Road Rash

Road Rash brought Electronic Arts' rowdy motorcycle-combat series to the PC, and it captured exactly what made the franchise a cult favourite: this is racing where winning the race is only half the job, and beating your rivals senseless is the other half. You tear along public roads dodging oncoming traffic, but you can also throw punches, swing clubs and shove opponents into ditches, all while the police try to bust you if you get too reckless.

The blend of speed and brawling is what gives Road Rash its personality. Prize money from placing well lets you upgrade to faster, meatier bikes, creating a satisfying loop of race, fight, earn and upgrade. This mid-90s PC iteration carried the series' irreverent, rebellious attitude, complete with a grungy rock soundtrack and a tone that reveled in mayhem rather than clean sportsmanship. Crashing at high speed and watching your rider tumble down the tarmac never stopped being funny.

It plays as a loud, arcade-style thrill rather than a serious racing sim, and that's the point. The controls can feel loose and the difficulty spiky, but the sheer joy of clubbing a rival off his bike at 100 mph gives Road Rash a staying power that straighter racers lack. It remains one of the more distinctive two-wheeled games of its generation.