Barro F Quick rounds, close races

Plug in the controllers and the grid fills up. Up to four players share one screen in local split screen, each fighting for the same stretch of track, or you can race solo against up to nine computer opponents. A round is short, so losing a race costs you nothing: someone grabs a drink, the next grid loads, and the argument about who cut whom off starts over. The controls are simple enough that a friend who never plays racing games can join on lap one. It is the kind of game you put on when people are over and the evening needs something everyone can play at once.

Time trial is the mode to beat here, new and improved for this sequel. You pick a track, learn its corners, and chase a time, and the difference between leaderboard places can come down to hundredths of a second. One clean line, one late brake, one corner taken a touch wider, and the lap is gone. With 11 new cars and 10 new tracks, there is plenty to learn, and shaving a fraction off your own best lap is the kind of chase that keeps a session going long after the races are done.