[Pilot_51]

I bought this game a couple days ago and I've been glued to it since. In short, it takes the goods of both Asphalt and Ridge Racer (I should note that I haven't played through Ridge Racer, I've only played single card multiplayer) and slaps in a load of its own goods. Not to say that it doesn't have negatives, but they're rather hard to notice unless you're expecting much more out of the game.
I was mostly hoping this game would have a PC style free-roam, but to my disappointment, it doesn't. It does however feel a little more like free-roam than the others, providing shortcuts and obstacles, as well as plenty of scenery similar to Asphalt.

The graphics are great, 60 frames per second with nice looking textures all over the place. The major downside I notice is that you can see the draw distance a few hundred feet in front of you in many areas (not bad enough to make reacting a challenge).
Sounds are really nice too, but there's a few things that could use more or less sound than they have. You can't hear any engine noises from other vehicles, and the horns on traffic vehicles is the same sound and it continues for a few seconds, which is an extra reason why it's annoying to crash into them. Might I add that every vehicle going in the opposing direction honks that same honk, and a few going the same direction. Music is good too, not vocal as I understand many people want, and not top notch quality, but good for a handheld in my opinion.
The AI is fairly good, they're often a challenge and don't do things you can't do (as it seems the Asphalt AI does), but they do occasionally get stuck after crashing into traffic. The traffic AI is pathetic, you can stop a mile in front of them and they'll run into you, and they go right through stopped traffic.
Driving realism is another plus, it feels much more realistic than Asphalt or Ridge Racer, but there's a couple noticeable unrealistic things. Crashing can be really fun when you're not competing, especially because you can flip and fly and make others do the same. Sweet moment #1: Once during a race, one of the AI racers ran head-on into traffic directly in front of me, then I hit his back end and as I was flipping I saw his car flying some 50 feet in the air! Collisions boxes seem to be realistic too, but it's not so easy to test it out quickly. Sweet moment #2: I was driving down a straightaway and an AI opponent hit something that made him flip around, and as he was at a 90 degree angle to me and one end bounced in the air, I zipped by under his high end.
Menu features are plentiful, but one thing missing (which I needed to be told by another review to realize it) is replays, which would've been a big help in those "sweet moments". The vehicles are extremely customizable, although things like spoilers and what-not are just for looks and don't change performance. Everything (colors, tints, rims, neons, scoops, body kit, and vinyls) are many, especially the vinyls which are up to 55, although neons have only 6 colors. The minigames are interesting and challenging, but there are only 4, so they won't last very long before they get boring.
Multiplayer is untested, but I expect it would have all the race types of single player.

I don't want to run this too long, so if anyone has questions or wants to point out anything I should've mentioned, just reply and I'll do my best to help.

Overview (out of 10)
Graphics: 8.5
Sounds: 7.5
Menus: 8.0
Realism: 8.0
Customization: 8.5
Overall: 8.5
Worth it?: If you like racing games, definitely