Don't look into anything about this game. Just play it. It's probably going to stand out as one of the best games of a decade that has only just begun.
Having just finished what I estimate to be my 6th full playthrough of the game I think I can say that it's pretty damn good. I first played this around five years ago at this point and the storytelling and world building has only aged better and better with age.
Really wish this was better than it is. Like, this should be my jam but the writing is not very good and the coffee mechanics are pretty barebones. It's a bit of a shame since the art and music is so on point.
the set pieces rule but goddamn the combat has not aged well on this one. poor enemy placement, bullet sponge enemies, weird difficulty spikes. by the end i was just trudging through to see how it all wrapped up. probably better than 1 but 2 is definitely the best of the original trilogy.
Grip is a really good time, the cars/craft feel fast and responsive, even on a keyboard, and there's a lot of depth to the way boosting, jumping and combining powerups can change the outcome of a race. Almost gives a xbox 360 arcade kind of vibe in the best way possible.
Wasn't into the juvenile humour or the weird quasi-fantasy setting but the fundamentals are done pretty well here. Swinging around a big hammer feels nice and there's a decent rate of progression weapon wise. Gains half a star just on the fact there's a dedicated kick button.