What I liked about CTR was that it was a real racing game. The track designs were awesome, and if you took the time to learn them, it definitely paid off. There were so many ways to build up speed, like collecting items and building up big air on jumps. There were no cheap speed boosts for AI opponents either. If you take them out, and they catch up with you, they did it fair and square. I hated that in MK64, you could blast your enemy, not make a single mistake, and 15 seconds later they'd pass you like you were sitting still.
CTR was a rip off, but it was a rip off done right. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but dislike Crash Team Racing because you blindly follow Mario Kart, and you have cheated yourself. If you haven't played it, play it now! It hold's up very well. Don't touch the sequel, though.
