In the second of Electronic Theatre’s brand new Sunday Specials, part of the new Weekly Features presentation available on the brand new Electronic Theatre website, we today bring you another session of easy reading for that lazy Sunday afternoon. After last week introduced the series by highlighted the Top Ten Multi-player Games according to the Electronic Theatre team, today we discuss a more localised area of videogame development the Top Ten Current-Generation Racing Games.
10. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Straight in this week with a title that will undoubtedly stir 
debate amongst the Electronic Theatre populous, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is more than the label public opinion has unfavourably granted it. While far from maintaining the series’ reputation as an all-encompassing Driving Simulator, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue comes packed with more cars and features than many full-price retail releases. The PLAYSTATION 3’s first full Gran Turismo outing may still be sometime-off, but Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is more than enough to satisfy that thirst for now.
9. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
The sequel to the PLAYSTATION 3’s most highly-acclaimed launch title, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift took the mud-slinging through new locations, with new vehicles, and a fresh lick-of-paint. Though many may insist that it’s not light years beyond its’ predecessor, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift compliments the original release by adding renewed vigour to each and every aspect of the formula.
8. PURE
The first true fantasy-racing game in Electronic Theatre’s Top Ten Current-Generation Racing Games, PURE leaves the shackles of 
gravity behind, and asks the player how confident they feel about doing so. As a major coup for both Disney Interactive Studios and Black Rock Studios, PURE is as playable as any first-party Racing title, and adds style that was so desperately missing from the Current-Generation at the time.
7. Colin McRae: DiRT
An early release it may have been, comparatively lacking in gameplay options, vehicles options and even, in fact, vehicles, to more recent releases on the Current-Generation of home consoles, yet Colin McRae: DiRT remains as uniquely playable now as it was back in 2006. Though a sequel may be due to launch soon, it’s certainly got some big boots to fill.
6. Mario Kart Wii
The appearance of the Mario Kart series in a “Top Ten Racing Games” list of any variety is as predictable as next year’s instalment in the FIFA franchise, and of course that 
includes Electronic Theatre’s Top Ten Current-Generation Racing Games. Mario Kart Wii is a fantastic rendition of a much-loved series, and though the multi-player modes have become the game’s marmite, there’s far more to love than there is to hate in this effortlessly enjoyable Wii release.
5. Test Drive Unlimited
It’s visuals may be aging somewhat unfavourably, it’s limited by way of both vehicle options (on disc, at least) and race-scope, but there’s no denying that Test Drive Unlimited was the first Racing title to truly demonstrate what the Current-Generation systems are capable of. An entire island designed for speed thrills mixes as much variety as MotorStorm: Pacific Rift with a supposedly everyday environment, in a free-roaming design.
Cityscapes, mountain ranges, coastal roads, deep forests and hill climbs are all a part of Test Drive Unlimited, and each is delivered with exemplary indication that it remains part of the whole. Even to this day, few titles have been able to deliver the same grand package with as few blemishes as Test Drive Unlimited.
4. Project Gotham Racing 4
Bizarre Creations received a great deal of attention at the launch of the Current-Generation. Project Gotham Racing 3 arrived as a launch title, stunning onlookers with its 
pristine visuals and comprehensive Career Mode. Alongside the release stood a diminutive Xbox LIVE! Arcade title which perhaps received more attention than its home console brethren, Geometry Wars. With both these titles helping to cement the developer’s reputation as a regular performer, Project Gotham Racing 4 was perhaps inevitable.
It wasn’t too long until the sequel arrived, and when it did it blew everything the series has done previously out-of-the-water. No longer was it shackled by four wheels, offering an incredibly competent portrayal of motorbike racing alongside cars, and the revamping of it’s already admirable Career Mode created one of the most enticing prospects seen in home console Racing titles.
3. Mario Kart DS
Racing games typically have a hard time on handheld. Often failing to live-up to home console offerings by way of either sparsely designed courses or a distinct lack of speed, Mario Kart DS is hindered by neither. Perhaps the most complete Mario Kart title released to date (including the perfectly enjoyable Mario Kart Wii listed above), Mario Kart DS perfected the formula of the cherished series using the least powerful hardware available at the time.
Bringing online play to the series for the first time and offering Single-Card DS Download play, Mario Kart DS was designed with multi-player in-mind from the get-go, and is a wholly enjoyable experience because of it. Mario Kart 64 may still have the edge in Battle Mode, but Mario Kart DS still leads the field for everything else the series does so very right.
2. Race Driver: GRID
Released a year after Colin McRae DiRT, Race Driver: GRID took flair to the next level. The shiniest Menu Screens in the history of videogames granted Codemasters latest
a personality that since has been missing from rival titles, and has been notable by its absence.
This personality is also reflected in-game, with Race Driver: GRID often refusing to bow down to convention. With distinctively accurate handling that takes some getting used-to, and offering four disciplines alongside the enthralling Destruction Derby’s, Race Driver: GRID features a “flashback” mechanic (similar to SEGA’s Full Auto series) that allows players to rewind a short amount of time; just enough to retake that bungled corner. The Career Mode is an enticing prospect – with the player free to progress through disciplines as they choose – and online multi-player allowing for up to twelve players invariably begins and ends with neck-and-neck charges into that first or last corner, and the winner being the driver managing to keep their cool under pressure.
1. Forza Motorsport 2
Quite simply, there is no other Racing game offering such a comprehensive scope as Forza Motorsport 2. Released in a similar timeframe to Project Gotham Racing 4, Forza Motorsport 2 undoubtedly took a little of the sheen off Bizarre Creations efforts, but while the Project Gotham Racing series has always sat on the surreal edge of vehicle handling, Forza Motorsport 2 teaches you how to corner. And if you don’t learn: its game over.
The Forza Motorsport series is often touted as the Xbox equivalent 
to the Gran Turismo series. While these are big boots to fill, there’s little else that comes even close on the Current-Generation. With more than three hundred cars available on-disc, each tuneable and, perhaps more importantly for some, customisable in terms of vehicle aesthetics, Forza Motorsport 2’s community options created a terrific platform to demonstrate your enthusiasm. With more than two years under it’s belt, Forza Motorsport 2 still benefits from a strong community online, and the forthcoming Forza Motorsport 3 will undoubtedly capitalise upon that.
Electronic Theatre’s Sunday Special will return next week with another Top Ten in gaming, but in the meantime why not check-out the Tuesday instalment of our Weekly Features, Industry Portrait.
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Comments
The question is, if burnout 2 were on a current generation would it have got into this top 10 list?