Ridge Racer Unbounded is not a game you should judge on its title because lets be honest, it’s a ridiculous title. Not as bad as Metal Gear Rising: Revengance, but still, not great.

Why you shouldn’t judge it on the title is much more important than simply the name, it’s because it’s unlike any Ridge Racer you’ll have played before. With new and improved explosions, Hollywood style camera angles and more shameless stealing than your average Tarantino film it’s a mish-mash of gaming styles.

For die-hard fans this could potentially be disastrous, but for newbies prepare for some white knuckle arcade fun.

Ridge Racer Unbounded: Gameplay

First things first, be warned, there’s no gentle introduction to this game, in fact if you want to learn how to play it without exploding into a ball of fire the first few times you’ll need to find a manual.

If, however, you decide to press on you’ll find that the first hour or so will prove more than a little irritating. With no indication whatsoever on how the drifting mechanism works we must admit it took us a while to figure it out.

By holding down ‘B’ instead of tapping it you are greeted with, rather than a pile of twisted metal and shame, a gorgeous looking drift that rewards you with the ability to ram and destroy any unfortunate soul in front of you.

It’s a clever system that encourages bravery, almost egging you on to try and steam through a wall here, or shortcut through a shop there and more often than not, it works to great effect.

Ridge Racer Unbounded: Plot

Plot? Erm…no. Not even slightly. In fact if you’re looking for a reason to play the most inspiring thing you’ll get is a short cinematic at the beginning. Instead Ridge Racer gives you another reason to keep playing, because it’s fun.

Of course fun can wear thin, and eventually, but inevitably you’ll realise that the environments are hugely similar with the exception that sometimes there will be a pretty sunset and sometimes there won’t be.

This continues onto the vehicles, pretty enough to look at but essentially just tools that are to be thrown around in order to get that defining slow motion frag.

Ridge Racer Unbounded: Features

Races consist of the usual types, including standard domination races and drifting circuits. There’s also a series of truck challenges which involve demolishing as many police cars as possible.

On the multiplayer front things are looking much healthier, with a simple and easy to use track creation tool you can build your own city and then publish it online as a challenge to your mates.

Add to that the satisfaction you get completing a perfect drift followed by a swift removal of a mate from the track and you’ve got a hugely enjoyable game.

Ridge Racer Unbounded: Verdict

It’s certainly not the prettiest racing game, in fact it looks a little dated in places and with controls that can be either infuriating or a joy to use it sometimes feels a little unsteady.

Add to that a completely unoriginal set of landscapes and a similarly thought out garage and you start to wonder why you just spent £35.

Hit a corner just right however and things suddenly get more interesting with the world dissolving into a world of blurs and rubble, it’s manic, infuriating but incredibly good fun. Don’t expect any more than that and you’ll be just fine.

Ridge Racer Unbounded availability: Available now

Ridge Racer Unbounded price: £34.99