D1 Grand Prix

While Battle mode lets you pick your opponent (or race against a friend), Survival pits you against all 39 of the game's computer-controlled, real-life drivers in succession. Survival is much more interesting than Battle, too, with running commentary from three announcers who constantly praise or harangue you based on your performance.

Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.