Net Ten: Driving Games the DMV Doesn't Want You to Play (page 1) Subscribe to this RSS feed

Why does every driving game encourage you to break all traffic laws? Here are the ten worst offenders--designated drivers wanted!

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#10 Mario Kart Double Dash - [ GameCube ]

This is how it all begins. Parents think Mario is all cute and cuddly and safe, but every kid knows that if you put him behind the wheel of a go-kart, he's a unstoppable madman. In Double Dash you can even have a pal ride shotgun and pound on your opponents as they try to pass by. Even the prim and proper Princess Peach reveals a mean streak a mile wide. Shocking! No wonder the nation's streets are becoming unsafe at any speed. Blame it on the games.

#10 Mario Kart Double Dash
84% average
critic
score

#9 Gran Turismo 3 - [ PS2 ]

It's hard to put together any top ten driving list without including this primo classic, but GT3 earns a spot here thanks to some dubious subliminal messages.

(1) Earning a driver's license is dull, boring, and unnecessary.

(2) Every car in the world is secretly being built to be driven faster than humanly possible.

(3) There are no consequences for wrecking your car. You won't even dent a fender.

You won't hold on to your driver's license for long with that attitude. Gran Turismo 3 also introduced videogamers to the art of drifting, made legendary by Japanese renegade street racers.

#9 Gran Turismo 3
91% average
critic
score

#8 Test Drive - [ PS2 ]

Okay, so maybe this one has a little dust on the dashboard, but it made no bones about thrusting the wheel directly into your hands in the role of urban outlaw on wheels. Winning illegal street races was how you earned your keep and how you won the game. You even had to suffer the taunts of A.I.-controlled competitors when you lost. Drag racing inside a sprawling warehouse is pretty cool--just don't try that for real, kids.

#8 Test Drive
67% average
critic
score

#7 Project Gotham Racing 2 - [ Xbox ]

This game emphasizes the fact that there's no where in the world that's safe from American style pedal-to-the-metal street racing. London, Tokyo, Stockholm, Barcelona, and Sydney are among the international locales that will seek to revoke your passport as well as your driver's license once you get through with them. Aggressive driving and fender-creasing moves are encouraged thanks to the game's well-known "kudos" system that rewards your creatively unsafe maneuvers. PGR2 is also one of the first popular online console racers (via Xbox Live), and you can hook up with any number of like-minded international vehicle code violators.

#7 Project Gotham Racing 2
91% average
critic
score

#6 Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 - [ PS2 ]

Before urban street racing hit mainstream America, Tokyo Xtreme was the extreme. This game puts a premium on aggressive driving. Rather than beating your opponent to a finish line, you have to stay ahead of him for a set length of time. This revs up your adrenaline meter to mind-melting levels. You also develop a sort of predatory mentality as you seek out your mobile conquests.

#6 Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3
65% average
critic
score