Online racing games aren’t all about driving round a race track. Some of the most innovative and fun-filled games use cityscapes, urban environments and even ice racing to get you involved in their world.

So what makes a good racing game? A fun environment, or a challenging one; cool vehicles, or unusual vehicles; and levels that get harder and faster the higher up the points scores you go!

Some racing games give you a series of lives, or let you take a few knocks before you lose power completely. Ice Racing is one such, and one of the best current online racing games for more than one reason. It’s an unusual environment, for a start – and you get to use some pretty cool vehicles into the bargain. Racing around snowy mountain scenery, with a real slippery feel to the ice, makes these buggies hard to control – and that means you have to use your five lives carefully.

Another game that gets top marks for originality is Sim Taxi – where you have to find passengers quickly and get them to their destinations as fast as you can. Of all the current online racing games this one is perhaps the most original, in that every “course” is different but set within the same environment. You never know who you are going to pick up next or where they will want to go, with you frantically racing against the clock and the bad guys who want to stop you.

Online racing games

Clock racing is a big attribute of successful racing games. Often the clock is your life – you have to reach a certain reset point within a pre specified time in order to be sure of continuing to the next level. Old racing games like Outrun used this device excellently, making you reach certain checkpoints within a race in order to earn the ability to carry on to the finish line. Some of the most entertaining online racing games do the same thing.

Of course it doesn’t have to be cars you race – or at least not normal ones! Dodgem racing is great fun, and there are plenty of bike racing games out there for the petrol head who prefers two wheels to four. Dirt Bike 2, Bike Mania on Ice and Dare Devil are all outstanding examples of free online racing games featuring a motorbike course.

For a lick of originality outside the normal “fast vehicles and courses” format, try either Big Truck Racing or Phineas and Ferb Racing. In the Big Truck game, you get to drive some long distance monsters in a highly irresponsible fashion, while Phineas and Ferb gives you the chance to customise your own set of wheels before you put it to the test against the other competitors!

Online racing games can be about simple skill too. Parking games and driver’s ed games add a lot of learning into the equation – perfect for testing that spatial awareness.