Written by: Rik

Despite being the self-proclaimed racing ‘expert’, I can usually only stomach arcade racers – so don’t expect to find anything where you fiddle with gear ratios here. Apart from that, though, we have a good variety of titles covered – genuine oldies, modern gems and, er, MegaRace.

4D Sports: Driving (Stunts) (1990)
Reviewed by: Rik - July 28, 2001
AKA Stunts, the veteran driving game featuring wacky race courses with insanely huge jumps.
Ballistics (2001)
Reviewed by: Rik - October 23, 2015
Tube-based futuristic racing from the early 00s.
Big Red Racing (Domark)
Reviewed by: Stoo - April 10, 2003
Cartoony arcade racer with dump trucks and speedboats.
Blur (2010)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 18, 2023
Racing with weapons from Project Gotham veterans Bizarre Creations.
Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (2009)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 31, 2021
The 00s console crash 'em up comes to PC.
Car And Driver (1992)
Reviewed by: Stoo - December 1, 2003
Test-Drive style early-90s racing on circuits, the open road or even a car park. Early release from the System Shock guys, believe it or not.
Colin McRae Rally 2.0 (2000)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 16, 2007
The second in the most successful series of games to feature the name 'Colin'.
Colin McRae Rally 3 (2003)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 29, 2020
Colin McRae and Nicky Grist return for some (largely Ford Focus based) rallying action.
Crashday (2006)
Reviewed by: Rik - November 9, 2014
Racing, stunt driving and weaponry collide, if not combine, in this mid-00s racer.
Crazy Cars III (1992)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 9, 2013
Arcade racing from the 16-bit era in this Lamborghini-based racer from Titus.
Cyclemania (1994)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 19, 2019
Motorbike racing from the FMV era, featuring occasional horses.
Death Rally (1996)
Reviewed by: Rik - March 8, 2023
Drive or die in this top down effort from Remedy.
Driver (1999)
Reviewed by: Rik - February 24, 2006
Rik prepares to put the hammer down in this 70s racer, wasting gallons of fuel in the process. Still, I suppose Prius Racing wouldn't really sell...
Driver: Parallel Lines (2007)
Reviewed by: Rik - March 17, 2014
Picking up the pieces from Driv3r, this fourth game in the series hops between the 70s and (then) present day New York.
FlatOut (2004)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 26, 2012
Banger racing in the mud and snow.
FlatOut 2 (2006)
Reviewed by: Rik - October 28, 2013
More auto-mayhem in this accomplished sequel.
Ford Racing 2 (2003)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 26, 2015
Racing. In various cars. Made by Ford. It's the second one in the series.
Formula 1 '97 (1998)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 5, 2010
Hill, Schumi and pals finally make an appearance in the racing section, in this PC conversion of the popular PSX racer.
Juiced (2005)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 22, 2014
Go in search of respect on the streets in this 00s racer from THQ.
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (2007)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 11, 2016
But oh, oh, those hot import nights; [Well-a, well-a, well-a]; Tell me more, tell me more...
Lotus: The Ultimate Challenge (1993)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 28, 2010
Old-school racing from the 16-bit era.
Manic Karts (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 1, 2022
Karting sequel from Manic Media.
MegaRace (1993)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 9, 2009
FFG is proud to present the game that squashes reality like a bug.
MegaRace 2 (1996)
Reviewed by: Rik - July 22, 2022
Lance is back for more on-rails racing action.
Micro Machines 2 (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - July 23, 2009
The sequel to a game based on a toy that actually ended up being quite good.
Midnight Club II (2003)
Reviewed by: Rik - May 31, 2009
Race on the streets of LA, Paris and Tokyo in this city-based racer.
Midtown Madness (1999)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 2, 2004
Freeform city driving in Chicago, from Microsoft.
Midtown Madness 2 (2000)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 29, 2008
Midtown's back, with twice as much madness as before. I know how you feel, brother.
Need for Speed II: Special Edition (1997)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 2, 2021
More 90s supercars in this sequel from EA.
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)
Reviewed by: Rik - May 1, 2004
The third entry in the prolific racing series. (This is the one from 1998, not from 2010).
Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 28, 2015
Direct sequel to Most Wanted, switching the action back to the evenings and further amping up the pantomime cut-scenes.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)
Reviewed by: Rik - July 8, 2018
No direct relation of the 1998 or 2002 instalments of NFS, this 2010 release is a reboot of sorts from Criterion Games.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)
Reviewed by: Rik - October 7, 2017
The last of the pre-Underground NFS games.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 31, 2011
The street racing aesthetic of the 00s meets the police chases of 90s Need for Speed in this cop-baiting racer.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) (2012)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 10, 2022
The 2012 remake of the 2005 game that no-one asked for. More like 'Least Wanted', am I right? [mic feedback, booing]
Need for Speed: Porsche 2000 (2000)
Reviewed by: Rik - May 13, 2007
If you want to drive lots of different kinds of Porsche, you're in luck here, with the fifth NFS title.
Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 4, 2020
NFS heads to the track, with limited success.
Need for Speed: Road Challenge (1999)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 27, 2007
1999 follow-up to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, which adds a career mode.
Need for Speed: SHIFT (2009)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 23, 2021
A shift (sorry) towards the simulation end of the market for NFS in 2009.
Need for Speed: The Run (2011)
Reviewed by: Rik - March 9, 2019
Race across America with an annoying protagonist for company in this fun but flawed instalment of NFS.
Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)
Reviewed by: Rik - May 5, 2017
NFS goes back to the streets for this 2008 edition.
Need for Speed: Underground (2003)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 20, 2009
Goodbye, Jeremy Clarkson, hello Vin Diesel. NFS gets a tattoo and heads off in search of 'respect'.
Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 1, 2018
This sequel lets you roam the city, as well as race. And look at adverts for Burger King.
OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (2006)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 9, 2018
The big arcade racer from the 80s gets a shiny modern update.
Power Drive (1994)
Reviewed by: Rik - May 20, 2012
2D rally action from Rage.
Race Driver: GRID (2008)
Reviewed by: Rik - May 9, 2021
Codemasters ditch the TOCA name for this late-00s version of Race Driver.
RACE: The WTCC Game (2006)
Reviewed by: Rik - November 14, 2016
2006 sim featuring the World Touring Car Championship.
Rally Championship Xtreme (2001)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 17, 2006
There are more rally games on the PC than you can shake a stick at. Rik tries to ignore the Xtremely naff title and takes this one for a spin.
Rally Trophy (2001)
Reviewed by: Rik - November 19, 2011
More fun in the mud and wet in this rally game from Bugbear.
Ridge Racer Unbounded (2012)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 5, 2024
Join the ranks of the Unbounded and 'dominate' Shatter Bay in this Ridge Racer spin-off from Bugbear.
Road Hog! (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - March 8, 2022
Race around the world in this eccentric shareware caper.
Road Rash (1996)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 15, 2008
Road rash, apparently, is a term used informally to describe the kind of injuries caused by falling onto road surfaces at high speed. A RASH caused by the ROAD, see? And all this time I just thought it was just a rubbish name for a game. Was it just me? Oh, it was. I'll get me coat...
Screamer (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - March 31, 2014
Arcade knockabout in the mould of Ridge Racer.
Screamer 2 (1996)
Reviewed by: Rik - June 17, 2022
Arcade knockabout sequel in the mould of Sega Rally.
Screamer 4x4 (2000)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 4, 2015
Inappropriately-named, slow-moving sequel, which moves the action to some muddy fields.
Sega Rally 2 (1999)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 31, 2007
Rally. By Sega. It's also a sequel. Oh yes.
Slipstream 5000 (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - October 3, 2015
90s hover racer from Gremlin.
Split/Second: Velocity (2010)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 8, 2023
Explode some scenery to take out rivals, in this good-looking reality show racer from Black Rock Studios.
Street Racing Syndicate (2005)
Reviewed by: Rik - October 28, 2022
Impress the ladies by driving your car really fast like a big man in this 00s street racing effort.
SuperKarts (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - February 17, 2016
Multi-coloured, multi-national karting fun.
Test Drive II: The Duel (1989)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 27, 2006
More road racing - from the series that started it all.
Test Drive III: The Passion (1990)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 21, 2013
Third game in the Test Drive series, subtitled: The Passion. [Were you by any chance running out of ideas when you wrote this? - Ed.]
Test Drive Unlimited (2007)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 15, 2013
Explore and race on the roads of Hawaii, in this good-looking reboot.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 (2011)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 7, 2019
More free-form driving: this one starts off in Ibiza, and adds a daft storyline into the mix.
The Italian Job (2002)
Reviewed by: Rik - October 25, 2014
"Hang on a minute, lads!" 2002 racer, based on the 1969 film, not the 2003 remake.
The Need for Speed (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 7, 2004
The first game in the long-running racing series, which first appeared on 3DO.
TOCA 2: Touring Cars (1999)
Reviewed by: Rik - February 11, 2007
More four-door fun from Codemasters. Rik secures the shopping and makes sure the family's all strapped in.
TOCA Race Driver (2003)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 31, 2009
TOCA returns with a wider scope and an all-new storyline.
TOCA Race Driver 2 (2004)
Reviewed by: Rik - April 6, 2012
Be a racing driver all over again in this sequel from Codemasters.
TOCA Touring Car Championship (1997)
Reviewed by: Rik - December 13, 2004
Rik flogs his Vectra around Silverstone; as far as racing goes it's even less glamorous than rally, but something do on a rainy Saturday afternoon at least.
Trackmania Sunrise (2005)
Reviewed by: Rik - January 24, 2015
Perhaps not the heir apparent to Stunts, but a creative and interesting arcade racer all the same.
Trickstyle (1999)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 5, 2009
In the future, something implausible happens which means that people have to race each other on floating hoverboards. Now you, yes YOU, can be one of those lucky people.
Wacky Wheels (1994)
Reviewed by: Rik - February 18, 2018
Animal-based karting action from Apogee.
Wheelman (2009)
Reviewed by: Rik - February 10, 2023
Vin Diesel stars in Vin Diesel's Wheelman: A Wheelman Game (starring Vin Diesel).
Wipeout (1995)
Reviewed by: Rik - September 30, 2015
The PlayStation classic comes to PC, minus a few bells and whistles.