight and easily holds it own. However there was no enjoyment from this feat as it was more of relief when I saw the chequered line as I hated driving it. In comparison to a R56 MINI Cooper S specd to because race car level (coilovers, semi slicks, bigger brakes and uprated engine to 254 Bhp) is a whole 6 seconds slower at 1 minute 15 seconds but is whole load more fun as you point and shoot at corners. The driving experience is better in the front wheel drive R56 as I can adjust mind corner and have a better sense of grip levels but all considering the R56 power deficit of over 40 Bhp which makes a huge difference in such a small car.

Looking at the overall benchmark of the VISION GT it holds own in the real world as I have lapped the circuit in completely stock Jaguar XKR-S at 1 minute 11 seconds and Murcia’s new C7 Corvette Z06 in 1 minute 8 seconds both wearing semi slick tyres with no electronic nannies. Both of these rear wheel drive powerhouses have at least 400 Bhp which just shows how much better MINIs are at putting the power to the ground and making the most of the corners.

The VISION GT as race-car does what it was built for to post the best time lap time possible. It has achieved this to the sacrifice of the infamous go karting handling for outright traction with the four wheel drive system. I am just hoping the forthcoming Clubman JCW gets the VISION GT racer look without the four wheel drive numbness.
Review Score 3/5
The VISION GT hits every apex as a race car but washes wide at retaining the MINI go kart handling at the price of four wheel drive traction. This might be a concept but many of MINI concepts aren’t far from reality to car you will own, meaning the forthcoming JCW Clubman will receive four wheel with more power and touring car looks.
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The post The Digital Divide: MINI VISION GT Review appeared first on JCW Adventures.