The racing game has come a long way since the early 90s and the days of F-zero and Top Gear. Today, every console has amazing options for simulation and arcade racers. Here are some of the best.

Gran Turismo 3-4: Gran Turismo reinvented the modern racing genre as we know it. Polyphony created such an advanced realistic physics engine in this game that driving enthusiasts around the world fell in love. And when Gran Turismo 3 was released for PlayStation 2, no one ever questioned what the best driving simulator was again. Of course, fans were craving things like online play, in-game damage, and more settings for tuning and when Gran Turismo 4 came without the additions, it was considered nothing more than an expansion pack for Gran Turismo 3, which by course it doesn’t. Don’t downgrade the game itself as it’s a bigger and badder version of the best. But even now we await the features that Sony has promised for years. It’s hard? Absolutely, and if you really turn off all your steering aids, put it in manual, and try to run the GT endurance race on the Côte d’Azur, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Mario Kart: Yes, Nintendo never believed in the whole concept of realism and advancement that led to the rise of the entire industry. They stuck with their fun format above all else, and it looks like it’s finally starting to pay off. However, Mario Kart was always one of the best examples. The original kart racer and, at the time, one of the best racing games of the time. Even though Double Dash dropped the ball a bit, Mario Kart is still the big name for Nintendo racing and just plain fun racing.

GTR 2- A very recent release for PC, GTR is like Gran Turismo with everything you ever wanted and Sony didn’t give you. It’s harder, it’s bigger, it’s online, and there are so many options, adjustments, and damage controls that you could spend an entire day analyzing them. If you have the setup to run this monstrous racing sim, you’ll be behind the wheel of one of the best in the area. Unfortunately, not many of us can do it. So for now, we’ll just have to wait for Gran Turismo HD or Forza 2

Forza Motorsport: And then there’s Microsoft’s Xbox entry. Forza did many things right and some things wrong. It’s a racing sim from start to finish, although it tries not to completely abandon its arcade aspirations. It is easier than the rest, but it is not weaker. Online play and a host of tracks and cars, coupled with some pretty solid, if not entirely accurate physics (tire wear, I’m seeing that) make for a solid, if slightly unsatisfying endeavor. However, for a game that tries to emulate the best, you can’t go wrong here, and Forza 2, unlike Gran Turismo 5, looks like it could be coming out sometime before the decade is out.

Burnout 3: Takedown – And that brings us to Burnout 3. In my opinion, ignoring the desire for realism or the desire for fun, Burnout 3 is the best racing game ever created. And here is why. It is fun. To hell with physics, you play for the sheer joy of driving, and that means speed, speed, and destruction. You crash, bang, and blast your way through a couple hundred races and crash events (where you see how much damage you can do by racing through a crowded intersection) and the speed of the races is absolutely insane. . Hundreds of hours have been invested in this game and its sequel, Burnout Revenge, and more likely still the newer Burnout. And the best part, it is available for more than one console. Must own, must play, must see.