If you miss the feeling of drifting at 100 miles per hour, Namco Bandai might just have the cure for you. Ridge Racer Driftopia is the latest entry in the long running racing franchise but things are a bit different now. First of all, Ridge Racer Driftopia will be free to play, meaning the core game costs nothing. However, there will be add-ons that can be purchased including vehicle packs, “booster” packs, repair kits and “XP Boost”. The specifics of whether cars can be unlocked has not yet been revealed. The second thing is that it’s being developed by Bugbear Entertainment, the creators of last year’s Ridge Racer Unbounded. This could be a point of tension for series fans, especially after Unbounded’s questionable features like driving through walls and “fragging” other racers; things that made it feel more like Burnout than Ridge Racer. While I really do love the Burnout series of racing games, I also loved Ridge Racer for it’s distinctive Japanese feeling and focus on drifting. This latest title looks to focus more on the drifting however it still shows that you can drive through bridges and other racers… right.
Ridge Racer Driftopia trailer…
Ridge Racer Driftopia screenshots…
Ridge Racer Driftopia is due for release later in 2013 for Playstation 3 and PC.