Road Rage

By Paul Semel

RICHARD BURNS RALLY
SCI / Gizmondo
If you believe that a video game system is only as good as its racing games (and if you don't, you're reading the wrong magazine), then the portable Gizmondo is shaping up to be a pretty cool gaming machine. Besides the futuristic Trailblazer, the street legal Chicane, and the self-explanatory Gizmondo Motocross 2005, there's this realistic racing simulation. As in really rally events, Burns has you driving Subaru Imprezas, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIIs and Peugeot 206s on lengthy courses in rural France, Sweden, and Japan, with only your wits and a talkative navigator to guide you. But while the Gizmondo is less powerful than a PSP, Burns' realistic handling and PlayStation One-level graphics are still pretty good for a handheld game.

NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED
EA / PlayStation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC, PSP, DS, GBA
Half the fun of illegal street racing is being able to drive fast on the same roads you take to the supermarket. But isn't the other half that it's illegal? For those who love the rush of breakin' the law, the impressive new Need For Speed features police who actually enforce speed limits. So while this lets you drive such fast rides as a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Porsche Carrera GT, and a Lotus Elise as you try to up your street cred, this also lets the cops chase your speed limit-breaking ass as they try to meet their monthly ticket quota. Thankfully, the game's tight controls and upgradeable cars makes it possible for you to hopefully evade the fuzz (sometimes), upping your rep…and your rush.

JAK X: COMBAT RACING
Sony / PlayStation 2
Having completed his epic trilogy, Jak of Jak & Daxter fame has decided to go for a drive. Simple but addictive, Jak X has you racing against a pack of road-rage sufferers on both twisty city streets and lumpy off-road courses. Thankfully, your futuristic dune buggy has been souped-up with machine guns, land mines and guided missiles, as well as tight, responsive controls for truly defensive driving. Besides letting you race both online and off, this has a Twisted Metal-like deathmatch option, as well as a story mode that'll give you good reason to go fast. A cartoonish combat racer in the mold of Crash Team Racing, Jak X isn't one for automotive purists, but it isn't just for kids, either.

MARIO KART DS
Nintendo / Nintendo DS
With Donkey Kong, Luigi, and that bastard Wario driving go-carts it would be easy to dismiss Mario Kart DS as a kiddie racing game. And it is, but that doesn't mean old school game-loving adults won't like it, too. Especially since this updated version of the classic racer boasts smooth controls and Wipeout-like attacks (well, if Wipeout had heat-seeking explosive turtle shells and speed boost-inducing mushrooms). They've even included upgraded tracks from the SNES, N64, Gamecube, and GBA incarnations of the game, as well as numerous new ones. Best of all, the super-addictive multiplayer mode can now be enjoyed via wi-fi, which lets you race seven other DS drivers even if only one of you has a copy, or on Nintendo's new wireless online service.

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