Upcoming Racers of 2012

No matter if you’re a hardcore or a casual gamer, the Racing genre appeals to all. While this year isn’t exactly overflowing with racing games, we’ve narrowed down a few games that should tide gearheads over. Also be sure to check out our previous Upcoming lists that list out upcoming action as well as first person shooter games.

Ridge Racer Unbounded (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Not much is known about the latest entry in the Ridge Racer series at this point in time but apparently Namco have passed on the reigns of development to developer Bugbear Studios, the same studio behind the over-the-top and highly enjoyable FlatOut series (baring FlatOut 3). The game also seems to have broken away from its conventional gameplay mechanics paving the way for a new, grittier racer that boasts of more environmental destruction.

Dirt Showdown (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

While Codemasters are busy working on Dirt 3, they’ve allocated some of their studios’ resources to work on a spin off called Dirt Showdown, an arcade game that’s based on three pillars of gameplay - Hoonigan, Demolition Derby and Race. While the last two modes are fairly self-explanatory, Hoonigan is a brand new mode where players will have to pull off tricks and stunts after being unleashed in a “Joyride compound”.

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Test Drive Ferrari (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Test Drive Unlimited 2 was an awesome game that sadly many did not even play. Let’s hope that’s not the case with Test Drive Ferrari, the latest entry in the Test Drive series being developed by Slightly Mad Studios (Need for Speed: Shift). Information on this game is extremely scarce but from the trailer it’s apparent that Slightly Mad have ditched the exotic, open world setting in favour of linear track-based racing.

Twisted Metal (PS3)

If you’re not familiar with this series, Twisted Metal is a vehicular combat game that generated a massive cult following for itself on the PS2 with its high octane gameplay and over-the-top characters. For its 2012 iteration, the game will retain all the gameplay aspects fans grew to love, expanding upon them with even more destruction, weapons, diverse multiplayer modes and lots more.

MotorStorm RC (PS3, PS Vita)

The MotorStorm series is all about chaotic, aggressive racing and developer Evolution Studios is bringing that mayhem to handheld consoles with MotorStorm RC for the PS Vita. The game will also be available for the PS3 via the PlayStation Network and will support four player split-screen racing. Besides 16 new tracks, this game will also feature RC racing across four popular tracks taken from previous MotorStorm games.

Untitled Need for Speed game (TBA)

What does Need for Speed bring us this year?

We all know that EA’s Need for Speed series has become a yearly franchise so it’s only a matter of time before EA announce a new NFS game for 2012. Since last year was marred by Black Box’s terrible Need for Speed: The Run, we can only hope this year gets redeemed by a new NFS game from Criterion Games. Of course if Criterion are working on a new Burnout game as well, that would make me the happiest bloke on the planet.