That website confirms that it's 2P over adhoc wifi. Which frankly is all I needed to hear to ensure that this is pre-ordered.

Like I say in t'other thread... this might be "the clincher"... then again I might just get the PS2 edition and play solo...

If you want to borrow my copy for a test drive then drop me a PM. It's great in time attack (the game mechanics have been engineered for TA) and the arcade and story modes add further enjoyment.

In retrospect I probably over-egged my description of the handling in the review over at ntsc. It doesn't have the same feeling of momentum that you get from Sega Rally for example.

There is definately a technique to the game and you will hate it until it clicks. Playing the arcade will help in this regard.

There's a video of this doing the rounds and by golly it's looking good.

Seems like they've nailed the presentation, graphics and sound down hard. All that's irrelevant though as the game will die on its arse if the control doesn't work, my experience with the PSP thus far would sugges that this is a strong possibility.

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"Genki have even included the ability to ram rival cars into the track walls." - Daytona USA 2001 – review

Oh boy. Played this at some length today. Utterly fantastic. Outside of the game which is largely similar to the arcade and PS2 versions there's a new card collection unlocking thingy, which is cool. The presentation is soooo good, with a sort of fake website where you download your unlocks. Car customisation uses the cards now which might not be as good as the old points system I'll have to pass judgement on that later.

One thing I will say is the post Time Trial analysis is so WIN. Ryosuke shows you where you've fucked up. HOW COOL IS THAT!

Framerate is rock solid, graphics are very nice indeed, all the tunes are there and the analogue nub is as useable as could be expected. Strong contender for best PS2 racer.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

I bought the game from someone at NTSC-UK I think it was. I have yet to get to grips with the handling though I did do a little better last night when I tried it.

It would not play unless I upgraded to V2.60 I think it was when I first tried it.

Xbox/360 Gamertag - RogsR34UK

The handling is lifted from the PS2/Arcade. If you've not cut your teeth on those it's a pretty steep learning curve. The best advice I can give is use manual (critical for the more tricky circuits) you will need to brake and shift in the tighter corcers to initiate a drift. Also you can turn in very late, later than any other drift game I can think of. Finally don't try to over-drive the car. Once you're in a good drift ease up on the directional inputs otherwise you'll go all out of whack on the exit.

Oh and there's one corner on Akina or Akagi (can't remember) that has a change of radius you need to use lift-off oversteer for that.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

I spent a couple of hours on this myself yesterday.

Mixed feelings so far, it certainly is the D though. Addictive drifting, great arcade port, brilliantly apt music (that outside of the game will guarantee insanity).

However... it's just a PS2 port innit? I've already played this game. Story mode is missing too, unless its that greyed out menu.

So if there isn't more in there to find, I'm not completely convinced. The card system seems arse aswell, though if cards are freely assignable that might make things interesting.

... and where the feck is link play?

There's some wifi thing going on in there somewhere. I'm not sure what it does, but there's defo some online something-or-other. Wouldn't be the first time the back of the box has got it wrong (clutching at straws).

Lack of story mode is dissapointing, but I'm hoping it's that greyed out option. I quite like the card/website thingy (website is in the Anime ). Pretty cool. However I think I preferred the points system for upgrades (notice the cards are different ranks depending on your performance).

The replay/analysis/time trial stuff is very well implemented imo.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

Agreed, the website stuff is very nice, it even looks like projectd.com from the anime

Perhaps wireless replay exchange? Maybe some sort of ghost system? I need to read up.

the greyed out option is the challenge bunta mode.

as much as i love this, the ps2 version is still much better. i knew there wouldnt be a story mode like on the ps2, but i was a little disapointed that they couldnt have squeezed those extra ps2 tracks into the arcade mode of this version....thats a real shame.

Yeah, no Ver. 3 snow either as far as I can tell

No. The game does have wireless Ad-Hoc battles. I played against a mate over the weekend. This makes Street Stage the only way to play InitialD 2 player outside of the arcade.

I'm not sure what the other 3 wireless modes are, but having the ability to race cars from your garage against a friends is great.

I did experience a tiny bit of lag during my game, which was a bit strange.

Mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.... aaaahhhh..... mwhahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa

Papercut has an interesting Initial D PlayStation related guffahery for us all.

OOoo I'm intrigued. Do tell

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

Decided to stick Initial D on PS2 Saturday, in order to wipe the recent memory of Ridge Racer V away... and it repeatedly crashed on the intro movie.

This is a brand new machine, with an expertly fitted mod chip (obviously).

It was reported there were problems, but no one mentioned that Initial D was one of the games that does not work with the latest v14 / SCPH-75000 PS2s.

http://www.jp.playstation.com/info/notice/nt_20051020_scph75000.html

Aaargh. Sony. You. ARSES!

What we really need is a "GameBoy Player" for the PlayStation 2. So we can all play those fantastic exclusive PSP titles on the PS2, on a decent controller... or failing that a PS2 controller.

I had a dream over the weekend that you could actually unscrew the nub a little to turn it into a normal analogue stick.

By the way Venom at ntsc reckons if you set the handling option to 1 on the PSP version it feels much better. I'm going to give this a go this evening.

Oh I need a modchip for a version 1 US PS2. What's the best place to pick one up from?

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

Yep putting the handling on 1 really improves things. I'm just over 40% complete. I've now got my FC and FD up to step 5 tune with an 86 at step 3. I've yet to fully complete the visible upgrades on any of my cars. I still need the mirrors and stickers for my FC and a sticker set for the FD. I've only ever once seen the sticker card on the flop.

Still having loads of fun with this game. Badly need someone to wifi battle against.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers