Marcone Antelius

Gravel feels like the lovechild of Sega Rally Revo and either Split/Second, blur, or OnRush. The wide variety of cars and locales give it an excellent initial value but there's not much to do once everything is unlocked and all the masters are beaten. Barely anyone is playing online these days so don't expect a challenge there. While Gravel feels like a great game to play, it's also missing something definitive about it. But it's still fun for any fan of the off-road racing genre.

It's a Ridge Racer game in name only. If anything it's a Flatout game in an urban environment. It shares very little in common with the other Ridge Racers, that commonality only being a few music tracks from previous releases. It has a learning curve but once you get used to using the boost powers, wrecking other cars, and taking shortcuts, it all comes together. I hope you like the color orange because most of the game takes place during sunsets. Besides that the graphics are excellent with cars uniquely detailed while locations look gritty and worn. Sound takes a big hit especially since most of the cars have the same vibrato and the music is uninteresting to hear. It's not a game for fans of the Ridge Racer series, it's for the Flatout fans or for someone who wants a different style of racing: Melee Combat Racing.