Are there great car chases in movie history? Sure.

Are there great car chases in gaming history? I’m not so sure.

Last week I went to some experts, the makers of “Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice” on the PSP, to get some answers. The “Pursuit Force” games are very much about car chases — plus the act of jumping from one car to the next during a high-speed chase, and/or clinging to the hood of a car while shooting the bad guy sitting in the driver’s seat.

The developers and I wound up exchanging notes about car chases, the influence of that Indiana Jones truck scene on the “Pursuit Force” games and some other stuff that I’ll tell you all about later this week.

But let’s start today with a list: Five Great Video Game Car Chases. These selections were provided by Chris Whiteside, Lead Designer of “Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice,” Big Big Studios.

(This is official stuff, folks. How do I know this? Because when I printed out Whiteside’s e-mailed answers to me, they printed out on paper formatted as official “Pursuit Force” letterhead.)

Whiteside begins in very sensible fashion by agreeing with my premise and being classy enough not to mention his own new game’s  excellent car chase through a golf course or its boat race against water pollution…

“There aren’t a huge amount of memorable car chases in games for me, and this was one of the main reasons behind creating ‘Pursuit Force.’

“But there have been some really good ones,” he writes:

• “Half Life 2″: Fan Boat Chase – The sequence where the fan boat is chased by the chopper was very memorable for us, for two reasons. Firstly we were finishing the first “Pursuit Force” when the game came out, and this sequence was very reminiscent of several car/boat vs. helicopter sequences we had in our game. (The second Warlords mission sees the player being bombed by an attack helicopter whilst he carves his way through the river trying to escape.) Secondly because the whole sequence was so well executed, from the tight and fast level design to the helicopters behaviour and the music: a seminal moment in gaming
• “GTA: San Andreas”: Sewer Chase Sequence: So much was going on in this sequence: vehicles blowing up behind you, swerving around you, the sense of tension as more vehicles jumped into the sewer, it really did feel like you were in Ronin. This is one of our favourite moments in the “GTA” series.
• “Metal Gear Solid 3″: The Final Motorbike Chase: The rush of the Metal Gear chasing the bike coupled with the switch to the forest sequence was just so exhilarating. It is one of the best game chase sequences of all time, specifically because it is so cinematic. 
• “Burnout Paradise”: Shut Down: I picked this up recently and was blown away by every part of this game. The first hook for me (apart from the sound of the vehicles) was the initial Shut Down event. This is such a cool idea; it is a very personal experience. The idea that there is someone in the city essentially like you with a special car that you need to hunt down and take out is a very strong mechanic. And the clincher is that you get to keep the car. Simple but effective.
• “Driver 1″: The Survival Sequences: Being chased by 20 cars in the San Francisco styled streets is just awesome. ‘Nuff said.

“Other notable mentions are: ‘Chase HQ‘ (Which inspired ‘Pursuit Force’ more than other games), ‘Spy Hunter,’ ‘Burnout,’ ‘PGR‘ (Cat and Mouse) etc.”

***

That was Whiteside’s list. I think he missed the rooftop motorcycle chase from the James Bond game “Everything Or Nothing.” Otherwise, he nailed it.

Anyone disagree? Are there other great video game car chases?