to best describe rage racer is to say that the game is a very mature 
ridge racer.  the backgrounds in rage make the originals look like lego!  
it has the same layout as the previous with 3 tracks one each longer than 
the other but when you get to class 3, you get a track called the oval.  
this is an indy 500 style track that is hard unless you get the really 
fast cars.  for realism and true speed, some of these cars come only in 
manual drive.  cars include mr beans car, racing porches/ferraris, a pick 
up truck, vette, etc.  

speaking of cars - 13 in all (or more?) all of which you must buy by 
earning money by placing in top 3.  each car is truly unique and is not 
like previous copies where there is just a colour swap.  very cool 
designs with lots o' insignias on them.  some of these cars are way 
expensive.  right now i am on class 5 and builing up to buy a car worth 
600,000 plus. and the prices just go up and up becaus i have yet to see 
the final three cars


the coolest feature of the game is the customizing.  you can customize 
each car's tires degree of drift or grip as well as auto and manual.
now this is the cool part.  you can design your very own logo and name 
for the front hood of the car! ^_^.  there is a very primative drawing 
option where the artist in you can colour, draw etc. your own design and 
logo which can be saved.  if you become lazy, you can also choose from 
preset logos but the drawing is fun.  my friend is working on the nerv 
logo from evangelion.

you are promoted to the next class by finishing in the top 3 of each 
class.  dunno if winning gold will affect the ending though.  i am 
currently on class 5 and there must at least be a class 6.

the game engine has not changed so don't expect any 360 crashes or vf 
style floating like in dd2.  instead, the tracks now have many hills and 
ramps which are used to control speed which sometimes detracts from the 
game when you start slowing down while going up.  the bad thing is the 
tracks are rather very easy in the first 3 classes and only later become 
more challenging.  

the presentation of the game is absolutely classy and even the logo looks 
"tres royal" with 2 R's side by side in a ring of leaves (indy style).  
you will first be blown away by a tekken2 style cg intro of racing 
images, words and that sexy (albeit waif thin) new model that namco now 
has strutting before each race (her outfit changes in each class :)  the 
option screens have a very dynamic feel to it - and surpasses the that of 
wipeout xl.  there are 2 modes, grand prix which has a voice over intro 
and time attack.  i have yet to find any "angels" or devils"

the music is namco style crazy tunes which are always thoroughly enjoyed 
NOTE:  if you own a silver copy of this though, you will only be able to 
play track 1 because it is the only complete song in the game.  all other 
tracks only loop the last 10 or so seconds of the songs and some don't 
play period.  they do however work on the psx cd player mode - this is 
either from a rushed copying session or a nifty namco copyright program.  
so you have been warned.

there you have it.  if you get a chance to pick this baby up, i reccomend 
it for xmas.  very good learning curve and you will become addicted to 
earning the big bucks towards the cars.

"start your engines and lets get it on!"