10 Video Game Mechanics We Can't Believe Were Left To Die

9. Takedowns, Stunts & Carnage (Arcade Racing)

Seen in: Burnout, Split/Second

When it comes to the arcade racing genre, it feels like industry-leader Burnout arrived almost fully-formed, delivered the phenomenal Burnout 3: Takedown, the million-selling Burnout: Paradise... and nothing else.

Criterion's expert blend of slamming rival cars into oblivion was perfectly iterated on with Split/Second - a game that let you weaponise Hollywood action set-pieces to crush the competition with aeroplanes, boulders, explosions and everything in between.

Then... well, Criterion were snapped up by EA to work on increasingly terrible Need for Speed sequels, and Black Rock were disbanded after Disney refused a Split/Second sequel, leaving them to work for a smattering of other studios.

Point being though, that arcade racing was spectacular.

Turn10's Forza Horizon series is the nearest thing we have to a truly overblown head-to-head racer where speed is king and snappy controls back everything up, but there aren't any takedowns, traffic collisions or signature elements that we associate with the genre.

Burnout Paradise's remaster getting back to no.1 in the UK proves there's a huge desire for more of this stuff, and even Dangerous Driving (made by ex-Criterion staff) getting off the ground with its minuscule budget, hopefully indicates arcade racing can return in full.