First off, the game looks great. While I did see some jaggies (this was on a 60″ plasma) the styling is really nice – again very much like Wipeout. Lots of neon colors and crazy fireball effects. Realism is out the window here – the cars drive like their on ice and although there is a damage model if you crash out y0u magically appear back on the track pointing in the right direction after a second.

On the downside, I really didn’t like the handling which was way too floaty. Also, there’s some wacky product placement going on here. How many street racers do you know who drive 4 door BMWs? But overall it’s a fun game. Not sure if its worth $60 though.

Graphically it was very underwhelming, quite disappointing really. The level being showed off was a downhill slalom through city streets, with lots of fruit carts to smash through -  I was waiting  for the guys to walk across the street with a giant pane of glass! In one section you break through a wall (on a skateboard??) and the chunks of masonry looked N64 quality. Overall it looked like a cross between SSX and MarioKart (with some early Tomb Raider mixed in).

As for the controls, judging by how badly everyone except the demo guy did, I think they might have a problem. I guess maybe it’s better if you already skate, but I think everyone I saw would have been happier with a regular controller. Alas, all you’d have left then would be a really crappy skateboard game.

The crab cakes on a stick were interesting, if a little doughy. They had an awesome cheese plate with some very tasty fromage, but it was really missing some good ham. Figs are interesting, but they don’t make up for a lack of ham.

The desert table was better – some nice chocolate cakes with some kind of crunchy icing, and great pot au chocolat. All in all a tasty spread, and an open bar too with some decent chardonnay.

Highlight of the evening was watching N’Gai Croll watching someone demo Tony Hawk Ride. Seriously.