Kart Racing games. Everybody has played them, and everybody has probably cursed them. It's a genre of racing where innovation is not an issue (just stick a bunch of funny characters into those karts, preferably licensed characters, and watch them (and your sales figures) go!) and that seems to have been milked so utterly that even the mention of new kart racing games is enough to make people want to throw their consoles out of the window. Still, when you sit back and look at it, it's also one of the most fun genres to play with friends, as these games are easy to pick up and enjoy, making them perfect for any multi player evening. Yes, a lot of crap has been released in this genre, but also these ten gems.

10. Muppet Race Mania (PS1)

On the surface, it seems like a title that couldn't possibly be any good. Sure, we all love the Muppets, but to have them feature in their own kart title brings back memories of games like Walt Disney World Racing and South Park Rally, where the potential was squandered with lazy racing engines and boring track design. It's a surprise then that Muppet Race Mania is so much fun. The game is large, both in amount of tracks and characters, and really fun to play. The PS One played host to many a good kart game, and this one was a nice surprise.

9. Speed Freaks/Punks (PS1)

Released in Europe, where it originated, as Speed Freaks, and then later turned into Speed Punks for the American market, this is a racer does everything right. Colourful graphics, good track design, interesting characters... Many PS One players touted it as better than SUper Mario Kart, but it does not quite reach those dazzling heights. Still, if you find this game somewhere for a nice budget price and you still use your PS One/Two, then give it a whirl.

8. Motor Toon Grand Prix (PS1)

Motor Toon Grand Prix was released already quite early on in the PS One's lifespan, and, correct me if I'm wrong, was actually the first funny racer for this system. It's one of the first games I bought for the PS One and I had a lot of fun with it. I can still recall the music, which was extremely catchy, and can even remember some of the tracks, which were designed well and not as derivative as those in many other games in this genre. And here's the stinger: this game was made by the people behind Gran Turismo...

7. Wacky Races (DC)

This game was released on many different platforms, but it was the Dreamcast version that stole the title of best version. The game was incredibly frustrating in single player, but the track design and cool characters almost made you forgive the designers for this. The game had a cool, cel shaded graphic style (which wasn;t done to death yet then) and played smoothly.

6. Mario Kart Double Dash (GC)

This game was touted as the Mario Kart to end all Mario Kart's, but when it was released some people were let down a bit. Sure, it's great fun, looks beautiful and has some interesting new features (like the two people on one kart innovation), but the tracks and characters were not much more than updated versions of the tracks we saw in earlier Mario Kart-games. Still, that didn't stop us from playing the multiplayer mode to death.

5. Mario Kart DS (DS)

The definitive version of Mario Kart, with many tracks from all the different versions in one tight package. It looks and plays like the best this genre has to offer, and is by far the best handheld kart racer (though Mario on the GBA wasn;t half bad either).

4. Looney Tunes Space Race (DC)

The Dreamcast saw some really shitty kart racers, but both this and Wacky Races really stood out. Looney Tunes was always the favorite during our multiplayer nights, however, mostly because of the wonderfully inventive weapons you could stall your opponents with. I can still remember losing races where I had been in the lead almost the whole time, only because one of my 'friends' decided to drop a piano on my head. Everything was straight out of the Looney Tunes cartoons, and there haven't been many games with licensed characters that were this successful.

3. Crash Team Racing (PS1)

After the release of Crash Team Racing there have been three more racing games with Crash in them, and although these were fun, none of them can come close to the first one. The game does not feature any special innovations that make it stand out, the classic status that this game deserves comes straight from the fact that it's so brilliantly designed. Graphics, music, track design and character design in this game are all completely flawless. I can remember a day spent in bed sick, where I started up the ol' PS1, with a stack of games next to it. I started with Crash Team Racing and didn't put a single other game in after that, since I was completely hooked on it.

2. Super Mario Kart (SNES)

Okay, now you are probably thinking: something's wrong. Why does it say '2' in front of this classic, the game that started the genre and is looked back upon as one of the greatest games ever? While I love this game, and have played it for many, many times, I just don't see it as the best example of the genre. Still, let that not stop you to find this game and play it till your controller gives out, like so many other people did before you. It truly is a classic, maybe the best SNES-game ever released, and if it wasn't for the number one in this list, it would have left the other games in this top ten far behind it.

1. Diddy Kong Racing (N64)

I can imagine some controversy brewing now: how on earth can this be number one? Easy: it's the most fun kart racing game I have ever played, the one I played the most, and the one that I still dig out to play even now. It was the first game I ever played on the N64, and I was stunned at how brilliant it looked. The levels where you raced through the water looked fresh, you could almost smell the water, while the flying levels gave an extra adrenaline boost to proceedings. It's this attention to detail and the diversity of the game, combined with the lovely atmosphere of the tracks, that make it the stand out kart racing game, or at least in my opinion.