Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
Okay, we admit it, two Need for Speed games on the same top ten list might seem a bit of a con, but I have my reasons. For starters, Need for Speed III was the first game I ever owned: my uncle bought it for me, helped me install it on Windows 98 and showed me the controls. And almost immediately I was addicted, aided by the legendary machines available, including the iconic Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, Ferrari 550 Maranello and the Lamborghini Diablo SV. I recall my mom threatening to disconnect the PC if I didn’t shut it down and go to bed, having stalled her for nearly two hours with the promise of just one more lap.
The fact that I have the game on my PC, in my own room, anytime of the day (excluding mom’s bedtime limits.) The fact that I can start the Diablo SV and start racing in the streets from the comfort of my home without having to run to the closest arcade and spend what’s left of coins, not only craved my childish petrol head fantasies, but got me hooked to driving games full stop. Say what you will, but Need for Speed III was always going to make my top ten.
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Outrun
Yep, the arcade game released by SEGA in 1986: red Testarossa; blonde chick in the passenger seat; traffic and rivals to race across a 2D rolling road; insert coin.
Do you really need me to explain further?
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Race Driver: Grid
Released in 2008 by Codemasters, Grid is a game that lets you run your own racing team, meaning different legendary cars under your control used to race on circuits across the world, all with your own custom livery attached.
So the racing was always competitive and the graphics awesome for their time, but in Jordan, Grid was popular for almost one reason entirely: drifting. We loved the physics and the simulation involved, and bought gaming seats (a Recaro seat bolted into a metal frame that included a steering wheel, pedals, gearbox and a handbrake) exclusively to enjoy this game in single and multiplayer modes. If there was one game that made us yearn to try this for real on-track, it was this Grid.
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Live for Speed
LFS is an online racing simulator which is unbelievably customizable. The game has forums all over the Internet where you can download mods, tracks, cars and everything. The graphics are not the best you’ll ever see, but that doesn’t stop the popularity of the game, as it offers the best physics and driving simulations you’re likely to witness.
You can download or build your own car, design your own track, or recreate one that you usually visit. Copy them to the game’s folder and you’re set to go. One problem though, the game is only available for PC.
