9.5

Though Naughty Dog had only planned on three Crash titles originally, after the completion (and success) of Crash Bandicoot 2 (not to mention, the success of kart racers like Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing), the team decided to begin production of Crash Team Racing. The result was not only one of the most successful kart racers of all time, but perhaps the most mechanically deep.

While it retained all of the key elements of previous kart racers, Crash Team Racing added one major component that allowed it to stand out from the competition: slide boosting. By sliding around the track with one shoulder button and tapping on the opposite shoulder, players could turn a garden-variety race into a white-knuckle affair filled with high speeds, sharp turns, and wild excitement. And with over a dozen of the Crash series’ most beloved characters, a new villain in Nitrous Oxide, awesome racetracks with replayable goodies to obtain in Adventure mode, a killer Time Trial mode and endless multiplayer options, Crash Team Racing still stands the test of time as one of the most satisfying, deep, and enjoyable kart racers ever made.

Interested in watching some gameplay from Crash Team Racing? Watch me scream through the game’s four multiplayer cups as TreeTrunkSean attempts to keep up in this Wildfire Gaming mini-series.