PCCW Japan definitely takes the cake for showing the strangest game here at Tokyo Game Show 2002. There is a fairly sizable following for low-rider automobiles and low-rider car shows here in Japan, and PCCW is clearly trying to capitalize on that market by being the first company to release a low-rider simulator. The company is currently putting the finishing touches on Lowrider, a--you guessed it--low-rider simulator for the PlayStation 2.

　　The game is broken up into two modes. The main mode is story-driven and details your rise to power as the greatest low-rider driver in the world. The versus mode lets you go up against the CPU or a friend in four different events. Hop is a simple car-hopping competition, and the person who can make his or her low rider bounce the highest wins. The dance mode moves between the various types of moves you can do with a real-life low rider outfitted with hydraulics, giving you 10 seconds for each of the various types of maneuvers, from simple front and rear hops to pancakes, front-to-backs, and side-to-sides. Unlimited mode didn't seem too different from the dance mode, but it also has rear-end dancing and transform competitions, which, like the real thing, cause pieces of the car to raise up and spin around. Bed dancing is the fourth mode, but this mode was unavailable in the version shown at the show. From the looks of things, bed dancing mode will feature pickup trucks.

　　The gameplay is extremely simple, requiring only timed button presses to make the car hop around like crazy. Transforms and dance moves require a little more skill, but not enough to cause a sizable increase in difficulty. Graphically, the low riders look rather jagged, and the textures don't truly convey the candy or pearl paint used on many of the flashier low riders or the intricately designed hood paintings commonly seen on such vehicles.

　　Lowrider is scheduled to hop onto Japanese shelves this December. No US publisher has announced any plans to bring the game into North America at this time, but given its odd and unique nature, we wouldn't be surprsied if Lowrider eventually turned up on North American shelves.