Ignition

Ignition is a fast arcade racing game that embraces speed, exaggerated tracks, and the simple pleasure of making a car behave in ways that would probably concern an insurance company. The tracks are designed for action rather than realism, with jumps, sharp turns, hazards, and plenty of opportunities to discover that the brakes were apparently installed as a decorative feature. Different vehicles provide variety, while the competitive races keep the focus on quick reactions and aggressive driving. The game's colorful presentation gives it an energetic personality, making it easy to jump into without studying a manual first. Ignition works particularly well as a pick-up-and-play racer because it understands that sometimes you do not want a realistic simulation of driving. You want to go very fast, hit something, recover from the crash, and immediately try again. In that respect, it gets the arcade racing formula almost exactly right.