Hot Wheels Unleashed

This arcade racing game captures the fun of playing with the titular toy cars...well, if your parents were super cool about where you could build your tracks. In Hot Wheels Unleashed, you get to race classic Hot Wheels — as well as such cool cars as the Batmobile and K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider — on elaborate tracks someone built in their basement, rumpus room, and kitchen, complete with jumps and loop-de-loops. It's a good thing this not only has simple but intuitive controls. You also have access to speed boosts that are triggered both manually and by driving over sections of the track, as well as the ability to drift around corners. You just need to be mindful of the environmental hazards, which include barriers that will break but slow you down, and a spider who might mistake your car for a tasty fly.

As if that wasn't enough to bring you back to being 8 years old, this also has "Basement," a mode where you get to build your own tracks, and in multiple rooms of your house. But the real fun comes from racing, be it in the single-player "Hot Wheels City Rumble" mode, or online against other people. And while people looking for an authentic racing experience would be advised to go elsewhere, as would arcade race fans who want the option to drive from the cockpit view (which this doesn't have) or would rather not drive a van that looks like a toaster (which this does have), the challenging tracks, real sense of speed, and simple but effective controls makes Hot Wheels Unleashed fun for anyone who's ever been old enough to play with Matchbox cars.