Initial D: Extreme Stage PS3

Initial D: Extreme Stage is the next installment of car races based on manga by Shuichi Shigeno. Before the title was released on the PS3 console, it had previously appeared on coin-op machines. In the "home" edition we received a few additional elements - among others, the possibility of playing online.

We play the role of one of the twenty-six available drivers. As in the previous parts of the game, we are accompanied by characters known from the mentioned manga and anime series. In addition to the heroes we've been dealing with in the virtual Initial D, there were also new faces, including Takumi's rival - a professional driver named Tomoyuki Tachi.

The number of basic routes is not very large, because there are only seven of them (including one new one - Happogahara). However, if we add to these different variations, i.e. races taking place in different weather conditions and at different times of the day, this number increases to twenty-eight. As far as vehicles are concerned, in Initial D: Extreme Stage are licensed cars of well-known companies, among others: Toyota Trueno GT-APEX, Mitsubishi Lancer GSR Evolution III, Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec II and Honda Civic Type R. It is also worth mentioning the extended garage, enabling both visual and technical improvement of our car.

If we get bored of playing alone, we can always face other players via the Internet. However, if we decide that our skills are really high, we can download from the web the "spirit" of the player who reached the best time on the route in Time Attack mode and try to beat his record.

Vehicle models and routes are made in an accurate and realistic way, while the characters are stylized on hand drawn. It is worth noting that through PlayStation Network we can download a lot of additional content - carts, avatars, music tracks, etc.

Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions regarding this description.

Last updated on 05 May 2011