A great racer that doesn't take itself too seriously...good, quick fun!
The cars are fictional, but cool looking and seem to have some unique handling about them. Nothing drastic, but enough that you will need to determine which works best for you.
So far the tracks are excellent. Big, lots of cool scenery, and of course, explosions!! Changing the track is awesome, and can come with some cool effects. It is also a great way to ruin your rival's day if you find yourself in 5th place or so coming up on a track change event LOL.
The graphics overall look great, but the PS3 version does show some odd glitches every now and then. Usually they dont affect your gameplay, but occassionally you will get a serious graphic artifact across your screen which blocks your track view for a few seconds. This can be annoying, and why I docked it to 8.0.
Online seems pretty cool. The one thing you need to remember, like Ridge Racer, is get your cars from single player. You can buy them all on PSN for $3, but the point is, if you want to stay at the front of the pack, you will need some of the better cars. Cars are unlocked as you progress through the single player.
The Single player has a LOT of gameplay...approximately 72 events. These range from races, to time trials, to some seriously cool survival mode stuff. One survival mode has a helicopter shooting missiles you dodge, another has trucks dropping barrels to avoid. These are really good changes of pace. The AI is totally annoying though. Ruberband AI the likes of Motorstorm. You make a mistake and at least 5 cars will instantly pass you.
Overall, though, great game that couldnt come at a better time for race fans!!