I wasted a lot of time playing video games: so much that I swore them off to focus more on real life. The original Counterstrike half-life mod was pretty awesome though, we would have marathon sessions after work. The immersive surround was well done especially for the time. Every time I hear this Italian opera music it brings me back:
Unreal was good too: very immersive sound & the game engine is still used today, although it's been updated. Sometimes I'd just wander around the worlds exploring, taking in the details built into the various levels.
Then I got heavily into online racing simulators: 60's & 70's Formula One & then Sportscars. Surround sound is pretty essential for keeping track of cars around you, so it's always been part of the game package. A decent wheel & pedal setup is mandatory too.
Compared to arcade style racing games, it takes a lot of skill to set up your cars & learn the tracks. Which can be a disadvantage if you just want to jump in a car & race. Competing online was especially challenging as you're racing against real people who've spent hours tuning their car setups & learning racing lines.
Grand Prix Legends was a gamechanger when it came out, simulating the 1967 Formula One season. It's ancient but people are still playing it today, with graphics upgrades.
GT Legends came later: better graphics, weather, and great physics. I got into modding & building cars for that: it's popular in Europe where leagues are still running.
http://www.altbierbude.de/
Here's a few cars I made: I generally did replicas of real cars that actually existed, but I did have some fun with Jimi & his L88 Corvette. Although I found out later his was a blue hardtop.
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That's a full Marshall stack in the passenger seat, based on photos of the actual amp he used at Monterey 1967.
This was based on the album cover for "hey little cobra" by The Rip Chords: which was a real car raced by Dan Gurney and Phil Hill, at Sebring 1963
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The coolest thing is being able to drive around real historic racetracks that have long since been demolished or modified: Targa Florio (!!), Spa '67, Riverside, Rouen, LeMans '70, Monza, and many others. And there's still people building cars & tracks, downloadable to use for free.
Before watching races in real life I'd often do a few laps on the track, so you get a better understanding of what the drivers were dealing with. Makes a huge difference when you know the track. In fact after lapping Mid-Ohio in my real car, the instructor was so impressed he took me out for hotlaps in his C7 Grand Sport ( me as a passenger ) which was pretty gobsmacking. That was a fast car!!
New generations of games come with better graphics & more features, and are even more addictive. So I stay away from them
I have too much crap I need to do IRL.
