D - Driving Dangerously! My Top 10 Driving & Racing Games

Back in the days before I had a driving license, or more truthfully before I was legally allowed to drive on public roads, driving and racing simulation games filled that gap quite satisfactorily. Many of the driving games of yesteryear before the HD era did not give you the sensation of speed or the realism of racing, but they still were great fun whether they were surreal, pragmatic or otherwise. Again, there maybe notable exceptions, such as Forza or Need for Speed, but hey, I ain't played them all! Here is my personal top 10 driving video games.

The racers attempt to test the freeway jump from Speed

#10 Ridge Racer Type 4 - Ahh, the drifting on the cliff tops and nutty danger-feel of speed this gave you, and all on the hush-hush, apparently. Illegal racing eh? Tut tut! The original game  took my notice in the arcades and earned my respect, but each sequel built on the concept with improvements all across the board, and Type 4 is the ridge-ly great game of the bunch. A PS classic. The Japanese grid girl was fit-as too.

#9 Buggy Boy - The racer that got the most playtime on my CPC of old, just because of how hard but irresistibly enjoyable it was. It had longevity too; it gave a good selection of tracks and your buggy could jump and ski-drive using the rocks and logs scattered around the track. Innovative for it's time, and a fitting name for me in my youth. Maybe.

#8 Burnin' Rubber - The GX4000's bundled game based off WEC Le Mans. It wasn't the best or the most responsive, but graphically it was awesome with a wonderfully manic crash sequence. Damn difficult too with strict time limits, and is probably the most played racer I could list due to my endless attempts to beat it. A nod must go to the fine theme music too.

#7 Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 - Split screen! This was very new at the time and as such made for a top two-player game, all the while giving a great sense of speed for a 2D racer. It also gave you the chance to drive the Lotus Elan, which was way-cool back in the early nineties.  Smooth presentation and colouring, was successful then and is still great now.

Can you see the criminal??

#6 Chase HQ - You are an elite police officer akin to Miami Vice, you drive a Porsche 928 and get to chase down felons and smash their getaway car up. Movie style racing at it's best, fast and fun with twists and turns, providing a impressive impression of perspective. And didn't you always want to tell Nancy to shut the hell up when she was giving to grief over the radio! Very pick-up-and-play.

#5 F-Zero - The Super NES's mode 7 showcase launch game, and didn't it deliver with virtue. The pseudo 3D worked a treat, dropping many a teenage jaw at the time, giving a feeling a crazy speed and danger. The music was also utterly top drawer and the car's designs were excellent. A depiction of future racing portrayed with grace, until...

#4 Wip3out - Now, like the previous entry, this set the bar far far higher within the fictional visualisation of futuristic racing. With ever-so-cool hover cars that looked the bees-bollocks; ridiculous speeds, mean and original weapons, challenging tracks and of course, a soundtrack to drop dead for. Featuring Orbital, The Chemical Brothers and DJ Sasha, the OST helped make it the best of the Wipeout series. One of my all time favourites so much so, I had two copies. No idea why.

#3 Gran Turisimo 3 A-Spec - 'The Ultimate Driving Simulation' this was billed as... well, it was if cars could never suffer damage in reality. An insurance company nightmare! That was a ridiculous facet to this game, however, the choice of cars, the detailed customisation and the splendid race tracks; all lifted from their real life counterparts were just outstanding. Graphically and acoustically excellent, and it really did give a feeling of real driving to a degree. A wonderful title.

#2 Burnout Revenge - Carnage, crashes, and chaos, this is a smashing game. Erm. Very fast, perhaps too fast, but with so much to find and do, or just mess around with, a most excellent smash-your-opponents-off-the-road arcade racer taken to the extremes of mentalness. Love it, but for a more friendly action packed fun experience....

Mario was left on the start line sulking while Yoshi chatted up the Princess

#1 Super Mario Kart - Nintendo put the exclamation point on jolly racing fun with Mario Kart, but added a huge competitive edge which tipped the balance towards outstanding. It had a perfect layout and tight responses, loads of tracks and familiar smile-inducing characters and was great in any mode you played it in. One of the most revered racing games, it just rocked in sheer terms of outright joy. Nobody I know disliked this, and always had a great time playing. The later versions were brill also, but the original is always the best in my book. It's a shame real plumbers don't drive with this much skill.

Handbrake on! That's it, my top 10 Driving games. I think a fair few of these titles will be on other gamers lists, but again, feel free to add your two-tyres worth. Next up, we take a look at a selection of mediocre and poor games which I am inexplicably fond of, Endearing games if you will, ones I return to play time and again despite their obvious issues.

Bug... 'Out!

C - Console Countdown! My Top 10 Video Game Consoles

It's fair to say I haven't experienced all the games consoles since the very beginnings with the Magnavox Odyssey. Ashamed really, but I think over the last 35 years I have done alright considering. Some of these machines I still own and play regularly, some broke or I sold, now to my regret. However, games consoles have been a prominent part of my recreation since the early 80's when I wasn't smashing greenhouse windows. Here is my personal top 10, based on many factors but mostly the amount of playtime they have received. I know Microsoft fans will scream a bit, but I have never owned an Xbox, nor played with one long enough to judge them against this selection of greats and not-so-greats. 

Modern gamers faint: It's made of Wood! Atari 2600

#10 Atari 2600 - Along with the excruciating pain I got from using the joystick, happy memories are included with the likes of the piss-awful Pacman port, the famous Pong and excellent Breakout. A legendary machine, and the first console I played on, starting my slow departure away from the 8-bit computers, reality and social skills. And like a Morris Minor, it was made of wood! Sort of.

#9 Nintendo Entertainment System - Duck Hunt, Megaman, Zelda and Mario! This machine is still the worlds best selling console even to this day, and with a list from quality games longer than War and Peace, it's a truly excellent piece of kit. You couldn't easily lose the game cartridges either, they were the size of a small village.

#8 NEC Turbografx 16/PC Engine - I confess, I wasn't a fan of this at first, but with a variety of unique and high quality games and a niche following, it won me over. It also holds the record for the smallest home console and was the first to use 16-bit (ish) quality graphics. Not a massive global hit, but a cult favourite.

#7 Nintendo DS - If there was a successor to the Gameboy that was perfect, this was it. The DS connected to more people than any handheld before, easy to use and smart in looks, this made it a common addition to many households. Just flip it open and get lost in another world. Literally if you are travelling on public transport.

#6 Sony Playstation - Regarded as the system which changed the home gaming ethos, Sony's entry into the console market was a barnstormer which shook Nintendo, and ultimately sent SEGA running. A massive choice of awesome games and a controller which proved one of the best designs ever, the PS was terrific. It also had one of the best games ever created on it; Final Fantasy VII. Guess how many times that game will feature again!

#5 Nintendo Gameboy - Portable gaming was made accessible, affordable and adaptable with the genius little cream box of the Gameboy. Helping make Tetris a worldwide hit amidst a minor Cold War row, the GB continued on strongly through over a decade, proving that basic graphics were no match for suburb gameplay and a fine repertoire of titles. Excellent.

Amstrad GX4000: Better than the NES! (Technically)

#4 Amstrad GX4000 - "What?" you say. "You're mad Nova!" you say. Well, no I'm not. Not yet. The much ignored and forgotten GX was a console which I adored. A machine which had so much potential to deliver great stuff, technically bettering the NES and SMS, but due to a mixture of poor marketing, underdeveloped games and the release of SEGA's pretty wonderful Megadrive, the GX became unfairly known as the biggest flop ever. Only 25 games were released for it, but I still love it, so there! Looks cool too.

#3 Nintendo Wii - A system which brought a new level of interactivity to gaming, the Wii was and is a machine which makes me smile from ear to ear. Easy to use and freindly for the novice, it's not an imposing or tedious set up like I found with the Xbox Kinect  Involving the family and friends in a way not seen before, it was a ground-breaker that all the rival companies followed shortly afterwards. It was also one of the most eco-friendly games systems too, if you're interested in all that green planet business.

#2 Sony Playstation 2 - Responsible for stealing much of my twenties, and a part of my thirties, the PS2 was just simply brilliant in every conceivable form, and many agree with this sentiment. Excellent games, smart sleek design and backward compatible with the PS, it's a machine always in the top 3 of any console list, so makes number 2 for me, only bettered by....

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (European)

#1 Super Nintendo Entertainment System - The first time I played Super Mario World, my jaw dropped and a yearned for nothing more to own this king of games machines. I got one soon after, with it's own version of Street Fighter 2. After that, I was hooked. With a massive range of top class games, technologically marvelous and the outright hardiness of the unit itself, the SNES is my all time favourite console. I still have mine in perfect working order, pride of place under the TV. Lots of gamers understand this and agree. Hat's off to you Nintendo, you created the best gaming machine ever!



That wraps up my personal top 10 games consoles. Yes, I know the PS3 is missing, but while it is a great machine too for the modern age, it lacks a quality which doesn't strike the right cords with me. Also, I have to give a shout to the Atari Lynx; a heldheld i loved also for it's cool look and graphical qualities. Feel free to make your objections and and views, would love to hear different points of view.

Bug... 'Out!