This is a decidedly different Ridge Racer from anything that we've seen before. Ridge Racer fans will recognise the cars and the distinct drifting style of driving but here is where the similarities end.

To give fresh take on the quintessential drift-racing series, has turned over to Finnish studio Bugbear. They are best known for the thrash and crash arcade Flatout and it is this kind of visceral that the studio has injected into the pumping cylinders of Ridge Racer's heart.

The result is Ridge Racer: Unbounded.

Bugbear's Joonas Loaks, the game's producer, takes centre stage to the main drift of the action in Ridge Racer: Unbounded. He sets up to take us through the a race in the game's main mode of play, the Crash Race. Unlike previous Ridge Racer titles, Unbounded is built with aggressive driving in mind. Players are encouraged to trade paint and hammer through obstacles in order to win races as well as looking for opportunities to take out other drivers. This means, in order to win a Crash Race you have to drive mean and crash and bash your way to the finish line.

This is a very visceral racing experience. Other racers will look for ways to take you out or exploit shortcuts by crashing through parts of the scenery. Drifting is still there and very much part of the driving experience but no longer will your car stop dead when you hit the side wall, in fact it's entirely encouraged and even rewarded.

The reward comes in the form of a power bar which charges up as you wreak havoc on your fellow racers and pull off some impressive driving maneuvres. When the power bar is fully charged you can use it in a variety of ways to help pass opponents an ultimately, win races. The power bar can either give you a one shot hit that will take out the car in front of you or, if you're ahead, a speed boost to make sure things stay that way.

Unbounded relies very heavily on physics. There is a vast amount of destructibles on the environment and the physics system allows for plenty of debris which can take out your opponents. Bugbear has also introduced an advanced damage system so that you have to be careful about how you go about causing damage to other vehicles and the environment itself. One main function of this is the ability to take out other drivers. As well as the power bar one-shot kills, repeated ramming can be used to destroy opponents but this will leave you open to the same fate.

Every race has multiple paths and crashing through gates, doors, windows and even certain walls can open up shortcuts and more interesting routes to the finish line. Destruction is also persistent in races so once you open a path you may be able to use it again without having to look for it.

Bugbear has built a whole city, called Shatter Bay, based on Chicago and New York City crammed with tracks and shortcuts that can be exploited to the maximum during races. The city will be there to explore and this, combined with the massive amount of destruction within races gives Ridge Racer: Unbounded a feel very similar to that of Burnout Paradise.

One unique detail that has been introduced is the HUD system. Much of the communications and HUD details, especially directions and hints are incorporated into the environment in a similar way to the messages used by Splinter Cell: Conviction. This works surprisingly well and gives the game a very cool feel all of its own helping to distinguish it from the Need For Speeds and Burnouts of this world.

As you would expect from a Ridge Racer game all the cars are completely fictional and very stylised. Unbounded incorporates a blend of classic Ridge Racer cars with a selection of completely new vehicles designed specifically for the game. A variety of collectibles will also be available in the form of unique destructibles hidden in the race for player to find and crash into.

The Ridge Racer series is coming late to the whole street racer/crash and bash style of racing and recent offerings like Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and the ever popular Burnout Paradise will put heavy pressure on it to succeed. There is also the danger that in shifting away from the pure arcade drift style of racing Unbounded will alienate a core of die-hard Ridge Racer fans.

There is plenty of hope though. The advanced physics employed by Bugbear could prove to be mightily impressive when the game is finished. The racing style blending Ridge Racer's pure drifting with Need For Speed-style street racing and Burnout-style thrash and bash is entirely intriguing. Ridge Racer: Unbounded promises to provide something a bit different when it finally pulls up to the start/finish line.

Ridge Racer: Unbounded is due for release on and some time in 2012.

By Ewan Aiton