Top 5 best racing games on Vita

There's nothing quite like getting behind the wheel (or into the cockpit) of a high-performance racing vehicle and belting around some fiendish corners and full-speed straights while gorgeous scenery zips past in the blink of an eye.

That's why we love racing games.

And there have been some tip-top entries in this genre on Vita in the two years it's been in our back pockets.

Here, then, are my top five recommendations for racing games on Vita. This is for the virtual petrolheads the world over who just love to burn rubber on the go.

This came out at the launch of Sony's powerhouse portable, and remains one of my favourite Vita games.

It's the ultimate version of the ultimate futuristic racing game series. The game is bursting with creativity in its track and ship designs; there's more variation in the EDM soundtrack than ever before; controlling your craft has never felt better; and it's super-fast.

Oh, boy, is it fast. Especially in the retina-annihilating Zone Mode.

The standard game features an insane number of tracks and ships. Plus, there's furiously competitive multiplayer, Cross Play with WipEout HD, and plenty of DLC to get stuck into.

The team behind the game - Studio Liverpool - is sadly no longer in business. But, hey, if you're going to go out, you go out on a high like this.

There's still no Gran Turismo for Vita - that makes me feel sad.

Still, if you're after a realistic driving experience and don't mind getting muddy, then WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship is the game for you.

Through the varying levels of challenge, you can scale the difficulty to a point with which you're comfortable. Once you've played it for an hour or two, though, you'll want to crank it up to full-on simulation.

Yep, experiencing the highs of shaving seconds off times and the lows of running up against mechanical failures mid-race is what this game's all about.

The vehicle tuning, repair management, mammoth career mode, super-smooth visuals, and smart audio design make this an absolute must for the serious racer.

If you don't like MotorStorm RC, you don't like racing games. That simple.

In a left turn for the series, this handheld entry is about racing small remote controlled vehicles over specially constructed tracks rather than scorching through makeshift off-road courses. Also, you view the action from above the vehicles, not behind them.

But everything else that makes the series great - the mud and sand and water and jumps and so on - are intact, ensuring the spirit of the franchise lives on even if this game looks nothing like the other entries.

MotorStorm RC is super-cheap, the online time trial mode works great (even over 3G), and the starting playground area is a delight to muck around in.

The true appeal of Need for Speed: Most Wanted on Vita is its open world. Our man Mark described is as "colossal" in his review, and he's bang on the money with that adjective.

It's no surprise it's so large, for it's made by the team responsible for the much-loved Burnout Paradise.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted isn't as pretty as its home console counterparts, but it's not too far off. And Criterion does manage to include a solid online mode here for competitive and co-operative play.

That edge-of-your-seat feeling of being just one mistake away from completely losing control is present and correct here, just as it is in the later Need for Speed games.

Switch Galaxy
By Atomicom

Like the rest of the gaming population, we at PG sometimes forget PlayStation Mobile exists. Every once in a while, though, a PSM game makes us momentarily sit up and pay attention.

Switch Galaxy is one of those titles.

It's an upgraded port of an iOS and Android game. And it's up for debate whether or not you can call this high-speed lane changer a 'true' racing game.

You might not be plotting the exact angle at which to take corners in this one, but hopping between different tracks on a course while avoiding barriers and other racers is no walk in the park, let me tell you.

It's high speed, has plenty of content, and is perfect for quick gaming sessions (it's a mere 29MB in size). I reckon Switch Galaxy will be on your Vita's memory card for a long time to come.