I agree, this was before they were horrible. I'm excited for Burnout Paradise remastered, but they'll find a way to screw it up.
I dunno if it counts but Racedriver: GRID is one of my favourite games(released in 2008). But F1 world grand prix II for the gameboy color should count. (released in 1999).
GTA San Andreas. It's a good game in its own right, and the scene with GSF thugs playing dominoes killed me.
OpenTTD for me, the original Transport Tycoon Deluxe by Chris Sawyer completely remade as Open Source. I still play and love it to this day. (Sorry for the abysmal photo quality) Also: Flatout 2/Ultimate Carnage and Sims 2+3 I may well have forgotten some, but I think these are a good representation.
Gran Turismo 2/3/4 Touge Max G Side By Side Special 2000 Genki shutokou/kaido series 3d era GTA others i can't be arsed thinking of Oh yeah tokimeki memorial was good too... as is teh getaway
Fallout: New Vegas Silent Hill 2 Silent Hill 3 The original Chibi Robo! Pokémon Gold, Ruby and Emerald Edition Pokémon XD and Colosseum The original Animal Crossing TrackMania United Forever Burnout Paradise FlatOut 2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and IV Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl Mario Kart Double Dash, DS and Wii Luigi's Mansion Pikmin 1 and 2 Age of Empires 2 Stronghold Crusader Ninja Gaiden Sigma Is that enough?