This weekend was one of those weekends where all I did was lounge around, play video games and watch Top Gear. And it was awesome. I did leave the house briefly to go buy new video games and get some Chinese food, but other than that, it was pretty much lazy central here at my house.

I did get a chance to get caught up on some racing games that I’d been meaning to play. Perhaps it was all of the Top Gear, but I’ve had cars seriously on the brain for a while. Here are a few that I played in depth.

WipeOut

WipeOut is probably my favorite racing game ever, and it doesn’t even have cars. Go figure. It actually features some sort of spacecrafts that you race around these amazing, totally futuristic tracks with lots of lights and cool symbols. I think I like this game so much because I want to live in this world. My first introduction to WipeOut was WipeOut HD for PS3, but I have since played 2048 on the PS Vita and both Pure and Pulse on the PSP (both of which I got for like $7 at GameStop. I love used games). HD is still my favorite just because the graphics are so stunning, and I think Pure and 2048 are tied for second. Pulse is really beautiful looking, but I have a hard time getting through races without dying, which gets kind of frustrating after a while, whereas in Pure, my health levels never seem to get as dangerously low so I’m able to actually focus on winning races. 2048 is just all around exciting, but I don’t own a Vita so I haven’t played it as often as the others. (I really want a Vita.)

For game footage, check out these two videos. The first is of HD, and the second is a preview of 2048.

Blur

I’ve been wanting to check out Blur for a while since I, obviously, like racing games with really unique graphics. What I like about Blur is that it has all of the cool colors and lights like WipeOut, but uses real cars, so it’s both realistic and stylistic. This game is really exciting, and unlocking new challenges and cars is pretty fulfilling. This game has some cool variety–some of the maps are races, others are time laps. You can add mods to cars and play different challenge modes. I’ve only played the first two levels, but I really like it so far.

ModNation Racers

My boyfriend and I have played the demo for this game a hundred times and we finally decided to just buy it. I’m glad we did. This is a really unique game–it’s kind of like Little Big Planet, because you can make your own character, build a custom car, and design custom maps. Here’s my little character and car.

It’s also like MarioKart, primarily with the cartoon-style graphics and game play. Some of the races are easier than in Blur or WipeOut, but the challenges can be pretty difficult. I haven’t even really begun to try out all of the features in this game, since there are hundreds of maps and customization options, but it’s definitely a fun game to check out.

Feel free to add me on PSN if you want to race sometime! My screen name is arcadie1021.

I’m bummed the weekend is over! Have a great Monday!