[Pre-TGS 2006] Ridge Racer 7
Another system launch means another RR, but Namco's got more than just another sequel in mind. Hands-on impressions are just a click away.
Published: September 21, 2006
For the longest time, Namco's Ridge Racer series was something you saw at the beginning of a console's lifecycle and then, if you were really lucky, you saw it again near the end. And for the longest time, the only console you'd see it on, had PlayStation somewhere in the title. Which is why it may have come as a something of a surprise for gamers when Namco readied Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox 360 launch. Some may have thought of it as a hi-res version of the PSP Ridge Racer, but it did have one very important thing: online play.
With yet another PlayStation console hitting, the Ridge Racer team buckled down, wanting to do things right, and the result -- if our hands-on play with an early version of the game is any indication -- is something that still feels like classic RR without feeling too much like a port. Granted, we didn't get a chance to experience most of the new stuff, and instead just ripped around a few different tracks (a jungle course, an inner city drive with a massive jump, a short little three-turn downtown route for beginners and a final, twisty course through the countryside; there will be 20 in all with reverse versions), but the core is just as fast and powerslide-heavy as ever.
You almost get the impression that Namco wants to take that killer online app title right out of the gate. Ridge Racer 7 concerns itself with the speed of things, sure, and there are some serious upgrades (which we'll get into in a second), but the online portion is where things are shaping up to be most interesting. So long as your PS3 is plugged into a broadband connection, whether you play online or off, updates will constantly stream across the bottom of the game's gorgeous menus, indicating who has moved up in rank, personal messages from them to other racers, and what competitions are coming up. Online leaderboards will be constantly updated to show worldwide rankings as well.
Of course, if it were just classic powerslides around courses with stock cars, the races -- online or off -- wouldn't mean much these days, which is why Namco is throwing a staggering amount of customization into the mix. 200,000 different combinations that help tweak both the visual lock of cars (decals, spoilers, body kits, tires) and of course performance tweaks (the usual options under the hood like engine and exhaust are included) and tuning can actually transform a grip-based car into something a little floatier, or a drift-based car into a deceptively stable option.
We noticed a couple of nice little nuanced upgrades to the boost system too. Borrowed from the PSP and 360 entries, boost is slowly stocked by powersliding around corners; the more speed you have going into a corner, the more boost you'll build, but if you can't actually build boost while using it. The solution, Namco hints in one of the pre-race loading screens, is to time it so that your boost runs out just as you head into a corner. The residual speed left over will quickly refill the gauge in something they're calling a "Perfect Boost", and it should make for interesting races when coupled with the new slipstreaming feature that allows you to ride behind another car and then slingshot past it.
It plays, well, like Ridge Racer, something of a cross between the late PS one titles and the much-bemoaned Ridge Racer V which appeared at launch for the PS2. The ability to choose a more grip- or drift-heavy car is new, as is the means for upgrading it, but the core handingly is instantly familiar -- though the AI was cranked way up on the competitors (or we just suck).
Visually, the game was damned impressive. There were still a few kinks to work out; entire sections of the world would blink out and then pop back in as we rounded the same corner, and during particularly tight corners where we nearly hit the guard rail, the camera would spaz out, but the textures were solid (sadly, trees are still 2D x-shaped textures for the most part), and the famerate -- the core of the series -- was a rock-solid 60 frames. Kicking on the turbo would result in a screen "smearing" effect as the old image peeled away in a stream of pixels, as the motion blur crawled in from the edges of the screen. A very nice touch indeed.
The combination of new upgrades and familiar races coupled with an enhanced online mode should make things very interesting indeed come PS3 launch time. We'll be sure to update you once we've experienced things in a little more depth.
With yet another PlayStation console hitting, the Ridge Racer team buckled down, wanting to do things right, and the result -- if our hands-on play with an early version of the game is any indication -- is something that still feels like classic RR without feeling too much like a port. Granted, we didn't get a chance to experience most of the new stuff, and instead just ripped around a few different tracks (a jungle course, an inner city drive with a massive jump, a short little three-turn downtown route for beginners and a final, twisty course through the countryside; there will be 20 in all with reverse versions), but the core is just as fast and powerslide-heavy as ever.
You almost get the impression that Namco wants to take that killer online app title right out of the gate. Ridge Racer 7 concerns itself with the speed of things, sure, and there are some serious upgrades (which we'll get into in a second), but the online portion is where things are shaping up to be most interesting. So long as your PS3 is plugged into a broadband connection, whether you play online or off, updates will constantly stream across the bottom of the game's gorgeous menus, indicating who has moved up in rank, personal messages from them to other racers, and what competitions are coming up. Online leaderboards will be constantly updated to show worldwide rankings as well.
Of course, if it were just classic powerslides around courses with stock cars, the races -- online or off -- wouldn't mean much these days, which is why Namco is throwing a staggering amount of customization into the mix. 200,000 different combinations that help tweak both the visual lock of cars (decals, spoilers, body kits, tires) and of course performance tweaks (the usual options under the hood like engine and exhaust are included) and tuning can actually transform a grip-based car into something a little floatier, or a drift-based car into a deceptively stable option.
We noticed a couple of nice little nuanced upgrades to the boost system too. Borrowed from the PSP and 360 entries, boost is slowly stocked by powersliding around corners; the more speed you have going into a corner, the more boost you'll build, but if you can't actually build boost while using it. The solution, Namco hints in one of the pre-race loading screens, is to time it so that your boost runs out just as you head into a corner. The residual speed left over will quickly refill the gauge in something they're calling a "Perfect Boost", and it should make for interesting races when coupled with the new slipstreaming feature that allows you to ride behind another car and then slingshot past it.
It plays, well, like Ridge Racer, something of a cross between the late PS one titles and the much-bemoaned Ridge Racer V which appeared at launch for the PS2. The ability to choose a more grip- or drift-heavy car is new, as is the means for upgrading it, but the core handingly is instantly familiar -- though the AI was cranked way up on the competitors (or we just suck).
Visually, the game was damned impressive. There were still a few kinks to work out; entire sections of the world would blink out and then pop back in as we rounded the same corner, and during particularly tight corners where we nearly hit the guard rail, the camera would spaz out, but the textures were solid (sadly, trees are still 2D x-shaped textures for the most part), and the famerate -- the core of the series -- was a rock-solid 60 frames. Kicking on the turbo would result in a screen "smearing" effect as the old image peeled away in a stream of pixels, as the motion blur crawled in from the edges of the screen. A very nice touch indeed.
The combination of new upgrades and familiar races coupled with an enhanced online mode should make things very interesting indeed come PS3 launch time. We'll be sure to update you once we've experienced things in a little more depth.
