LAS VEGAS--EA unveiled the latest version of its upcoming PSP racer, Need For Speed Underground Rivals, at Sony's press event in Las Vegas today. While the game was originally slated to be a launch title alongside the PSP in Japan, its release was shifted into this year to allow for a simultaneous worldwide release when the hardware hits the States this March. The shift in release has only meant good things for the game, as the dev team has been able to work on adding more polish and balance. Given the positive impression the game made on us at last year's Tokyo Game Show, we were eager to check out the much more complete version on hand at the event.

　　Whereas our first look at the game was limited to a single track, the version on hand at Las Vegas was in a much more structured state and it showed off game modes and a greater amount of variety than we'd seen previously. The mode types on display in the game's main menu are: race now, quick-play battle, career race, pocket garage, my underground, and party play. Race now and career race are two types of races that make up the game's career mode. Quick-play battle offers several different race types, such as drag race, drift, nitrous run, and street x, to hop into. The pocket garage is the showcase for your prowess in the game, as it will let you check out the cars you collect (it's possible to get all 24) over the course of your career. My underground is where you'll tweak your profile information. Finally, party play is a single-system multiplayer mode wherein you pass your PSP around as you and up to four opponents try to outdo each other. In addition to the single-player content, you'll be able to engage in two-player head-to-head battles via Wi-Fi.

　　The control in the game has been improved quite a bit since the rough version we played at TGS. The handling is still a little off for our tastes, since the cars didn't feel quite as responsive as we would have expected. The analog stick still didn't feel quite right yet either, but the D pad worked just fine. We expect the handling to be tightened up in the time between now and the launch, as fine-tuning is likely to be high on the to-do list. Nevertheless, the game was certainly playable and it featured what seemed like an impressive amount of content.

　　The graphics have also been improved since the last time we played the game. The frame rate cruises along at a reasonably steady 30 frames per second, which, while not the eye-popping 60fps that Namco's Ridge Racers offers, still delivers an impressive sense of speed. The lighting in the game is still undergoing some work, but right now it doesn't appear to offer the richness seen in the PlayStation 2 NFSU games. That said, the game does a fine job of approximating the look and feel of those titles, albeit with a little less polish, and still packs plenty of visual punch. Despite a few rough visual spots, NFSU Rivals appears poised to be among the best-looking PSP games.

　　The audio in the game, while a bit hard to make out in the demo area, will obviously serve up some meaty car sounds. At the same time, the game will offer a healthy selection of music tracks culled from name artists, which ought to put it on par with its console cousins.

　　Based on what we saw, it appears that Need for Speed Undergound Rivals is shaping up to be a tasty racer with plenty to offer. We'll be taking an even closer look at Need for Speed Underground Rivals shortly, so look for more on the game very soon. It's currently slated to ship this March when the PSP launches in the US.