Can Vehicle sections EVER be playable?

[Plurralbles]

You hear it from people who play Grand Theft Auto, you hear it from The Saboteur, you hear it from The GodFather The Game. I ran into it in Batallion Wars.

Developers don't know what the hell they're doing when making a driving level. That's all I can gather. I don't think they've actually driven a car.(though a light recon or tank might be a little bit excusable) but as I am driving it's nearly impossible to steer. Nearly impossible to not have the camera swinging back and forth. Very difficult to drive anywhere straight. It's easy as hell to get airborne and/or turned around.

Do you hate vehicle sections? Do you think they're necessary? Do you think that any chimp with a goatee could make a better system than the devs put forth? Any games that did it well that you know of? Or do you just chalk up the crap driving levels due to the limitations of a Joystick? If it's so limited, why do devs keep trying it and failing in every other game?

 

[JRCB]

I think Forza 3 had some pretty good vehicle sections....

In all seriousness, I can adjust to the controls rather quickly in most games when it comes to driving, so I'm not bothered.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I liked the Warthog, I liked the Mako, I liked the horse-riding sections in GUN, I liked the driving of Saints Row, in fact, I have never played a game where I didn't like the driving sections.

Most of the time, the people who don't like something are the ones who complain loud and proud about it, whereas people who liked it just stay quiet and enjoy themselves. Also, people who were indifferent don't waste their time bellowing their opinions online.

Opinions on driving sections range a lot further than you think, and you might be surprised at how many people like them. It's just that you never hear from them, because generally (I'm in the middle of being an exception here) no one stands up to talk about stuff they liked anymore.

 

[Chicago Ted]

I love the one in GTA. Hell I like it more then quite a few racing games. Sure it's got a bit of a learning curb to it, but I love it because I still have my friends in awe sometimes as I have a ballet with it and the cops chasing us while flying around traffic. It can feel extremely rewarding once you have it down.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

They are in a lot of games. Not in either Gears, though.

 

[TheDfriley]

Honestly I had no problem driving the armored car thingies in the most recent Red Faction game for the 360, but I'm not a video-game connoisseur so my opinions are probably pretty different from your own.

 

[Lonan]

James Bond: Everything or Nothing
Great vehicle sections, absolutely loved them.
Mass Effect:
Liked vehicle sections, quite enjoyable to plow through enemies who would cause a huge headache otherwise. Excellent way to dodge incoming fire. Zoom control was frustrating.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

I like the Warthog and Scorpion parts of the Halo series.

 

[nick_knack]

Ima come right out and say it: I love driving stuff in games.

I think peoples problem with it has to do with the multitasking that vehicles demand, over simple foot movement.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Grand Theft Auto is pretty solid. I'm hoping they'll be good in Just Cause 2 as well. In the original, all the vehicles hovered an inch or so off the ground. If driving felt floaty, it's because it was literally the case.

Basic driving physics are pretty easy, it's realistic driving physics that's difficult.

 

[Avatar Roku]

James Bond: Everything or Nothing
Great vehicle sections, absolutely loved them.
Mass Effect:
Liked vehicle sections, quite enjoyable to plow through enemies who would cause a huge headache otherwise. Excellent way to dodge incoming fire. Zoom control was frustrating.

Heh, I'm surprised to hear anyone else remembers that game. It was fun.

 

[SantoUno]

Yes, just play any of the Halo games, they are the only non-driving games that seem to have near-perfect vehicle handling.

 

[Disaster Button]

None spring to mind, but I've never really played a game with vehicle sections.. that I remember.

I hope to god the 40k MMO will have good vehicle sections, those are kinda important.

 

[Tuddle]

Vigilante 8 and Vigilante 8 2nd Offence BEST CAR COMBAT GAMES EVER!

That's My Motto.
I love these two games.

If you love the games Vigilante 8 and Vigilante 8 2nd Offence
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On Topic:
Yes I think the driving part of games are necessary.

Stuntman - another great example of a driving game I love.

 

[Kaymish]

ive never had an issue with vehicle sections on the PC but on the PS2 i had heaps of trouble with them and on the same sorts of games also

 

[Thaius]

Halo did a great job, in my opinion.

It works now and then, it's just a matter of design. Of course it's possible, it's just that many developers look at those sections as just stuff that must be in the game, for variety's sake. This means they don't work on it as much: after all, it's just in there 'cause it should be, not because they actually have vision for it.

Of course this is not always the case, but often.

 

[NickCaligo42]

Here's the fundamental problem:

In an actual car, you have a steering wheel and pressure-sensitive brakes and gas, in addition to the actual sense of acceleration and weight behind the car.

In a video game where 80%+ of your time ISN'T spent driving, you have control sticks and buttons and triggers that only as recently as this current console generation have become pressure-sensitive. There are positively no tactile cues to speak of apart from rumble. You're also transitioning, usually without a lot of choice in the matter, to a completely different control scheme which you won't spend enough time using to get used to, which is actually why driving segments are a bad idea in general as opposed to driving games.

 

[New Frontiersman]

I don't play that many games with vehicle sections so I wouldn't know, but it must be possible since there are so many good racing games out there that are by definition entirely "vehicle sections". And maybe its hard tprogram them properly, but if that's the case they should just be left out of the games entirely.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

Its good in games like Just Cause amd SR2, but its not made for some games.