The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift screeching onto PSP
Lifting the bonnet on the game of the film
We're not even going to bother with the details of the third film in the very popular but very silly The Fast and The Furious Hollywood franchise, other than to say that the tricked out, souped up action now takes place within Japan's underground drift racing scene.
If you're not familiar, drifting is all about getting a car to travel sideways for as long as possible, ideally linking corners together without having to straighten up in between them. It's all very impressive, show off stuff, and hugely admired in image-conscious Japan.
Tyre bills aside, it's also a lot of fun, which is why the prospect of capturing the said scene in video game form is definitely worth a spin.
Driving game specialist developer, Eutechnyx (which admittedly has yet to qualify at the very front of the video game racing grid with any of its past productions), is promising a revolutionary drift mechanic that caters for both beginners and experts. It's claimed a 'drift indicator' and a number of driving assists make this the most accessible, yet realistic, drift game to date.
What else? Well, sucking inspiration from its Hollywood brother with the resolve of a nitro-boosted supercharger, Tokyo Drift makes use of Universal Pictures' vast sound library, as well as employing context-based camera and joypad rumble systems to intensify the feeling of tearing through city tarmac at Gatso-bursting speeds.
Those who like to the feel of virtual oil on their hands will no doubt welcome the game's customising options, enabling you to tinker with wheels, add performance- and appearance-enhancing parts from real-world tuning shops, or even swap the entire engine for the ultimate upgrade – a first for in-game souping up, we believe.
We've yet to get precise details of the actual game structure – although boss challenges are said to be 'unique' – but we do know two-player splitscreen and four-player online options are offered.
We'll keep our head under the bonnet, and expect that more news will drift our way before the game's planned summer release.
