‘Ridge Racer Unbounded’ crashing fun

The premise of most racing games is: It's fun to drive 272 mph. And even if you suffer a wreck or two within the same race, you can still win.

That's the modus operandi of "Ridge Racer Unbounded" -- speed, crash, yet victory.

When you first get under the hood of "Unbounded," it doesn't feel like previous "Ridge Racer" games, which focused more on technical driving mechanics.

"Unbounded" feels more like a wild "Need for Speed" game, because it's more illustrated than usual (less realism), it comes with a magical turbo button, and you're encouraged to make other cars wreck.

So officially, "Unbounded" is a combat-racer (without rocket launchers). Some people have compared it to "Split/Second," but I like "Unbounded" more.

It looks and moves smooth. And there are more than 50 separate racing events, on city roads, to conquer. (Although, many tracks feel like the same tracks.)

Most events are races with explosions (very fun). Some are time trials (boring), or drift challenges in which you merely turn corners for points (horrible).

Other events are "frag attacks," in which your impervious car must ram a certain number of rival cars during a brief timer. Frag attacks are great.

Complaint No. 1: Since there's no plot or voice-over narrative (which is true of racers generally), you hear only repetitive music and sound effects. I eventually muted the sound and listened to podcasts.

Complaint No. 2: You must earn points to unlock supposedly better cars, but I hate most cars I unlocked. They seem worse to handle than unicycles.

And handling is important in the hardest races. Yes, in the light races, you can crash a few times and win. But in the most difficult races, all it takes is one car to bump you, and you spin out and lose.

Personally, I need a car with top-rated acceleration and handling to move fluidly, and there aren't enough of those cars in "Unbounded."

Even so, overall, this is a fun and difficult racer (with an online multiplayer), as long as you're cool with those few caveats.

("Ridge Racer Unbounded" by Namco Bandai retails for $50 for PS 3 and Xbox 360 -- Plays fun. Looks very good. Very challenging. Rated "T" for mild language, mild violence. Three out of four stars.)

CONSOLE NEWS: Reputable video game sites have reported sourced rumors that the PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox system might come out during the 2013 holidays.

An even newsier rumor suggests the next Xbox will require it being run online at all gaming times, which could somehow hurt the used-game market.

And the PlayStation 4 is rumored not to be backward-compatible (unable to play PS 3 games), while requiring a purchase code to play, thereby hurting the used-game market.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's high-definition Wii U comes out for the 2012 holidays. It will be backward-compatible and will feature an iPad-like hand controller with a 6-inch touchscreen.

Sony and Microsoft had better be careful or their machines could sound too prohibitive and grumpy compared with Wii U, which will get a year's head start on them.

Contact Doug Elfman at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.