H1Z1 (Daybreak Game Company, PC)
— Either drive or ride shotgun in this apocalyptic battle royale, which pits 150 players against each other in a fight to the last driver. Invite up to four road warriors to man weapons in your car as you blast other players on a map packed with weapons, stunt spots, and a growing cloud of toxic fog to keep everyone moving.

Burnout Paradise Remastered (Electronic Arts, Xbox One, PS4)
— While most racing games are reluctant to let players scratch the paint on their cars (typically because of licensing reasons), Burnout Paradise dares you to keep your auto in one piece as you rack up points for stunts and close calls. This remastered version renders every collision in catastrophic detail.

Onrush (Deep Silver, Xbox One, PS4)
— Racing takes a backseat to gonzo stunts in this off-road adventure, one in which players go faster the more recklessly they drive. Successful stunts provide speed boosts that propel daredevils ahead of competitors — or through them if they achieve ramming speed.

Trials Fusion: The Awesome Max Edition (Ubisoft, Xbox One, PS4, PC)
— Not so much a racing game as an excuse to do crazy shit on a motorcycle, this expansion injects wacky new physics-based obstacles and surreal landscapes. Each of the 180 courses is a cross between an M. C. Escher painting and a Rube Goldberg machine. Adding to the insanity: You can swap your bike for a unicorn.

Hot Pursuits: The Crew 2 (Ubisoft, Xbox One, PS4, PC)
— Your throttle isn’t the only thing that’s wide open in this sprawling racing adventure, which turns the continental United States into a massive, open-world course built for high-speed chases and high-stakes races. New York City, Miami, San Francisco, and everywhere in between get condensed into roughly 2,000 square miles of freeways for street racing, purple mountains for off-road thrills, and fruited plains you can soar above just like the real-life flyover states.

Sunday drivers might play it safe with scenic road trips from sea to shining sea (a typical cross-country trek takes about 40 minutes), while the lead-footed can compete in regional races to become the most notorious driver in the nation.

Regardless of your play style, the police will engage in hot pursuit if they catch you in a moving violation. Real-life competitors drop in and out of the world at a moment’s notice, so expect some paranoia when you peer in the rearview mirror.

Every racing discipline — stock cars, F1 racers, motocross, and even stunt flying and speedboat rallies — gets its due here, with events broken down in regional hubs for faster access. But instead of stepping out of your vehicle and hoofing it to another a la the Grand Theft Auto games, you can switch between ground, sea, and air vehicles on the fly. That means you might quick-change your Porsche 911 or Ducati street bike into a DCB M31 speedboat in the heart of midtown Manhattan if you really want to snarl traffic, but you’d have more fun if you saved the marine mode for the game’s many waterways.

With this mix of road, sea, and air racing, The Crew 2 unites all types of racers, from Coors-swilling gearheads to snooty Formula 1 fans. Car and Driver subscribers will spend hours mastering the finer points of each vehicle’s cornering; casual fans will get off showboating and slapping the rewind button to replay their most spectacular moments.