Allowing s to drive like they never could on the road, racing video games help fill many gamers' need for speed. Racing games have been an important part of the video game landscape since the early days, and the games only get better with each new generation of console.
Whether it's street racing action like in Mario Kart, there is a wide variety of amazing racing games available. Despite the fact that there are a plethora of great games, s on Ranker took to the site to vote for some of their all-time favorites.
Forza Horizon (2012)
While there have been a plethora of on-track racing games, Forza Horizon aimed to jump off the track and into the world of street racing. Taking place at a fictional street racing event in Colorado, the races in various heats against different opponents to gain money and popularity, which can be put towards other cars.
The variety of action is what contributed to Horizon being such an exciting game for race fans. One-on-one race modes were made all the better by the inclusion of style points, and rewards for certain types of aggressive driving. Even a decade later, there are still Forza Horizon that keep fans interested in the series.
Forza Horizon 5 (2021)
Playing off of the success of its predecessors, Forza Horizon 5 took things to a whole new level with the scope of its gameplay. Taking its street racing action to Mexico, Horizon 5 gave fans a new environment to explore and a world that was 50 percent larger than any of the previous installments of the series.
While the environment was the biggest new addition to the game, it also offered players a larger series of car customization that included engine swaps and body kits. Putting customization in the hands of the player allowed them to rely more on their own car expertise as they attempt to fine tune their machines for specific environmental conditions.
Mario Kart 64 (1996)
The Mario Kart series is a beloved Super Mario games, players compete in a variety of different races against AI opponents as well as head to head.
The jump to 3D added a whole new level of possibilities to the track designs, and creators immediately took advantage of their new environment. Adding a new four player mode also made the game an instant party favorite, and increased the competitive possibilities of the game. Though it was one of the first games in the franchise, Mario Kart 64 is still one of games of all time.
Mario Kart 8 (2014)
First starting as one of Nintendo Switch with the same level of popularity. Like previous iterations of the franchise, the racing format is unchanged, but the game adds new mechanics to the races including wall driving and other 3D racetrack formats.
Mario Kart 8 is the culmination of all of the best parts of previous games, and it chose to add instead of remove features. Kart customization returned from Kart 7, and all of the familiar power-ups and characters return for fans to enjoy.
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)
The Need For Speed franchise is one of the most celebrated in gaming, and Hot Pursuit 2 took the franchise in an interesting new direction. Keeping to its usual street racing format, the game also added a new wrinkle to its gameplay by allowing players to take control of a police officer who is trying to bust speeders.
The most obvious addition was the "You're The Cop" mode, but the game's different environments also added a new layer of challenge for players. Taking its cue from series like Grand Theft Auto, the game had a certain lawlessness that made it quite exciting. For car fans, the game also featured a wider variety of makes and models to choose from as well.
Need For Speed: Underground (2003)
Need For Speed: Underground was already the seventh game in the franchise, and marked a major reboot for the series. Totally ignoring its predecessors, Underground turned its attention to the popular import scene in which Japanese cars are modified to increase their speeds.
Racing through the streets of Olympic City at night, the was given a much wider series of customization options than ever before. Aside from its facelift, the most notable addition to Underground was the inclusion of a career mode that followed a plotted storyline for the players to navigate.
Gran Turismo (1997)
Generally considered one of the best racing games on the original Playstation, Gran Turismo kicked off an epic racing franchise. Players race on a series of tracks against AI opponents and work their way up the ranks by earning different "Drivers Licenses" which unlock certain parts of the game.
While somewhat primitive compared to where the franchise would go in the ensuing decades, the first game's controls were revolutionary and few games have yet to rival its smoothness. The unlockables keep the game engaging even without the use of a plotted storyline or career mode.
Burnout 3: Takedown (2004)
While not as beloved as some of its contemporaries, the Burnout series eschewed the driving simulation format in favor of more fast-paced, arcade style action. Burnout 3 put a spin on its already exciting action by requiring players to drive more aggressively and wreck their opponents.
Despite competing in races, the player is often tasked with causing a certain amount of damage to their opponent and are thus rewarded for their "takedown". This action based system brought in a lot of players who may not have necessarily considered themselves racing fans, and it increased the game's replay value.
Gran Turismo 4 (2004)
After the success of its original installment, the Gran Turismo series only continued to up the ante with each new game in the franchise. Gran Turismo 4 further expanded the game's inflated car library and tasked players with earning reward points by competing in races using cars that gave them less of an advantage over the AI.
Featuring a roster of over 700 cars of all types, there was an almost unlimited combination of cars and tracks for players to use. Even pushing its concept into the future, the game features speculative cars from the distant year of 2022. One of the most interesting new additions to the game is the "Crew Chief" mode, which allows players to call the shots on what a driver should do on the track.
Gran Turismo 2 (1999)
Sometimes the best way to make a game better it by simply streamlining the gameplay and making it more friendly. Gran Truismo 2 had big shoes to fill and it did so by increasing the number of vehicles available, and cutting down on a lot of the unnecessary accoutrements from the first game.
No longer needing to qualify for races, Turismo 2 gets s into the action much faster than its predecessor, and allows for a lot of races to be ran in one sitting. Braking system tweaks also made the game simpler, and by being able to select a single race, s weren't required to participate in entire tournaments.