Wipeout 2097 (XL)

Wipeout 2097 (released in North America as Wipeout XL) is the pure essence of the early PlayStation era's style — futuristic races of anti-gravity craft that hurtle down tracks at speeds held right on the edge of control. In 1996, Psygnosis took a good first installment and tuned it into a sharper, smoother and more addictive experience.

You race with weapons: along the way you collect rockets, mines and other gadgets to slow down rivals, while you yourself handle lightning-fast corners and hold the ideal racing line. The tracks are demanding and reward both memorization and precision, while the sense of speed was among the best on any console of the time. An integral part is also the visual design by The Designers Republic studio, which gave the game its iconically sharp, techno-club look.

Legendary above all, though, is the soundtrack — tracks by the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy and others linked video games with '90s club culture like few other titles. That's why retro players love Wipeout 2097 not just as a great racing game, but as a cultural icon that defined just how cool the PlayStation could be.