Spike TV’s annual Video Game Awards is set to take place on December 12 and as you can expect, one of the most hotly-contested categories is that of the year’s best driving game.

After what we could imagine as months of deliberation and thousands of hours playing these games, Spike has whittled the contenders down to four games: Gran Turismo PSP, Forza 3, Need for Speed: Shift, and DiRT 2.

We have to admit that it’s a little tough to pick out a winner especially since we’ve spent an inordinate amount of time playing – and enjoying – all of these games so deciding on the best one is like choosing who your favorite kid is. Not easy, right?

Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on your perspective – the notable absence of Gran Turismo 5 has made the inevitable choice a tad less difficult. But then again, we really wouldn’t know because GT5, for all of the hype and posturing, hasn’t been released yet.

At the end of the day, we’re going to have to come up with our own vote, but suffice to say, we probably wouldn’t cast it until a few hours before the deadline passes.

Vote for 2009's best driving game in Spike TV's VG Awards originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 26 November 2009 13:00 EST.

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There’s something innately kooky about being an contemporary artist. For the most part, a lot of these people have come with the weirdest and most oddly-sighted creations known to man.

Take Garnet Hertz, for instance. He calls himself a contemporary artist and his latest creation is definitely more than just ‘contemporary’. What he did was take a Sega Outrun arcade game and fused it with a three-wheeled scooter to create – yes, you guessed it – a drivable arcade game.

To spice up his new creation, Herntz also added an iPhone and a customized GPS software in his creation. What for, you ask? To the best of our rationalizing capabilities, the GPS software finds the vanishing point of the road ahead and, with the use of Google Maps, puts the game’s Testarossa into a live-action setting.

According to Herntz himself, the whole project was born out of two concepts: Un-Simulation of Driving and GPS Navigation Parallax & Mixed Reality.

Continued after the jump.

SEGA Outrun arcade game combines with three-wheeled scooter to literally become a drivable game originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 14 November 2009 11:15 EST.

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You’re playing a racing game and you’re beating all challengers that come your way. In the middle of you dominant run, you start thinking to yourself, ‘hey, I can totally do this in real life and make everyone eat my dust’.

Well, for better or for worse, sometimes you get what you ask for.

This is what a couple of Need for Speed gamers found themselves in after being picked by Ford’s Mustang 10 Unleashed to unleash to burn rubber on a real race track. After hosting a tournament that featured the best Need for Speed players in the world, the four gamers who came out on top were treated with a very special prize: racing a real 2010 Ford Mustang.

But before being exposed to the world of real car racing, the four gamers were taught at the Fast lane Racing School about the nuances of real car racing – and not those that they’ve dominated on the video game circuit. After their crash course, the four gamers were then put the test against the 2010 Mustang.

Find out how they fared in the video.

Thanks for the tip Ben!

More video after the jump.

Video: Ford Mustang '10 Unleashed on Need for Speed gamers originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 12 November 2009 08:00 EST.

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Just in case the wait for Gran Turismo 5 has left you chomping your nails in anticipation, it’s always a good idea to remember just what you’re waiting for. These new screenshots of the game come in 18 megapixels, which, if you don’t know, is as crisp as it can get.

The realism is uncanny, even for our pretty lofty standards, and seeing these photos does beg the question: how much longer do we have to wait?

Seeing these photos has made the wait that much more excruciating.

New Gran Turismo 5 screenshots surface originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 10 November 2009 16:00 EST.

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In order to promote the launch of the new Golf GTI on the US market, Volkswagen is offering the model on a mobile device in a free version of the popular Firemint Real Racing game. Most importantly, the users of the Real Racing GTI App in the U.S. can compete for the chance to win one of six, limited-edition 2010 GTIs that are fully-customized inside and out.

The free Real Racing GTI App is available worldwide and spares no detail, allowing players to experience every thrilling aspect of the all-new 2010 GTI right in the palms of their hands on iPhone and iPod touch. From the redesigned exterior with more aggressive headlights and the famous red-striped grille, to the sporty interior with a race-inspired steering wheel, the all-new 2010 GTI races its way to life on the screen for a thrilling gaming experience.

So, so at www.vw.com/RealRacingGTI and start having fun!

Press release after the jump.

Real Racing GTI Game - Volkswagen GTI iPhone game originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 23 October 2009 09:49 EST.

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The latest Gran Turismo PSP commercial features two of the greatest supercars of all the times: a 1969 Corvette Stingray and a 1988 Lamborghini Countach. And what is even greater is that they are scraping sides on a race track. But, what do you think? Is this for real or just a computer generated scene? Let us know!

GT PSP commercial: Corvette Stingray vs. Lamborghini Countach originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 22 October 2009 13:45 EST.

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While we all still fret over the still-to-be-finalized release date of Gran Turismo 5, another equally important question has surfaced recently: which car will have the privilege of gracing the cover of the most hotly-anticipated car racing game in five years?

Well, if you take the word of GT5 Creative Director, Kazunori Yamaguchi, then he has an opinion on one car that’s in the running – so to speak – to grace the cover of GT5: the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Gullwing.

Sony has not made anything official as of yet but according to Yamaguchi, the SLS AMG is one of the favorites to be featured on the cover of GT5. “"The foremost reason is that the SLS AMG will probably be the most exciting car in the world when Gran Turismo 5 is released ... Also, in terms of styling and driving performance as well, it’s probably the hottest car around right now," he says.

We’re not arguing the fact that the SLS AMG is right up there at the top of a lot of people’s holiday wish list and in the event that it does end up as the face of GT5, then we have no oppositions on that too.

Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing to be on the cover of Gran Turismo 5? originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 22 October 2009 12:30 EST.

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There really aren’t a lot of F1 games available for the iPhone – actually, with the exception of this one, there’s none – so when one becomes available, you take them any way you can get them.

And for just $2, we think the new BMW Sauber F1 game for the iPhone is as good a two-dollar investment as you can find anywhere.

Let’s face it, a lot of people in America aren’t very familiar with Formula One. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy it, even if it comes to us as an iPhone game. The game, by all accounts, caters to a lot of different racing game nuts. Those who want instant gratification can choose to play the quick-race mode in the game while the championship-starved fellows can opt to give the championship mode a shot. There’s also a professional mode, which gives you control of the pit crew and once you’ve gotten deeper into the game, the engineering mode will become available, which, eventually makes you the principal of your team where you will be tasked to make all the decisions for your drivers and cars.

Continued after the jump.

Video: BMW Sauber F1 game for the iPhone originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 10:00 EST.

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You won’t mistake it for Gran Turismo 5 or even Forza 3, but nevertheless the new Need for Speed: Nitro for the Nintendo Wii is about as fun a racing game can get. Sure, the graphics are nowhere near GT5-caliber but that’s not exactly what the Wii is all about. The Need for Speed: Nitro is about racing cars and having fun doing it, not racing them while gawking at the uberly-detailed graphics.

That being said, EA recently released the first batch of cars that are scheduled to appear in the game. Like we said, don’t take it against these guys if the realism is not up to par with your standards. Take into account that with the Wii, it’s not entirely about the graphics, but more so, on the racing experience.

And if you know you’re video games, you know that when it comes to gaming experience, the Wii doesn’t take a backseat for anybody.

Need for Speed: Nitro reveals first batch of cars for the Wii originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 12 October 2009 11:00 EST.

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We don’t understand too much Japanese, but we do know that we were caught by surprise to find out that the recently-revealed Toyota FT-86 Concept is actually a playable car on Gran Turismo 5.

Shortly after the concept car was revealed to have a ticket for the Tokyo Motor Show, a video of it joining its predecessor, the Toyota AE86 Corolla in an all-out run where both cars end up sliding sideways.

Now since Sony was kind enough to share us this video, it makes us all the more excited to cop the game as soon as it comes out. You never know what other yet-to-be-unveiled concept cars GT5 has in store for us.

GT5 releases video of Toyota FT-86 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 6 October 2009 14:20 EST.

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Apart from the portability of the PSP, bragging rights over the PS3 come few and far in between, so you can imagine the giddiness PSP owners have after Gran Turismo 5 was released for the portable gaming console yet the official date for the PS3 is still yet to be resolved.

As if things can’t get any worse for PS3 owners, GT5 recently released a new PSP-exclusive GT5 commercial, showing all of us exactly what we are missing.

The commercial shows a race team taking in a few laps at Laguna Seca and the passenger of the two-man unit playing on his PSP while the driver runs through a lap at the famous Monterey circuit on a Corvette ZR1, engaged in a spirited race against a Ford GT and a Nissan GT-R. As for the supposed navigator playing on his PSP, he’s racing on a Corvette ZR1 against, you guessed it, a Ford GT and a Nissan GT-R

Kind of exemplifies Gran Turismo’s eternal tagline, ‘the real driving simulator’, doesn’t it?

Watch and enjoy.

Video: New Gran Turismo 5 PSP Commercial originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 30 September 2009 10:00 EST.

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The rumors surrounding Gran Turismo 5’s release date has taken yet another turn. Days after Sony announced that the game would be due out in Japan on March 2010; Polyphony Digital - a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. - said that the game could make its highly-anticipated release at the start of 2010.

According to PD boss Kazunori Yamauchi, the US and Europe release dates shouldn’t be too far behind the Japan release, a turn from the traditional practice of having Japan get its hands on new games months before any other region in the world. Yamauchi also said that the GT5 release date would all depend on Sony’s marketing campaign for the game.

We find it unfathomable to believe that Gran Turismo 5 – a game car nuts have been clamoring for the past couple of years – needs any more marketing. Isn’t it a foregone conclusion already that as soon as it hits the stores, it’s going to be swooped up in mere seconds?

These guys need only to look at how sales of GT5: Prologue went to know that the game doesn’t need any more marketing. It markets itself already.

Nevertheless, we’re all still guessing as to when the actual date really is. While Sony did say that March 2010 was the date, it’s not like Polyphony Digital doesn’t have any credibility either. They are, after all, a subsidiary of SCEI so their comments should have some weight in them too.

Gran Turismo might be released sooner than expected originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 30 September 2009 08:00 EST.

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Gran Turismo 5’s official US release is still up in the air despite what some sites - hello, Amazon! - will make you think. But one thing has been made official (at last!) by Sony execs regarding the fifth-generation racing simulator; GT 5 will hit the shelves on March of 2010 in Japan.

The March 2010 release is six-months after the game goes out on sale for the PSP. But the one thing on everyone’s mind – especially to us on this side of the world who doesn’t speak nor understand Japanese – is when the game will hit the Western world.

Sony has yet to announce a specific date – thank you for keeping us all hanging, by the way – for the US release, although if history is any indicator, we might not get to see it until a few months after its Japan release.

It looks like the wait for GT5 should become more and more excruciating, especially when you take into consideration the fact that GT4 was released in 2005.

Yes, it’s been THAT long, and to be honest, we don’t know how much longer we can wait before we go crazy.

It's official: Sony announces March 2010 release of Gran Turismo 5 in Japan originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 26 September 2009 13:00 EST.

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Let’s make it clear: when picking between Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5, you can’t go wrong with either game. Exclusive game platforms aside, both games offer the purest form of racing you can find out in the gaming market so picking between the two is like picking between apples and oranges: both are awesome in their own light.

But what Forza 3 seems to have a leg-up on GT5 is this: 29 Ferraris. That’s right; the Xbox-exclusive racing game comes with a truckload of your favourite prancing horse-badged super cars. From all time classics like the 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO to the ultra-modern exotics like the 458 Italia, Forza 3 has addressed your Ferrari craving down to the last drop.

It’s easy to get carried away by all the Ferraris you can choose from in Forza 3 so we clearly won’t take it against you if you scoop a copy up as soon as it hits gaming stores all over the country.

Just make sure you leave a copy for us.

Forza 3 comes with 29 Ferraris originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 24 September 2009 08:30 EST.

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As we count down the days leading up to the highly-anticipated release of Gran Turismo 5, the game is generating a ton of buzz regarding what super cars will be made available in the game. A few days ago, we couldn’t contain our excitements after we learned that the Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing would be a playable car in the game.

We’ve barely had time to settle down when news broke out that another super car that’s made its way into the top of our wish lists would also be available on GT5.

That’s right, Ferrari junkies; the all-new Ferrari 458 Italia is headed to GT5!

If you don’t believe us, then you should know that pictures – or videos – are worth a thousand words.

Video: Ferrari 458 Italia headed to Gran Turismo 5 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 24 September 2009 08:00 EST.

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