R: Racing Evolution represents quite a team effort on the part of Namco; the main part of the game is designed by folks who worked on Moto-GP and Ridge Racer. The crew that worked on Ace Combat handles the game dialogue, and the character designs are brought to you by the Soul Calibur and Tekken guys. The soundtrack is also being created courtesy of the Ace Combat and Ridge Racer dudes.

At first, R looks like a simulation game like Gran Turismo, but that's only on the surface. R offers the "Racing Life Mode," starring a cute girl by the name of Rena Hayami. As the story unfolds, she will no doubt have intense run-ins with her rival, Gina Cavalli, also a hot girl. (Maybe this is the DOA of racing games? Like Dukes of Hazzard is Rogue Spear with cars? Oh, wait, sorry.) Aside from the rivalry, there will be various side-stories, too, with in-game radio dialogue accenting the subplots and character development. If you've ever played Interstate 76 on the PC, you know how much in-game radio dialogue can add to a game.

The game will also introduce an AI system that reacts to high-pressure situations more like a human player. How cool would it be if they went into a complete panic on the final lap or started yelling at you and driving aggressively when harassed? (The radio makes it possible...)

R features original courses and famous real-life courses, such as Monaco. Director Isao Nakamura says original courses are designed to help players learn specific skills. Cool, huh? The game also includes actual car manufacturers and models, including rally cars. There should be 30 to 40 licensed cars, last we heard. There should also be at least 11 courses, which will be nearly four times as many tracks as in your average Ridge Racer of old.

Players will unlock cars as the game progresses, and all of the cars can be tweaked for better performance, but one of the goals of the designers is to make the game accessible. If we heard right at E3, players can change some settings, but needn't worry about figuring out what the heck a camber angle is or how gear ratio works.

The game also has token Time Attack, Arcade, and Versus modes (for two players only). R comes out at the beginning of November, so be ready to snag a copy.