Flatout wasn't about crashes? :O

I'm in two minds here. I love Ridge Racer. I disagree that it's "become a joke", and the critical reception and pure quality of both RR6 and 7, aswell as their commercial success certainly spell otherwise. I think people who don't follow a series and then occasionally notice that a number's gone up to "7" immediately assume that there's some porno-esque churning out going on, whereas a subtitle driven naming of games circumvent that notion entirely.

However, I do think that like Devil May Cry, the series lacks some relevance. That's okay for some companies who are all about their faithful audience and don't really bother with making any strides in that department because they don't need to and everyone's happy. I recently talked on this very subject about this very series with a friend, and I told him that I think Ridge Racer COULD be a relevant series again with the right wrapper, the right presentation and the right push. I suggested moving to a subtitle naming standard instead of a numbers one, and Pacman CE DX it up in terms of fresh appeal.

Of course I was talking about the recognizably slick, drift driven Ridge Racer we know and love since Type 4, and not this kind of overhaul. But hey! Let's consider for a moment what EA did with NFS a couple of years ago. They sat down and went "sure NFS is selling but it's getting irrelevant to gamers, let's throw a ton of stuff at the wall and see what sticks". They proceeded to make four new NFS entries; Nitro, Shift, World and Hot Pursuit. Prostreet could sorta be considered a similar stab at something different. Either way, now Shift and Hot Pursuit - one new and weird and one decidedly classic NFS experience - both occupy shelves with confidence, and NFS is something gamers and gaming press talk about with a modicum of excitement.

The subtitle (though the dumbest I've heard, probably) suggests that this isn't a Ridge Racer "reboot" per se. It's not "The Ridge Racer" or plain "Ridge Racer". The RR moniker is tucked away at the top and the UNBOUNDED is the big (and dumb) element of the branding. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this is a similar attempt to test the waters. I think classic RR will exist alongside this (already does to an extent on the 3DS) and I expect we may see other interpretations of the series under the RR moniker with different subtitles.

I'm a big fan of Flatout personally, I think Bugbear deserve the benefit of the doubt here. Whatever this becomes it obviously won't check the surreal floaty arcadey awesomeness of RR of the past, but it could be a sweet new thing.

Or you can just jump up and stay there, hovering, and make some money from people coming to watch you hover.

You'd think that, but they'll be unbounded..to.. see the strings when they.. um.. watch this.. trailer?

God that was a comment ripe with such rich Unbounded crack potential and I completely dropped the ball. Unball..ded.