Driving and racing games are a bit of a niche genre, owing primarily to the niche aspect of racing in general. When it comes to sports, there’s no denying that racing is near the bottom of the list in terms of popularity. But man, are racing games ever fun. Titles like Gran Turismo were among the greatest games of their times, and even to this day, racing games serve as a pinnacle of graphical and technological innovation.
Of course, not all racing games are created equal, and some are obviously better than others. But these didn’t deserve their middling reputation. These are ten driving and racing games that are better than their Metascore.
10 Emergency Heroes (41)
Serving as an “open world rescue game,” Emergency Heroes was released by Ubisoft for the Wii back in 2008. The gameplay revolved around you keeping the citizens of San Alto safe by any means necessary, whether that be by controlling police officers, firefighters, or EMTs. It received poor reviews, scoring just 41 on Metacritic. Many of the complaints centered around the game’s short length and “forgetability,” but if you go in expecting a short game and some mild fun, then you may find something to like in Emergency Heroes.
9 Moto Racer 4 (47)
Moto Racer 4 is a motorcycle racing game published by Anuman for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One back in 2016. No one has ever heard of it, probably because it received poor reviews from the major critics. It scored just 47 on Metacritic, making it one of the lowest-rated racing games in the site’s history. Most of the criticism stemmed from a comparison to its predecessor series, as the Moto Racer series was quite good and popular on the original PlayStation. This certainly isn’t as good, but come on, it’s not 47 bad…
8 Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction (47)
Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction saw you controlling a monster truck through various stages and trying to inflict as much damage on your opponent as possible. It’s mindless entertainment, but entertainment nonetheless. The reviews were horrible, and nearly every aspect of its production was fiercely criticized. Hence the poor 47 Metascore. However, we think the 6.0 user score is more in keeping with the game’s quality, because it really isn’t that bad. It contained some good fun if you were into monster trucks, and let’s be serious, who wasn’t into monster trucks as a kid?
7 Dirt 2 (51)
Developed and published by Codemasters back in 2009, Colin McRae: Dirt 2 received middling reviews from professional critics. Both the PSP and Wii versions were considered a disappointment, with the Wii being especially vanilla and bland.
The primary criticism centered around the game’s boring gameplay and ugly visuals, and yeah, we can certainly understand the ugly visuals part. But for a console so bereft of quality racing games, Dirt 2 certainly wasn’t as bad as all that. Not good, mind you, but not that bad, either.
6 The Italian Job (54)
In 2003, Climax Brighton worked with Eidos Interactive to bring us The Italian Job, a racing game meant to tie-in to the 2003 remake starring Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. It received relatively poor reviews, with the Xbox version scoring just 54 on Metacritic. Most critics agreed that it wasn’t a terrible game, but most acknowledged its numerous flaws. And yes, the game certainly has its flaws, but it’s a still a pretty decent racing title. Not an 8/10 by any means, but maybe around a 7 or a 7.5. Certainly not a 5.
5 Carmageddon: Max Damage (51)
The Carmageddon series is a classic, albeit very controversial, franchise in gaming history. The original was launched back in 1997 and received numerous complaints regarding its violent content. Max Damage serves as an updated version of the series’ fourth entry, Carmageddon: Reincarnation. The criticism centered around the game’s floaty controls, poor physics, and general lack of content, and we can agree with that. But we were so desperate for new Carmageddon content that we didn’t really care. It has its flaws, but it’s still Carmageddon at the end of the day.
4 Arctic Thunder (57)
Arctic Thunder was sort of like Mario Kart on ice. You controlled racers on snowmobiles who used anything they could to inhibit their opponents’ progress, including punching them when they get too close and throwing atomic snowballs at their backs. It was good, if mindless, fun, and it served as a nice alternative to Mario Kart.
Of course, it was unfairly compared to Mario Kart due to its inherent nature as a combat-focused racer and received relatively poor reviews. It wasn’t great, but it did its job well enough.
3 Need For Speed: ProStreet (62)
Serving as the sequel to Need for Speed: Carbon, ProStreet took a radically different approach to the classic series. While prior games in the series focused on illegal street racing, ProStreet was a more traditional closed-track racing game in the vein of Forza. It was a very divisive direction, and some critics weren’t having it. The wonky gameplay was also a subject of contention. However, we think the change in direction was received worse than it actually was. ProStreet is still a solid racing game, and it deserved a better reputation.
2 Wacky Races: Crash & Dash (39)
Wacky Races: Crash & Dash certainly isn’t your typical racing game. Unlike closed-track racing games, Wacky Races was a goofy and lighthearted racing game based off the Wacky Races animated television series. It’s a very weird IP to base a racing game on, as the show ended in 1969 and the game was released in 2008. No one even knew what the heck Wacky Races even was. But that didn’t stop the game from being an absolute blast. Maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s a poor taste in games, but either, we enjoyed Wacky Races a heck of a lot more than the critics.
1 Cars Race-O-Rama (54)
OK, maybe we just love children’s racing games, we dunno. Cars Race-O-Rama was released for all major consoles back in 2009 and received a resounding “meh” response, scoring just 54 on Metacritic. But it’s a decent little game for children, and it can make for an entertaining time if you’re playing with a child, grandchild, nephew/niece, or younger sibling. It’s a cute little family game, and sometimes that’s all you need.
NEXT: The 10 Video Games With The Most Impressive Graphics, Ranked
