How is this possible on the PSP?
no, seriously I want to fucking know.

Edit: the PSP version lacks a lot of the presentation and sound design of the original, it also has different racing physics.
I've heard people swear they find the PSP's physics more realistic but idk. The original is obviously better, still, it works on PSP. if you're a PSP nerd it's probably worth trying out there. I'd say play both but most people aren't wannabe video game archivists like me.

This is the best racing game ever made, and you've probably never played it. Shame on you.

The presentation and sound design perfectly capture the feeling of speed and excitement, it isn't the deepest racer but it's the most cinematic.
The music carefully plays around the action, cutting in and out to punctuate carnage. The explosions come through crystal clear to make you feel their impact.
The lighting and graphics are just good enough to hold up and look gorgeous.
It's all in service to the core mechanic of this racing game: power plays.

Trigger massive explosions on the course to wreck your opponents.
Tracks are filled with smaller and larger power plays as well as course changes that alter a large portion of the race track by triggering the largest power plays of all.
These have their own sound design, elaborate animations, and introduce new sections of track with more power plays of their own.

This game was mishandled at launch by disney and has received no support since. It plays fine on consoles if you've got an original copy lying around. They even got DLC.
The PC port hasn't faired as well, not only is it a little bugged, but it never received the extra content.
Mercifully valve fixed controller support with the steam controller/deck settings suite, just make sure to use that before launching.

I haven't played it on PC recently but it plays perfectly on steam deck.
There's also a shockingly good PSP port that I've reviewed separately.