My Top 10 PS2 Racing Games

The PS2 was my console of choice for nearly my entire childhood, and so I’m counting down my top 10 all-time favorite racing games for the greatest selling console of all time (with over 155 MILLION UNITS!). As usual, only one per franchise (though I might make some exceptions…), I haven’t played every single PS2 racing game in existence so I might miss some of your favorites and despite it being on CAR throttle, it’s not going to just include car based games, so keep that in mind.

And so, on with the list!

#10 - Ridge Racer V

We start this list with one of the first racing games ever made for the console. Ridge Racer V came out the day the system launched back in 2000, and with it came smooth and unforgettable racing, fantastic visuals for the time,an addicting handling model and surprising depth. It’s one of the best arcade games I’ve ever played, with the only problems coming from a surprising learning curve, and lack of customization, despite it having a simple yet interesting livery editor. Best part is, I managed to pick this game off Amazon for only $0.01!! It’s the greatest deal of all time!

#9 - NASCAR Thunder 2005: Chase For The Cup

I used to play a lot of NASCAR games back in the day. I remember always picking Dale Earnhardt Jr, and racing at Talladega over and over until I mastered it. I also remember making my own car, going back to Talladega, turning around, and hitting everyone head on. Man… those were the days… But this game in particular is great for giving us what we’d expect for a NASCAR game, but giving us the Bush Series, Craftsman Truck series, Whelen modified, and even production cars to race too. All, while racing through a massive career mode, and several new, custom racetracks.

You can also still drive backwards too.

That’s important.

The only real problem is that it’s still a NASCAR game, and it can get really boring when your doing a massively long race and your only turning left for half an hour.

#8- Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

One of my childhood favorites, NFS HP2 has some of the best cop action in the series, with a brand new “You’re the cop” mode that’s just icing on the cake. With it though comes some of the best tracks in series history, one of the best car lists in the series history, and one of my all time favorite modes, knockout, where a massive list of drivers must duke it out in a series of races to win, but the last 2 racers in each race get knocked out. It always makes for an intense and fun experience. The only downside is that the career mode is awful. It’s a boring and simplified tree set up that takes the fun from other games like Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer R4, and Need for Speed Underground and just neglects them. It’s a shame, though, because the main racing is so much fun.

#7 - Need for Speed: Most Wanted

Now hear me out. I had said in the beginning that i’ll try to keep it one per franchise, but this one needed to be included with Hot Pursuit 2, because both are fantastic, but are so different from each other. They both come from different eras of NFS, and while HP 2 focused on straight up game play, Most Wanted focused more on the campaign, which was miles better then HP 2. On top of that, you get the cops from HP 2 but more advanced, an open world to explore, a more varried car list, with customization, and an invigorating Challenge Series mode, that follows more in HP 2’s footsteps of fast and simple gameplay. My only complaints come from some smaller nitpicks. The handling model feels weird (to me at least), the campaign felt really repetitive at times, the framerate on PS2 ranged to decent, to a PowerPoint slideshow, and the story felt unnecessary. Other then that, it’s still a damn good game.

#6 - Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition: Remix

Take the campaign in Need for Speed: Most Wanted, get rid of the cops and the story, and add more over-the-top madness, and you get this. Midnight Club 3 is a solid open-world racing game, that promotes high-flying antics, deep customization, and 3 open worlds to explore and race through. On top of that, the remix edition gets you one more map to explore (Tokyo), on top of a new career mode, and more cars to choose from. The reason why this game isnt higher is that much like Most Wanted, the campaign can feel repetitive and can loose it’s steam overtime. It also doesn’t help that the racing can get too crazy, leaving you frustrated trying to win that one race over and over. Desptie this, it’s still a very fun game. Overall, if you haven’t picked this game up yet, DO IT.

#5- Flatout 2

Flatout 2 is what you get when you take the Burnout series, and make it more violent, but more technologically impressive. Each car in Flatout 2 has its own damage modelling that so detailed, it could put a PS3 game to shame, on top of sporting some of the funniest mini-games out there, which all require you to launch your driver out of the windshield. I’m not kidding. It literally takes the violent nature of Burnout and expands upon the violence and chaos. The downside, is that the handling model does take time to get used to and much like Midnight Club 3, the racing can get too hectic at times. Despite this i’d say give this game a shot.

#4 Burnout Revenge

Speaking of the Burnout series…

The reason why this game places higher on the list then Flatout 2, is because Revenge is much more easy to get into, yet still giving a challenge when you push it. It also has much more memorable tracks, and has, to be completely honest, better pacing. Every race in this game has moments that act like a punch to the gut, but in a good way. It also helps that you get the amazing Crash mode that’s been better refined from 3. It’s the overall package that makes Revenge better then Flatout 2, but if possible, get both. You can pick up both for about $10 a piece, so why not?

#3 Test Drive Unlimited

Now this is a classic. Test Drive Unlimited takes you to Hawaii, as you street race in exotics to earn money, which you can use to buy houses, clothing, and more cars, and including bikes too. The whole game is surrounded by an open world, where you have to drive to each destination, taking in the scenery along the way. It’s a very open and inviting game, and the fact that a team of people ported this game to the PS2 so that people like me who couldn’t afford an Xbox 360 or a high-end PC can still play, is amazing. The problem is that some of the stuff i described isnt even in the PS2 version. There are no bikes, no character customization, the world looks kinda boring, and the car list had to take a serious hit for the port. All in all though, it’s still a great game to play, but if I had the option, i’d get the PC version…

#2 SSX 3

Ok, hear me out again. This may not have any cars in it, nor does it have anything automotive in it, but I’m still going to include it, because it’s still a racing game, and because it’s one of the best games i’ve ever played. It’s fast, loaded with customization, has one of the best soundtracks ever, and is one of the prettiest games on the PS2. It’s got nothing to do with cars, but despite this site being called CAR throttle, its still a damn good game to play. Pick it up if you haven’t already. Please.

#1 Gran Turismo 4 -

Gran Turismo 4 is one of the best game’s I’ve ever played. The career mode, the handling model, the arcade mode, the graphics, the track list, the MASSIVE car list, and the coolest opening movie in history, all make this game worth playing if you haven’t already. It’s so good, I wrote a full on review a few months back, and I highly recommend reading it to understand why I love Gran Turismo 4 so much.

And that’s my list. Now, while I may have missed your favorites, you can always leave a comment on your favorite down below. While your at it, leave a like and follow me for more.