Every PS1 Game – Gran Turismo
The history of racing video games stretches back to the 1970’s, and as far as I’m concerned has two eras called “BGT” and “AGT”: before and after Gran Turismo. Released December 23rd 1997 in Japan and in the rest of the world in May 1998, it sold almost 11 million copies on its way to becoming the best-selling Playstation game. It was a cornerstone of the Playstation experience and redefined racing video games, spawning a franchise that is still going strong today.
Gran Turismo managed to outsell any Final Fantasy or Tomb Raider or Crash Bandicoot or even Metal Gear Solid. They did this by first making the most realistic looking and feeling driving game yet–and then they actually made it fun to play. You can jump right in to the “Quick Arcade” and play a traditional mode where you pick a car and track then go racing. But it’s the aptly-named “Gran Turismo” mode where Kazunori Yamauchi and his team revolutionized racing games.
(more…)One Cool Morning at Beeline
The air conditioning in my BRZ had been getting weaker lately, but it seemed to work fine on the highway so I ignored the issue. Even on a 100 degree day, I would still set my A/C to 77 degrees. However, driving across the Mojave desert, I found myself turning the dial to 72…then 68…then LO. Luckily it still maintained “just cool enough” air, but I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I went down to Beeline European Auto Care in Santa Cruz.
(more…)Every PS1 Game – FoxKids.com Micro Maniacs Racing
Racing was one of the most popular genres on Playstation, but not all of those games necessarily focused on cars or even vehicles. Recently my interest was piqued by a game by Codemasters, who brought us the excellent Colin McRae Rally and TOCA Touring Car Championship series. The game we’re about to dive into is a spinoff of the Micro Machines series, but it doesn’t involve vehicles; instead, your character runs, like in Sonic R. Released in 2000, it was known as Micro Maniacs in its home market of Europe, but in the USA it was given the ridiculous title of FoxKids.com Micro Maniacs Racing.
Fitting the “micro” theme, you are a tiny character running around domestic themed obstacle courses. Despite this, the controls are suspiciously car-like; there is a lot of inertia and you’re often on the “brake” to get through the tighter bits.
(more…)Home Field Advantage: Radwood NorCal 2025 @ PayPal Park
Radwood NorCal is the home event for Radwood: most of the event founders hail from the San Francisco Bay Area, and that’s where they the first Radwood was held back in 2017. For me, this 2025 edition was an extra-special home event, because for the first time it was held in my hometown, San Jose.
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Star Road 