X05: Ridge Racer 6 Hands-On

AMSTERDAM--Although the one-car, one-circuit demo of Ridge Racer 6 being shown at Microsoft's X05 event is the same one we saw in Tokyo a few weeks back, we couldn't resist getting behind the wheel of the bright red "Mitsurugi Meltfire" just one more time. There were no opponents for us to race against, and there were no time limits to beat, but powersliding our way around the picturesque Harbor 756 circuit was a satisfying experience nonetheless.

The Harbor 756 circuit, like those in previous Ridge Racer incarnations, incorporates tunnels, bridges, sweeping corners, seaside locales, and, of course, helicopters and planes flying overhead. However, one of the most noticeable differences in Ridge Racer 6 is that you can see other areas of the circuit off in the distance long before you actually reach them. The most notable of these are the skyscrapers of the city district,and the Golden Gate-style bridge, both of which are visible from just about anywhere on the circuit, provided your car is pointed in the right direction.

The arcade-style handling in Ridge Racer 6 feels a lot like the handling in the PSP version of Ridge Racer, and fans of that game will be pleased to hear that its nitro system, which lets you earn up to three charges of nitro for temporary speed boosts by sliding around corners, has also made it in to the new game. Even without the nitro boosts, the sensation of speed in Ridge Racer is impressive, and the game's frame rate is undoubtedly one of the smoothest we've seen on the Xbox 360 hardware to date.

It's a little disappointing we didn't get to see a new version of Ridge Racer 6 at X05, of course, but it's hardly surprising given that the Tokyo Game Show was less than three weeks ago. We look forward to bringing you more information just as soon as we get our hands on a more-complete version of the game.