System: PS3
Dev: Namco
Pub: Namco
Released: Nov 2006
Players: 1 - 14
Review by Patrick

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

Races, especially early on, take the form of “just make sure not to hit this wall.” All you have to do in the first few races and series is hit the turns as you should and turn out accurately. One of our interns, who is borderline incapable of playing videogames (we keep him around because we love him), even talked a little smack by saying “Even I could get first on these easy courses.” After you get through the first couple of car classes, which occurs about a fifth of the way through the “Career Progression,” Namco pulls all the stops out and kicks your ass. The turns, which were easy when you were going 100, are all now much more difficult when your car goes 200. Computer opponents drift like kings and never make mistakes, which in turn makes it even more difficult to overcome fields up of up to 13 opponents. It also hurts that your car, for the most part, is not much more capable than your opponents as the game automatically kicks your car down into the grade of your competitors no matter how much you’ve tuned it.

And that kick in the groin is really what makes this game great. You will restart races, constantly. Fortunately, Namco caught up to the 21st Century and added a fairly deep car customization mode to help give a tiny edge over the computer. Engine tune-ups, suspension upgrades, Nitrous boosters, and Plug-in units (the wildcards of the game that award various special effects), all give you a slight advantage over the computer cars who seemingly don’t take part in “car pimping.” Thankfully, there are also aesthetic upgrades and alterations that you can make to the car as well. Some of the vehicles like the Danver Hijack, which looks like a NASCAR Truck Series truck on steroids, look outrageous to begin with, but outlandish spoilers, hoods, and side skirts give you the opportunity to make a car so ridiculous that even Xzibit would go crazy when he saw it.

But why go through all the trouble of pimping your ride when all you can do is drive around corners at high speeds against the computer? Oh, my friend, because you can also take your wheels online to race against other drivers. I pity the foo’ who doesn’t bring an Aqua/Pink NASCAR Truck Series wannabe with the huge spoiler and Pac-Man stickers to the online field. Up to 14 players will be supported in these races, allowing an inebriating mix of drifting, neon colors, and trash talking to occur with people around the world. Online should add depth and replayability to Ridge Racer, bringing it up to par with other games that are already supporting online multiplayer.

A quick word on the audio and visuals for those who care about such things. Like many other Ridge Racers before it, Ridge Racer 7 at first glance is very underwhelming visually. As you witness the speeds that you can achieve and the awesome lighting effects on some of the night stages, all without a hint of slowdown at any time, you realize that this game does a great job in the visual department. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the audio department, which has to suffer through annoying female announcers spouting lines like “You’re going to make someone very mad” or “That’s Hot!” and cruddy techno garbage. For Ridge Racer, though, this is par for the course.

Ridge Racer makes a bigger splash on the PS3 than it did last year on the PSP. With solid visuals, excellent arcade drifting action, car customization, and promising online, Ridge Racer should hold up well against competitors like Need for Speed Carbon and the rest.

Features:

The game that helped put the PS1 on the map returns. But can Ridge Racer 7 do the same for the PS3? by Vaughn Smith

April 28, 2006 - I make no apologies. I like the Ridge Racer series. Always have, most likely, always will. Having been raised back when the term "arcade physics" didn't exist since every racing game was as unrealistic as possible, I enjoy a good romp with a car that sticks to the road like glue and I can toss the brakes out the window - hell, I can even drive sideways for half the race if I want to. Such is life Ridge Racer style.

While speculation is high that Namco will have RR7 out the door for the launch of the PS3 this November, right now there isn't any assurance of that from Namco themselves. We expect though, that if RR7 uses a tweaked engine from the X360 version, it very well might be possible to arrive just in time alongside the PS3. Unfortunately it's been 11 years since Ridge Racer blew gamers minds with it's excellent visuals and great gameplay but a lot has happened since those hazy days of 1995. Racing fans are more discerning and it wouldn't be remiss to suggest that some of the shine has been removed from the RR franchise over the years. The X360 version while being a favorite among already well established RR fans, certainly wouldn't have been considered a killer app for Microsoft's new console.

Ridge Racer 7 will feature 20 tracks (over 40 mirrored) making it the most racing environments ever in the series' history. Customization will also play a large part in the game and each car will have to up 200,000 variations which can then be taken online and raced against up to 13 other players (14 in total). A co-op mode has also been mentioned, but little is known about how this feature would be implemented.

Reiko Nagase, RR's female mascot will return for the 7th installment although it looks from the screens presented that she's matured since her first appearance in Ridge Racer on the PS1. Maybe in a few years they'll show her overweight and drunk. Hey, it could happen! Along with Reiko, RR fans can look forward to a (hopefully) new soundtrack. RR fans dig the whole package - the racing, the drifting, the mascot, the tunes....and the annoying announcer. No word on whether the Nitrous boost system from RR6 will be featured, but we're kind of expecting it.

This little hottie will be playable at E3. Stay tuned for more info.