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The year is 20XX. Recent highway construction has turned the once congestion-clogged mountain roads into scenic wonderlands – a place where families can go on picnics, or the elderly can take bicycle rides to admire the cherry blossoms in bloom. Only now, that tranqulity has been shattered by the shrieking of tires of a tricked out auto going 80mph down the road...sideways. The ricers have come to the mountains, planning to race all night and drift every day.
The previous Tokyo Xtreme games were all about cruising around the long stretches of highway at night, flashing your lights to a rival to goad him into a race full of sideswiping and slow-moving traffic. That was a luxury. TXR: Drift features five large courses that all share two things in common; they're as narrow as a fat man's bivalve, and twist more than a serpent with a seizure. If you want to own these roads, you're going to need to know them like the back of your grease-stained hand, and have a customized car that can powerslide through turns without smacking into the guardrails. The graphics are no Gran Turismo 4, but they're pleasing to the eye as they whip by at high speed, the gleaming surfaces of the autos contrasted against the natural splendor. It's enough to inspire poetry, but I'd much rather play.
Starting in Conquest, you've only got enough points to afford the lowest of the low end models, which ride like a shopping cart pushed around by a five year old. If you can manage to keep this junk heap under control and slide into first place in a few of the corner artist competitions, then you should earn yourself enough money to work on that steering and add a little extra power on the side. Placing first in three different events will also elevate you to the next competition level, where greater challenges and greater rewards await. Bump into a wall during a turn will remove your points for that particular drift, so sloppy skills won't make the grade here. Though pull off a particular fine piece driving, and there are five replay slots to record your glory.
Stock models are for sissies
This isn't NFS: Underground. Almost no parts here are just for show. Everything you buy is going to have a direct impact on how your car performs, allowing you to tweak those parts to maximize your performance. There are even helpful hints for the driving neophyte, telling you exactly what effect tightening up the shocks or tilting the wheels will have on your ride. It isn't going to turn a K Car into a Lamborghini, but it will give you a decent enough ride until you can afford a higher end machine. Nabbing a sponsor will not only provide you with quality parts, but an endorsement paycheck to afford bigger and badder machines to tear up those mountain roads.
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