Wave Race 64

The jet skis in GTA 5 have worse controls than this ones, and even the waves and the floating sensation are less well achieved. Of course, as most racing games, single player mode gets boring quickly. The game is perfect for split screen races, specially for not-so-skilled players, to make it more unpredictable. Classic tech demo.

This is easily in the top five N64 games. The controls are so natural and responsive that you can focus on negotiating the tricky water physics, which quickly becomes a joy. Courses are simple (and there aren't too many of them), but they have multiple weather conditions and levels of difficulty. The single-player cups soon become fiercely competitive and punishing, making for a worthwhile challenge that eventually rewards you with new stuff. There isn't much other content beyond the multi-player, but it's such an evergreen racing game that it's fine. It's simple enough for anyone to pick up and very rewarding to master. Finally, the bright, low-polygon visuals and summer-paradise ambiance are appealing in the same way many Sega games were at the time. The N64 may not have RPGs, but it has multi-player games that never grow old.

What a fantastic launch window title. This was the first N64 game I ever played and the visuals and physics amazed me in 1997; they're absolutely still impressive to this day.

The attention to every detail of Wave Race 64--particularly the realistic behaviour of the water and jetski handling--is perhaps part of the reason it's light on content, with just three championships and supplementary modes to play through. But, it's exhilarating fun while it lasts and is difficult not to return to, even if it's just to cruise around Dolphin Park. There's a rare eternal charm and atmosphere to this game that makes it so appealing to gamers of all kinds.