Tokyo Extreme Racer 3 It may not be the best, but it does not disappoint at all
Well, anyways. I just received the game and I tried it. It looks to be something that is enjoyable after all (unlike other games that are dragging and based on my standards and preferences, games like GTA are something that I consider as long and dragging, but they're great games anyways.)
When I played it at the first time, it did seem fun. A game which is similar to Wangan Midnight/Midnight Club 1/Midnight Run or whatever you call it (a similar game that uses characters from a manga series produced by Kodansha), and just like the above mentioned, you have rivals to beat then once you challenge a rival, you will have an SP gauge on the top of the screen. Similar to those games, in order to beat the rival, you have to maintain your SP gauge. If your rival's SP gauge diminishes (at least ahead of yours), then you have successfully beaten that rival and you win that round (and of course you win some cash, which you can use to buy new cars, tuning parts, stickers and the like)
You get a wide selection of Japanese cars, you get to choose your own characters and numbers for you license plate and you get to drive on real Tokyo streets.
The gameplay is quite great and you get to defeat a lot of rivals. There's also a Quick Race mode wherein you beat 100 rivals without any form of SP regeneration. In other words, it is a Survival mode.
As for the graphics, well.......... it's okay (considering it's a game made in 2001 and that GT 3 has waay better graphics than this one). However, this is NO substitute to Namco's racing-simulation game for the video arcades, entitled: Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2 (Characters also from Kodansha). Even if this game is good and worth playing, TXR 3 can't not stop me from going to the local game center to play on some brand new Maxi Tune 2 cabinets.
As a conclusion, I can say that I may not be regretting getting this game. I mean, you get real value for money, great gameplay, decent-enough graphics and neat music. However, if you want a much-better racing experience if your purpose is to drive on the streets of Japan, then Namco's Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2 is something that you should seriously play.