7. Split Second: Velocity
Imagine if Running Man was a vehicular carnage game - the unwilling contestants replaced with willing racers pitted against one another for the entertainment needs of a sadistic TV show, with violence and destruction on a grander scale, and less than half the amount of obese illuminated Opera singers. That's sort of what Split Second: Velocity is all about: as contestants battle it out, using destructible environments against one another with epic results. Few games have mastered destructive environments like this, and it is still an exhilarating experience to drop a building on an opponent, or pushing a lorry into their path. There's little in terms of real tactical requirement, though it is one of those driving games that really encouraged the player not to be winning for 90% of the race, where evasion is the only possible tactic as only stragglers can affect what happens to opponents really. There's a major Hollywood influence in here, from the game's presentation to its action movie silliness, but crucially you never feel like you're left sitting in the passenger seat watching the action. Thankfully there's a good deal of variety in the game's events too, so nothing gets old, and the over-riding feeling is that Velocity brings back that arcade racing madness that the majority of console racers are lacking.