i think that’s sort of the whole point. i mean the dev is called Neognosis. though i can definitely see how that could be unsettling if you’re intimately familiar with the franchise, which i am not.
i had the pc version of 2097 as a child and i could never get the hang of it. too technical for a 9-year-old i guess. so i never really had any nostalgia for the specifics, i just saw Ballistic on sale and thought “hey that looks like wipeout, I wonder if they still have that weird floaty feel”. it does feel like i remember, and after spending some time with it i really enjoy it even though i’m still no good 25 years later.
also they did add go-karts so it’s not entirely plagiarized ;)
i want the Just Cause series to continue on from the second installment but instead of focusing on the movement, focus on the world building and setpieces. the plot in JC2 is completely batshit insane and ends in a fistfight atop a speeding ICBM. they kinda just forgot about that part in the sequels in favor of adding tornado guns or whatever.