Just when I thought ‘Need for Speed: The Run’ got it right, along comes ‘Ridge Racer Unbounded’ to muck up what once was a perfectly good review. See, I declared ‘The Run’ a simplistic but strong, arcade racer…a welcome addition to the often overly complex driving genre.

The problem is, ‘Ridge Racer Unbounded’ (RRU) makes ‘The Run’ cry rubbery tears of despair in recognition of how superior the former is in almost every way. In contrast to the Michael Bay-inspired, mass promoted EA offering, Ridge Racer Unbounded arrived via hush…with only a small number of grey haired gamers (cough cough) likely reminiscent of its arcade, early 1990’s roots.

At a risk of over-emotional frankness: I frickin’ love this game. Bugbear – the Finnish guys who bestowed the well-received ‘Sega Rally Revo’ upon the PlayStation Portable – are at it again. Bugbear only makes racing games…and it shows.  RRU is a ridiculously polished, addictive racing title, one simultaneously robust in experience but also extraordinarily accessible.

Much like Sega Rally Revo, Bugbear keeps things simple…but does so in a brilliant fashion. RRU features a limited number of modes and race formats, but executes them to perfection. Environments and destruction engines are amazingly interactive, with almost every aspect of RRU’s world capable of wreaking havoc on. The game also goes out of its way to reward said havoc, as points generated via massive destruction makes even poor race finishes worth completing.

These points come in very handy. RRU sports a refreshing leveling up system, where completion of destruction and/or racing tasks correspond to points gained. Logically, placing on the podium both finishes a stage and nets the highest point total. Still, enough takeouts of fellow racers and/or stunt-style driving and even a 12^th place finish was not for naught. AI can be devilish, thus note this reality.

In most instances, complete an experience level and unlock an additional car. This is anything but ‘Gran Turismo,’ as unlocked vehicles are a bit obscure and cannot be customized.  In tandem, RRU also limits car types for each race. Thus, premium is not on vehicle rather driving prowess. This emphasis is logical, as RRU naturally encourages repeat runs of courses toward driving mastery and ultimately a top 3 finish.

Oh, what a ride it is; almost everything in RRU is open for destructive and points gain. RRU is a literal carnival of chaos, as all – but the biggest of objects – can defy physics with your car. Accrue sufficient power (via tailgates, drifting, and takeouts) and fully explosive cut-throughs emerge for destructive pleasure. While completely unrealistic, it’s a relief that environmental damage does not total your car. This nuance rewards fun trial and error, chain explosions and take-outs, even among aforementioned races where winning is an impossibility. There’s a subtle hiccup, however, in mid-range environmental objects…ones too big for easy destruction…but too small for takeout with increased power. What results are a handful of unnecessary crashes per race due guessing wrong on the damage front.

As a collective – and not certain how best to describe this - but environments are stunning, also the explosions linked to them. Bursting through seemingly impossible buildings and obstacles can be jaw dropping, helped by some truly terrific stage design. Campaign mode stages are long and varied, making repeat laps not a chore rather an opportunity to find more destructive shortcuts and/or new take-out tactics. It’s a bit of the sweet spot between the too long (albeit clever) stages of ‘Motorstorm’…but not as static (but adrenaline-filled) as those in ‘Need for Speed.’

Controlling your car – for the most part – is a snap. Over drifting does occur, with a bit of awkwardness in getting recovery angle + gas/brake combo just right. I also find the cars don’t react as well as they should to differences in corner bends (wide versus tight radius), but not enough of a discrepancy to truly irritate.

Audibly and indicative of the Ridge Racer series, lots of techno-pop tracks here to keep things bouncing. No standouts, really, but certainly not ear sores. Engine noise is blah and non-distinctive. For a game with limited numbers of vehicles, I would’ve liked to audibly feel like I’m driving something truly different versus subtle upgrades to control, power, damage and other car nuances.

Underneath the hood, RRU packs a surprisingly accessible level designer, where inserting pre-fab stage components are quick and easy. This feature truly shines on multiplayer (no Online Pass required!), where a slew of player-created courses are readily available for drive experience. Akin to ‘LittleBigPlanet,’ most are canned…but several quite clever. I couldn’t help chuckle at a stage appropriately entitled ‘Twisted Metal’ for its similarity to environs from the crash and bash, vehicle combat series.

In a nice bit of game design, increasing experience levels unlocks new components to add to the level designer. The city of ‘Shatter Bay’ is surprisingly robust, especially when noting the array of explosive shortcuts contained within. Less enthusiasm resides in the online racing mode; it’s a ghost town in there at the moment.

Thus and in conclusion, Ridge Racer Unbound is a sneaky good arcade racer, one a must-purchase for fans of this genre. Get a few mates together, design some tracks, and race it out online hours at a destructive time. Should you find a copy, Limited Editions of the game have some funky paint jobs and new vehicles, tiny extras to keep things interesting.

Editor’s Note: On a bit of a whinge: I’ve written nearly 200 game reviews over the past half decade plus…for sites in three countries. I confess disappointment in fellow reviewers who clearly have not played a mid-tier game sufficiently, instead pre-judge it toward a specific outcome via a shoddily written review. I’m not insisting all reviewers should be in agreement, of course: I’ve stood near-alone in lauding or discounting many a title over the years. Still, failure to give mid-range titles a fair shake and accurate…even if negative…review should be a requirement for the profession. As a collective, review quality for this game (notably the XBOX360 iteration) on GameRankings is some of the worst I’ve ever seen on the site. Tsk tsk.