As per title, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good, fun, not-so-realistic arcadey racer for me to sink my teeth into during the next few weeks.  I'd prefer it to be on PS3 if possible, but I've got access to a PS2, Wii and Gamecube if need be.

I was thinking of getting Burnout Paradise but I watched a few reviews and heard there were issues with checking the map stopping the flow of the game and not being able to restart events, but I did love Burnout 2 & 3 in the past.  I was also wondering about the Need for Speed games, but I have never played a single entry in that series so I wouldn't know where to start!

Disclaimer - I've played the Motorstorm games already and they were varying degrees of fun (with Apocalypse being my favourite), as well as WipEout HD Fury (my favourite racing game this gen, but I'm not really looking for another weapons-based game) and Ridge Racer 7 (great drifting fun, but the courses felt way too confined at times).

Thanks in advance for any input :)

If by arcadey you mean unrealistic, then Gran Turismo 5.

I think Need for Speed: Most Wanted will release very soon. I can almost guarantee that you would love that title (if it's not too much different from the original version).

get Burnout Paradise or Need for Speed Hot Pursuit.. both should be really cheap..

I'd say get Burnout Revenge over Paradise. The gameplay, controls, physics, AI, etc are all fine in Paradise, but the fact that it's open world completely takes away the Burnout experience. Because it's open world, there are of course short cuts and alternate paths to take. What this does is seperates you from the rest of the drivers and most of the time, you won't even come in contact with another racer. Needless to say, in a Burnout games, which is focused on the slamming and fighting other cars, this makes the game boring. Basically, imagine all the action you love from Burnout games, and subtract 75% of it. At least, that's what it felt like to me.

Another problem with the open-world is the fact that you find yourself looking at your map a lot, making sure you don't make a wrong turn. I guess this is more subjective though. For me, it takes the focus from racing and fighting other racers and turns it to "who can pick the fastest route."

And of course there's the restart issue.

For Need 4 Speed games, I'd say pick up Most Wanted and Carbon. Most people agree that Most Wanted was the best version. Carbon was good too, but it was basically a Nightime version of Most Wanted with a few upgrades. I actually like Carbon more though. But of all the Need 4 Speed games, those two are the best imo. Pro Street was pretty fun, but isn't arcadey really. Undercover was bad. Shift was good, but isn't arcadey. People say Hot Pursuit was fun, but I thought it was just okay. And whatever the 2011 installment was...it was crap too. I can't even remember the name. 

And I personally reccomend picking up Grid and one of the DiRT games. They're awesome. Also, if you have a 360, pick up Project Gotham 4. It's sort of a mix between arcade and simulation, but I think you'll like it.

I really enjoyed Burnout Paradise

Midway arcade treasures 3 for PS2 or GameCube

Includes S.T.U.N. Runner, Hydro Thunder, Super Off Road, San Francisco Rush 2049 Also includes Badlands, Off-Road Thunder, Mud, Sweat ‘N Gears, Race Drivin’, San Francisco Rush the Rock: Alcatraz Edition


HYDRO THUNDER is my favorite racer of all time. BUT this is a compilation of all my favorite arcade racers.

http://www.amazon.com/Midway-Arcade-Treasures-3-Playstation-2/dp/B0002CHJ1E

Burnout: Revenge for PS2

Excitetruck, Excitebots or NFS Nitro are the best ive played this gen

Don't get Burnout Paradise!