by Marc Phillippe Babineau

Created on: October 28, 2009

With Christmas 2009 fast approaching, buying the hottest new car racing video games for the gamers in your life will racing give them hundreds of hours of adrenaline-based computer, gaming system or hand-held gamer car racing games. Do you feel the need, the need for speed? EA Sports' newest addition to their street-racing "Need For Speed" video games is one of the best for 2009, with realistic damage and control problems for crashed cars, better scenery and music, and many new tracks. Car racing video games are quickly becoming simulators.

There are a ton of car racing video games out this year, and selecting the right one for your loved one, family member or friend has never been harder. From Mario Brothers to Drift racing, off-road Targa racing to F1 or NASCAR racing platforms, there is something for everyone this year when it comes to car racing video games. Most of the hottest car racing video games adhere to most of the newest and most popular gaming systems, including Nintendo's Wii system and the DS and DS lite.

There are racing games that are meant for multi-player use, and some for single players. The things that you should find out first before buying a new car racing video game for someone for Christmas this year would be to find out if they prefer multi-player platforms or to play by themselves, whether they prefer reality over fantasy, and dirt over paved tracks or city and country roads. Some games, like EA Sports' Need For Speed Pro Street, have realistic damages and the cars react accordingly to the damages incurred. As with every new release, there are new cars, new additions and upgrades, as well as new tracks.

NASCAR has some very realistic car racing games, and the drivers and cars are the same ones that you watch every Sunday, and the odd Saturday night on television or in person. From Dale Earnhardt Junior, to Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon, your favourite drivers are available, and their racing tendencies are built into their cars. The tracks may look more familiar, as more attention to detail has been added. In-car audio, pit crews and damages are all very realistic.

F1 is a major racing series, maybe not as popular as NASCAR, but close. You can pick your car and driver, the track, weather conditions and play against the machine, friends or on-line competitors. New this year, the winning-est player on the leaderboard gets a chance to attend the Red Letter Day Motor Racing Thrill at Silverstone, where they get to drive one of the real race cars. What more would a testosterone-laden teenager want out of life, in the non-female category?

Whatever your choice of car racing video games to give as a Christmas gift this year, just keep the receipt. If the person does not love the game, they have the opportunity to exchange it for the one that they do want. Or, you could just ask them which car racing video game they want the most.

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