Joy Ride Microsoft Conference Impressions

LOS ANGELES--In its E3 2009 press conference, Microsoft dedicated a segment to its upcoming Xbox Live Arcade games. One of the new games announced was Joy Ride, a go-kart racing game in which you can trick out your vehicle and use your Xbox Live avatar as your in-game persona.

The trailer shown featured plenty of looping tracks and go-karts speeding along. The game has an austere and cartoony look that complements avatars well. More intriguingly, Joy Ride will be free to download and free to play. However, if you want to buy additional vehicles, upgrades, and more, you will have to pay for them. No other information regarding the pricing model was given, and we didn't discover details regarding how the game will actually play.

However, we do know that you will be able to share your content with friends, so if you have a track that your buddy doesn't, you can share it with him or her. Unfortunately, we know little else about Joy Ride, but we'll offer you additional impressions as soon as we can get our hands on this free kart racer.