2. Road Rash, Sega Genesis/N64, 1991-1999
It was a simpler time. Systems had less bits, presidential candidates had less memes, and other motorists in Road Rash had less teeth. Current racing games are pretty involved, favoring realism and fashion over everything else. But in 1991, there were no gears, no real speeds, no real need to turn, since the track would just kinda force you in the correct direction. And so, something was needed to spice up the motorcycle racing genre. That something was a series of racing games that were more about punching your way to the top than a Russel Crowe autobiography. To do that, they were going to need a lot of foreign objects. And so, they got a lot of foreign objects. Pepper spray, crowbars, police batons (taken off of police), chains, cow prods, and many many more were introduced into the genre, and it was never the same. Not satisfied with groundbreaking amazingosity, the developers went ahead and tossed in a few cars, some cows, and the occasional granny to run over, and called it a night. Road Rash and its sequels were everything we needed in racing. The (then) modern technology of simulated racing, with the always modern need to smash other people right in their cranium. There really isn't much to be said about Road Rash's gameplay that can't be experienced within 3 minutes of downloading
the freeware version here. The game was a massive success, spawning 2 sequels on the Sega Genesis, 1 on the 3D0, and a final sequel on the N64.
How The Sequel Could Work...
We've come a long way in how we understand games in general, since 1999. Need For Speed went from a racing game to a free roaming pseudo RPG. Go in a straight line skating games like Sketchin' became entire worlds of interaction with Skate. By the same token, a game like Road Rash could easily be turned from a series of isolated races, connected only by the amount of cash you have for a new bike, into a full fledged motorcycle sandbox. And no, I don't mean let players get off their bike and play mini games. WAIT!! I do mean that, let me do that. But, the point was, there's no reason why a game about illegal street racing shouldn't consist of driving around the city looking for and participating in illegal street races. I know what you're thinking. Not because it's obvious, but because I can read your mind. You're thinking, "what's the point of remaking a game, if you're just going to make it the same as Need For Speed: Underground 2." Well, the point is that there haven't been all that many motorcycle based racing games in recent years.
One is going to be made sooner or later. It's just a matter of time. Why shouldn't it be a remake of the best racing game ever made?