PS2 PS2 Racing Games

[Krazy Kat]

Circus Maximus Circuit Wars

Bomberman Kart Dx

 

[dr grim]

If you don't know about it, Shox is really fun.

 

[groundbeef]

Enthusia was my favorite for PS2. There were plenty of great racers for the PS2 though.

 

[RebelofDaNeonGod]

Curious...all these racing games and not a single mention of Auto Modellista (Europe version)......

 

[Darren]

Initial D Special Stage, Racing Battle - C1 Grand Prix, Enthusia, Gran Turismo 4 Hack... The PS2 has probably my favorite racing lineup in history.

NASCAR Heat 5 on the PS5 with an actual wheel is extremely satisfying though if you're into that kind of thing - the drafting around Daytona and Talladega is perfect.

 

[themoon]

I know it's been mentioned but the Burnout Series, particularly Takedown is probably the best arcade racer on the system. Still looks great, too. I've mentioned Automodellista in a similar thread but I see it was just mentioned, so I will second the mention as it is an incredible looking game that gave me as a teen the ability to pimp out cars I really wanted to drive. The cell-shading is excellent, as you would expect from Capcom.

 

[stealthRUSH]

Iridium Runners (2008)

 

[Jambhala]

This is more of an inquiry than anything else. I love racing games, sometimes, when in the mood, y'know?

Especially if they're easy, arcade-y, and have lots of nice, cool cars I won't even pretend to know the makes of.​

What's funny, I've not played many racing games that I remember. Yes, I played the NFS titles, and loved them, then played the single best arcade racing game ever made: Ridge Racer Type 4, but that's not even a PS2 title...

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So, are you a casual racist like me? What are some of your favorite PS2 racing games?

I'll start by mentioning Need For Speed: Underground 1.​

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Nobody's favorite, not the first choice. It's linear, has ridiculous rubber-banding, not to mention the physics when you dare touch a foreign object while taking a turn, and forces you to tweak your car in order to advance to other stages. But it also has a killer soundtrack, cool stages, and feels amazing when you are doing good at a race; also, it has one of the best starter cars ever: the Mazda Miata. If I recall correctly, this baby had the best handling in all of the game. I tried switching cars later in the game but couldn't, because no other car allowed me to laugh in the face of Death as much as the Miata did.​

I've played a LOT of PS2 racing games, and almost all PS1 racing games.
In no order, my top 5 are:
- Racing Battle - C1 Grand Prix
Just fully translated to English, amazing game overall with unique modes and decent customization. The rival bios and BBS posts are fun to read too, I've never seen any other racing game quite like this one.
- Gran Turismo - Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva
Like GT3 but with cool concept cars, there's some incentives to keep playing too, since you unlock more concept cars as you do better on each track
- Colin Mcrae Rally 2005
Best rally game on the console, hands down. The tracks are beautiful and you get to drive some of the coolest rally cars of the era.
- R-Racing Evolution
Has the style of Ridge Racer with more "realistic" handling, still pretty arcade-y though. It comes with a decent story mode and real life tracks as well.
- Enthusia
Sort of GT-esque, feels a bit more like driving actual cars though. This video shows a comparison between real life car physics and the physics in Enthusia.