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Driving games have been a mainstay of the video game world ever since games like Pole Position and Hard Drivin' hit the arcades years ago. As it's one of the most popular genres in all of interactive entertainment, it's often difficult to sort out the good from the bad and the eternal from the forgettable. That's where this week's Game Collector comes in. Not only have we chosen some of the best driving games from the past decade, but we've also given you the best prices available on the Web. So if you're a motorhead looking for your next video game fix or just a fan of racing games, this week's Game Collector's got you covered.
Gran Turismo - Sony PlayStation (1998)
Street Price: $7.50
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Few driving games have reached the status of the original Gran Turismo for the PlayStation. It changed the way the world looked at driving games forever as the first true simulation driving game. It's been three years since Gran Turismo was released, and most people are unwilling to part with their copies. Why spend $20 for a new copy when you can get the same game at less than half the cost? Gran Turismo is a classic, and if you haven't played it yet, don't hesitate.
Gran Turismo 2 - Sony PlayStation (1999)
Street Price $16.99
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While Gran Turismo 2 wasn't as groundbreaking as the original, it fueled the Gran Turismo fire and helped build an incredible amount of anticipation for the series' first next-generation outing on the PlayStation 2, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. If you're chomping at the bit to get your hands on A-Spec and want to prepare yourself for finding that perfect arc through turns, Gran Turismo 2 will serve that purpose nicely. Like the original GT, there aren't many used copies in circulation, but we've found a few.
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit - Sony PlayStation (1998)
Street Price: $12.95
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The Need for Speed series was the PlayStation's flagship driving series in its infancy, and the third installment, Hot Pursuit, is considered by many to be the best the series has to offer. With its hot pursuit mode, which allows you to run from the police, Need for Speed III is an exciting driving game complete with the adrenaline-induced thrills fans of the genre have come to expect. If you got your PlayStation a year or two after launch, you may have missed this excellent game.
Ridge Racer Type 4 - Sony PlayStation (1999)
Street Price: $9.00
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Probably the most visible driving game series over the past decade has been Namco's Ridge Racer series. It has appeared on nearly every console at one time or another, but Ridge Racer Type 4 for the PlayStation is the series' crowning achievement. With a wealth of options to unlock, heavy plot elements, and arcade-style driving mechanics, Ridge Racer Type 4 may be old, but it still has significant staying power. There's never been a better time to pick up a copy.
Wave Race - Nintendo 64 (1996)
Street Price: $12.95
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Wave Race was one of the few games available around the launch of the Nintendo 64, but thanks to its amazingly accurate graphics and spot-on physics, it would have been popular regardless of any competition. Almost five years after its release, it's still the definitive Jet Ski racing game on any platform. If you're looking to get some practice before the sequel, Wave Race: Blue Storm, is released for the GameCube, this cartridge is worth every penny of the prices we've found for it.
WipeOut XL - Sony PlayStation (1996)
Street Price: $7.49
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What Nintendo's F-Zero started, WipeOut XL finished. As the definitive 3D hovercraft racing game, WipeOut XL was unparalleled in its sense of speed and track design in 1996. Licensed soundtracks for video games are common today. But when WipeOut XL was released, gamers were given a taste of what the future of audio in video games would entail. If you're a fan of driving games, you owe it to yourself to find out why WipeOut is one of the most popular racers on the PlayStation.
Sled Storm - Sony PlayStation (1999)
Street Price: $12.95
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No game has done snowmobile racing as well as EA's Sled Storm for the PlayStation. With its intelligent track design, challenging gameplay, and the ability to upgrade your sleds, Sled Storm set a standard that other snowmobile games have yet to equal. As with many games on the PlayStation, Sled Storm was lost in the shuffle due to the healthy number of games released for the console in 1999. Locating copies of the game can be difficult. But we've found a few, so get them while you can.
Test Drive Le Mans - Sega Dreamcast (2000)
Street Price: $24.72
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Test Drive Le Mans won GameSpot's coveted Driving Game of the Year Award in 2000. Judging from the sales charts, there are still a lot of people who missed out on the game's addictively tight control and vehicle-filled corners. Now that Sega has halted the production of the Dreamcast, corralling a copy of Le Mans isn't getting any easier. If you want to race for 24 hours straight on your Dreamcast, time is running out, so secure your own copy of this excellent driving game from Infogrames today.
Excitebike 64 - Nintendo 64 (2000)
Street Price: $21.00
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If you're waiting for Excitebike 64 to make it to the Nintendo 64's Players' Choice series of games for $39.99, don't hold your breath. Despite the inclusion of the original Excitebike in its entirety and with a fully functional track editor, it drastically underperformed at retail--leaving few copies in circulation. As we've found out while searching for deals, finding a used copy of Excitebike 64 isn't easy. We stumbled across a couple copies, so get them while you can.
F-Zero - SNES (1991)
Street Price: $8.99
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If you've completely finished F-Zero: Maximum Velocity on your spiffy new Game Boy Advance and are looking for more of the same visceral thrills, F-Zero is more than enough reason to head for the closet to find your Super Nintendo. F-Zero was released shortly after the launch of the SNES, when its user base was small. You can spend a few weeks searching used game bins or simply click on the link above to secure your copy of this pioneering driving game.
Be sure to visit GameBuyer for even more great deals on classic driving games.
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