Here it comes, here comes the JiG Vault! It's a demon on wheels! It's a demon and it's going to be chasing after someone. It's gaining on you so you'd better look alive: with three of the best games we found in our archives! Go the JiG Vault! Go the JiG Vault! Go the JiG Vault, Goooooo! This week, be sure to keep a checkered flag at the ready, as we feature three racing games that leave the competition in the dust. Now excuse me... I need to go chuck some spikey blue shells into traffic.
- Redline Rumble - Redline Rumble has the shiny graphics of a sit-down arcade racer, and the action of the World's Wildest Police Chases. The game condenses street-racing into to its pure white-knuckled essence: two cars, a busy highway, winner takes all. You'll need quick reflexes and nerves of steel to beat your opponents... and escape the law. A number of sequels to Redline Rumble can be found on the game's site, but, if I had to wager my pink slip, I'd still argue the first in the series to be the fastest, the most furious, and, by extension, the Vin Dieseliest of the lot.
- TG Motocross 2 - Not gonna lie: since most of my life has been spent in locations where any evidence of nature is paved over immediately upon being spotted, my experience with Motocross has been limited to ExciteBike, You're a Good Sport Charlie Brown and TeaGames Motocross series. Though, to be fair, the latter is just about the best substitution a city slicker like me could hope for. With a game engine that became the genre-standard for many physics racers that followed, TG Motocross captured the thrill of massive flips and the harshness of gravity in a way few game have equaled. Whether you perfectly speed through each of the time trials like Ricky Carmichael or wipe out in a manner so painful, you can feel it through the screen, the immersive atmosphere and earthy visuals will keep you hitting the courses time and time again.
- Hamster Race - One of the simplest of the many simple idea games we've featured on this site, Hamster Racing is a cute little action game from the nation of Japan. A little hamster scurries around the track and you make it slowly turn to the left by holding the mouse button... It really shouldn't be as addictive as it is, but whenever I start, I shan't cease for a good dozen playthroughs. A game so simple really shouldn't cause my heart to beat as rapid a pace, but it totally does. The titular hamster's tiny wiggling tale shouldn't be as cute as it is, but it can really only be described as... adowwable. The only thing missing is a constant loop of that "dee ba dee ba dee baa doh doh" song playing in the background.
While we welcome any comments about this weekly feature here, we do ask that if you need any help with the individual games, please post your questions on that game's review page. Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and rediscover some awesome!
Update