PS2 was the peak of arcade racers


It's been a whopping 21 years since the PlayStation 2 dropped, which will make some gamers feel staggeringly old.

In our eyes, the PS2 era was truly an awesome time for arcade racing, with countless awesome titles to sink hours into.

So, let's take a look at these games now, and which ones are our favourite PS2 titles!

Gran Turismo 4

Gran Turismo 4 was, in our eyes, the peak of Gran Turismo gameplay. Now, it's more than likely that a lot of that is nostalgia, but we don't really care.

Gran Turismo 4
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THE REAL DRIVING SIMULATOR: We spent many hours grinding out GT4!

Following on from Gran Turismo 3, another awesome title, GT4 perfected the arcade racing feel.

With a huge number of cars and massive variety to the racing in-game also, we've even got our finger's crossed for a GT4 remaster one day!

Even if it doesn't get remastered, thanks to emulators you can play still play it today even if your PS2 has long-since given up the ghost.

You can watch our recent GT4 stream below!

Need for Speed

Need for Speed was the perfect way for us to live out our true street racing fantasies.

NFS MW BMW M3 GTR GT E46
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THE MOST WANTED: This car is recognisable anywhere!

From the customisation of Underground 2 to the story and half-game half-movie cutscenes of Most Wanted, we loved them all.

The PS2 era Need for Speed games remain the peak of the franchise, with each game seeking to rediscover the magic that made NFS a must-buy.

Unfortunately, our next Need for Speed has been delayed until 2022, so fans will have to wait a while for the next one.

Burnout

Much like Need for Speed, we're fans of the franchise as a whole, and it's easy to see why.

Burnout
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BUSY GAMEPLAY: Burnout was the master of crazy gameplay!

With awesome, high-octane, maximum carnage action, we spent many hours going for high scores on Burnout games.

Burnout is an easy choice to make it into our top PS2 racing game hall of fame!

Simpsons Hit & Run

This is a true classic, and you'd be mad not to agree. There was nothing quite like driving around Springfield ourselves!

Simpsons hit and run
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GET RUNNING: Hit and Run is a true classic!

The game was also great fun, with lots of different areas of the map to explore and plenty of ways to play.

We spent hours carting famous members of the cast around Springfield, and had an absolute blast doing so.

Grand Theft Auto

GTA has long been a part of our lives, and PS2 was lucky to receive a number of titles. Special shoutouts have to go to Vice City and San Andreas!

GTA Vice City
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VICE CITY: This game had a large variety of cars to buy, steal and drive!

Driving has been fun in these games since the very beginning, so it's no wonder that we've got it on our list.

Ever since, GTA has gone from strength to strength, as GTA 5 is still updated weekly, and racing now forming a large part of the game!

Crazy Taxi

The final member of our list is Crazy Taxi, and follows somewhat on the theme of Simpsons Hit & Run.

Crazy Taxi
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CRAZY ACTION: Crazy Taxi had some awesome gameplay mechanics!

This is, of course, Crazy Taxi, and it's easy to see where it gets its name from!

Once again, our fondness for the game probably comes from nostalgia, but the younger version of us loved jumping onto the PS2 and playing it!

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