The "Mist Falls" track took us through pleasant wooded areas and behind a waterfall, the plasticy sheen of the game never broken by any real feeling of life. It's sort of like driving around in a model of the world rather than being immersed in real locales - but that's Ridge Racer for you. The caves level that we played was a blend of nature and man-made elements; not the shining Japanese metropolis that you'd expect from RR, but not quite a jungle adventure either.
The tracks themselves have so far been wide and inviting, less twisty and claustrophobic than some of the tracks in recent Ridge Racer games. The return of the nitrous canisters makes it easy to get a speed boost (they fill whenever you drift around corners) but the opponents seem much, much tougher than either PSP Ridge Racer or Ridge Racer 6, which means you'll have to run the races with greater skill than in either of those titles. Fortunately, the control is as tight as ever - really responsive, perfect twitch gaming - so we're not too worried.
One interesting moment came when we boosted right before a big jump - the car actually collided with an invisible wall in the air and stayed on course. Not so elegant, but that sort of sums up Ridge Racer: it's always on track, but realism... that's not a concern. While we've yet to be able to mess about with the online modes, we see here a compelling and attractive arcade racing game, the perfect companion to the PS3's launch. We're old fans, but even if you're not, the glossy burst of speed you get from this game should provide enough thrills to ease the woes of the cost of entry.
