Hot Wheels

Any possible skepticism about gratuitous licensing is blown away after punching the gas and doing your first double somersault flip in Hot Wheels. You can race solo or head-to-head with one of 40 classic Hot Wheels toys come to life, including Jet Threat, Mongoose, or the killer Red Baron. Next, you can place those classic cars on one of eight rockin', rollin' tracks packed full of loops, jumps, shortcuts, and unique challenges as you slam your car into the competition.

The key to this game's racing fun is hitting the turbos on ramps and pulling off insane tricks by flipping, rolling, and twisting your vehicle every possible way.

On both systems, the tracks were well rendered, car mechanics were soft to the touch, and the soundtrack, which features shredding cuts by name groups such as Metallica, was pumping. Next to the N64 version, however, the PlayStation game's graphics were a little chunky and the controls weren't quite as smooth--but for preview versions, the prognosis is excellent for entertaining Hot Wheels fun!