Ridge Racer 6 [X360]

Another console launch, another Ridge Racer game. Fans of the series will find this a familiar racer -- its drift-heavy, arcadey style hasn't changed for years. Although it's gorgeous-looking, the audio is a disappointment, and the game just doesn't match up to the quality and variety of the other two launch-window racing games. We've come a long way in the 11 years since the original Ridge Racer, but this series is standing still.

RR6 stays true to the series' well-established conventions. In other words, it's a pure arcade drift racer, with no concessions to physics --or reality in general, for that matter. Rather than hitting the brakes then steering in to take a corner in a nice, controlled, DMV-approved manner, Ridge Racer's cars are best handled by keeping your approach speed up, leaving the brake alone, and sliding round the bend in a ludicrously exaggerated -- but really rather fun -- way.

Like the PSP Ridge Racer title released back in March, RR6 lets players earn "nitro" one-shot speed boosts by drifting. There's a meter on the right side of the screen that charges whenever you get the car sideways. Depending on how full the meter is when you hit the button, you'll get one of three levels of boost, each being progressively faster and longer lasting.

In single-player, you work your way through a hexagonal grid of races. You can tackle them singly or in groups, and completing certain events or sets of events unlocks new content. Although there are over 200 events, they take place on just 15 different circuits. RR6 plays the old trick of running the circuits both ways, so depending on how you look at it, it might be more like thirty.

So while there aren't as many tracks as you might be hoping, it's particularly pleasing to see a game that isn't afraid to let the track designers have some fun. Some of the circuits seem more like rollercoasters than roads, taking in dramatic changes in incline, huge jumps, and tight, corkscrewing corners that never seem to end. They certainly make for interesting rides.

As you progress through this grid, the cars get faster and the opponents get tougher. You'll unlock faster cars as you play, too, split into categories that determine their drifting ability. Some require a little effort to kick out the back end, whereas some will fishtail at even the slightest nudge, earning you plenty of nitrous. None are real, licensed vehicles, but they're none the worse for that.