Driving Games That Feature The Tuner Scene

In this blog, we will be looking at driving game that feature the tuner scene or the import culture of the late 1990s through the early 2000s. I feel it necessary to make the distinction between driving and racing because at least two of the game listed below do not fall in the the category of racing games.
The criteria for including the driving games in this list are the following -
1) The game in question must feature visual customisation.
2) The customisable body parts and aftermarket parts included in the game must be influenced by the import tuner scene.
3) The game in question must feature the ability to install aftermarket lights underneath the vehicle.
4) The game in question must feature the ability to personalise the body of vehicles with stickers, decals and/or vinyls.

If a driving game does not meet at least two of the criteria listed above, then it shall not be featured in this post.
If a driving game does meet at least two of the criteria listed above, then it shall be featured in the ‘honorable mentions’ part of this post.

Now with the rules out of the way, let’s get down to business.

Need For Speed Underground (2003)

The driving game which was one of the pioneer of driving games featuring the tuner scene, the first game in the Underground series, was released in 2003. The Need For Speed Underground also introduced a new generation of Need For Speed games, ones which featured a storyline with emotions, the ability of giving your cars a visual overhaul and which featured normal street cars rather than the expensive and rare supercars of the earlier Need For Speed games. The new generation also moved street racing away from the exotic locations to a small urban area near you.
The Need For Speed Underground featured extensive customisation options which were clearly modelled after the tuner culture. You were able to take a normal commuter car like the Dodge Neon and turn it into this beast of an automobile which looked nothing like the car with which you started. The experience of creating a unique automobile attracted many automotive enthusiasts. The vehicles you would create in this game were truly your creations. This feature of allowing the player to customise and create their unique vehicles made the game achieve a legendary status. It was revolutionary, which is the reason why this game is termed as one of the best arcade gaming experience of the last decade.

Need For Speed Underground 2 (2004)

The successor to the Need For Speed Underground, Need For Speed Underground 2 in 2004 introduced several new features which further refined the experience of the tuner scene.
One of the notable new features is the ability to tune while it is running on a chassis dynamo meter. The player were now able to change the gear ratios, boost pressure and ECU settings of their vehicle of choice.
Other new features were the ability to further customise your vehicle’s body with new body kits, the ability to install a stereo in your trunk, the ability to lower your vehicle with hydraulic system and the ability to display the nitrous oxide in different colours.
In terms of automotive additions, Need For Speed Underground 2 introduced three SUVs in the game. They were the Hummer H2, Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator. The introduction of these SUVs proved that racing in video games is not only limited to sedans, coupés and hatchbacks.
These introductions in the Need For Speed Underground 2 allowed it to achieve a cult-status, much larger than the original Need For Speed Underground. The successor to the original Need For Speed Underground took its predecessor’s formula and refined the experience of the tuner culture. Need For Speed Underground 2 is still fondly remembered by many automotive enthusiasts as the game that was the pinnacle of automotive customisation in driving video games.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition (2005)

Released in 2005, Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition was the third game in the Midnight Club series of racing games. Midnight Club 3 was the first game in the series to feature real and licensed automobiles, unlike its predecessors which featured automobiles inspired by real automobiles. The game was also made in partnership with the Dub magazine, hence the name and it featured Dub editions of cars and Dub wheels.
This game also featured SUVs like Need For Speed Underground 2 and it offered the ability to turn them into a high riser. Other than featuring the tuner culture, Midnight Club 3 also featured the ability to create low rider and high riser automobiles.
But one feature that won the hearts of many automotive enthusiasts who loved to customise their cars was the ability to create custom wrap by mixing different designs of vinyls and colouring them. The vinyls could now be moved and applied to almost any part of the body. They were now able to be resized, stretched and layered. This gave the player’s creativity immense freedom.
It allowed the player to create multiple designs of their own. It was a step in right direction towards increasing the amount of customisation in driving games.
Unfortunately, Midnight Club 3:Dub Edition was never officially released for PC. Unlike its predecessors which were available on myriad gaming platforms, the release of Midnight Club 3 was only limited to PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Now as the Midnight Club series lies dormant without information about further releases, the Midnight Club 3:Dub Edition is still remembered as the game that had something for everyone. There were motorbikes, tuner cars, trucks, SUVs, supercars and muscle cars that won the hearts of every automotive enthusiasts.

Juiced (2005)

Juiced is a racing game that was released in 2005 for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and mobile gaming system. Juiced featured a variety of automobiles with several customisation options. It allowed the player to customise their car in different ways including body kits, bumpers, spoiler, lights, wheels and vinyls.
Juiced featured four different game modes; circuit, sprint, drag and timed race.
It allowed the customise the cars to their liking and race them against rivals.
A sequel to Juiced was released in 2007 owing to the success of Juiced.

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (2007)

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights released in 2007 is the successor to the Juiced racing game. Juiced 2 follows the same formula of its predecessor allowing extensive customization to be done to the featured automobiles. Players were now able to change the steering wheels and seats of the car to their liking. It allowed players to customize their automobiles by tweaking almost every aspect of it.
Contrary to the name, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights also featured muscle cars like Pontiac Firebird. Engine tuning options were also extensive, allowing the player to change the car’s power output or handling abilities. The players were also able reduce the weight of their automobile by removing unnecessary accessories, thus increasing acceleration of the automobile.
Juiced 2 also allowed the player to change the color of their automotive glass to different shades of a single color. This allowed the player to create some truly outrageous automobiles with contrasting colors of the automobile’s body and the glass.
As there is no information regarding further games in the Juiced series, Juiced 2:Hot Import Nights can be treated as the final game of this series with some great customization abilities. As the Juiced:Eliminator was only released as a PlayStation Portable-exclusive title, we will not discuss it here.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (2004)

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was released in 2004, being the fifth game in the Grand Theft Auto series. While it featured a story filled with emotions and actions, it was also the first game in the Grand Theft Auto series that featured automotive customization. There are three different categories of garages that are used for customizing automobiles; Transfender, Loco Low Co. and Wheel Arch Angels.
Transfender is the most common of the three as it has a shop in all the three major cities featured in the game. Road cars can be customized at Tranfender with wheels, hydraulics, colour, exhausts, roof scoops, bumpers and spoilers. The customization abilities in Transfender is minimal compared to the other two customization garages.
Loco Low Co. is the customization garage which is exclusive for low rider automobiles. There is only one branch of Loco Low Co. in the first major city, Los Santos. This customization garage allows the player to change the wheels, colour, paint jobs, bumper and hydraulics of their low rider automobile.
Wheel Arch Angels is the customization garage exclusive to tuner automobiles. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas features six automobiles that are classified as tuners. They are Elegy(Nissan Skyline BNR32/BNR33/BNR34), Flash(Nissan Pulsar/Honda Civic EF), Stratum(Nissan Stagea), Jester( Toyota Supra MkIV), Sultan(Subaru Impreza 22B) and Uranus(Mitsubishi Eclipse/Subaru SVX). Wheel Arch Angels allows the player to change the colour, paint jobs, roof scoops, bumpers, wheels, exhausts and hydraulic suspension of their tuner automobile.
As the events of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas take place in 1992, therefore it is no surprise that the ability to customise tuner automobiles is in the game. Early 1990s saw the start of tuner culture in United States and thus one really should not be surprised if Grand Theft Auto San Andreas accurately recreates this culture and its customisation style in the game. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas went on to become an iconic game of the last decade and the best-selling game on the PlayStation 2 platform.

Need For Speed Carbon (2006)

Need For Speed Carbon was released in 2006 as the sequel to the successful Need For Speed Most Wanted (2005). Story takes off right where its predecessor left, with the protagonist being pursued by former sergeant Cross in the canyons. As the protagonist crashes their BMW M3 GTR whilst evading Cross and this sets off the events of Need For Speed Carbon.
Need For Speed Carbon introduced a new feature known as Autosculpt. Using this feature, players were now able to manipulate their automobile’s body part and giving it a new shape, “sculpting the body parts, thus the name Autosculpt. Need For Speed Carbon also introduced a wrap editor in Need For Speed series under the Autosclupt feature. This introduction of a new feature made Need For Speed Carbon revolutionary, similar to what Need For Speed Underground did in 2003. The Autosculpt feature allowed the player the layer vinyls, move them, stretch them and rotate them. Players were also able create custom wheels from empty template provided by the game. It was possible to change the depth of wheel, slats of wheel and size of wheel.
The ability to physically manipulate body parts made it possible for some players to fulfill their most far-fetched desires related to automobiles, similar to the following example:

Compared to the popularity of the three Need For Speed games preceding Need For Speed Carbon, fans response to this game was lacklustre. Need For Speed Carbon is the dark horse of the famed racing game series. It was underrated and it did not receive the fame it deserved. It featured considerably more customization than the Underground series, still it is not idolised by the fans as much they idolise the Underground series.
At the end, Need For Speed Carbon allowed a bit more customization than the other games and it deserves the fame received by others.

Honourable Mention -

Driving games which did not meet more than two criteria listed above.

Grand Theft Auto V (2013)

Grand Theft Auto V was released in 2013 and it is the latest release in the Grand Theft Auto driving game series. It has set numerous sales records since 2013.
Grand Theft Auto V might be viewed as an action game, but there is an automotive aspect to it too. Similar to all its predecessors, Grand Theft Auto V also focuses on the automotive aspect by adding large amount of automobiles with the added ability of customising them in this game. As this list has stated, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was the first Grand Theft Auto game to feature automotive customisation and Grand Theft Auto V is the second to feature automotive customisation.
All across the state of San Andreas, there are automotive garages known as Los Santos Customs, where the player can customise their automobile. Available modification type includes bumpers, hoods, spoilers, exhausts, colours, wheels, roll cages and liveries. Some customisation options are exclusive to certain automobiles. Players are also able to buy car insurance and car tracker from these garages in Grand Theft Auto Online. PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC versions of Grand Theft Auto V has added the ability to install neon lighting system underneath the vehicle.
Another type of automotive garage was introduced in the Lowriders Update of Grand Theft Auto Online, known as Benny’s Original Motor Works. This garage functions similarly to Loco Low Co. and Wheel Arch Angels in Gran Theft Auto San Andreas. Benny’s Original Motor Works is exclusive to low rider automobiles and certain sports cars. Thanks to the ability of playing the game in first-person view on the aforementioned platforms, interiors of vehicles can also be customised with steering wheels and bobblehead. Some vehicles like the Vapid Minivan can be equipped with sound system on door cards.
Grand Theft Auto V has changed the driving game industry by allowing customization that even rival some racing games. It has performed better than everyone’s expectations and it continues to do so with constant updates being released for Grand Theft Auto Online.

Conclusion -

The purpose of this blog was to list the driving games which featured customization similar to the tuner culture. Automotive enthusiasts need to experience this part of car culture, either in real life or through video games. This post was to shed light on some games that can be played by automotive enthusiasts if they want to experience the tuner culture.

Thank you for reading this post and please comments your thoughts on this post. Let me know if any game that I missed that needed to be in this list. See ya around, partner!

Writer’s Note - I intentionally did not include Street Racing Syndicate racing game, as it is far too controversial on its own on how it portrays women.

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