3. Burnout Revenge
Undoubtedly one of the purest entertainment experiences in race game history Revenge was the heady moment when the Burnout franchise really began to shine for what we all wanted it to be. Dispensing with too much focus on realism in favour of an engaging gameplay experience marrying driving with open combat, it was a truly fine addition to the genre. Gloriously, Revenge was never just about how quick you could drive, or how accomplished your conventional on-road skills: instead what counted was your capacity for carnage, and your creativity at taking down opponent drivers including avenging take-downs for extra rewards. Revenge was a high-octane thriller, out-stripping almost every other driving game that came before it, and heralding the arrival of the next generation in blistering fashion when the 360 version came out, though it was already about as good as the PS2 and XBox could possibly handle right at the end of that generation's life span. Not only was the gameplay enormous good fun, but it was also matched with an incredible soundtrack that matched the experience to perfection, fusing punk, metal, hard rock, alternative rock and electronic. Not since GTA had driving and music come together so well.