Ridge Racer 7
Namco does it again; this is powerslide-fueled arcade racing heaven.
Published: November 28, 2006
It seems like a small thing, sure; what could tweaking drift angle and stability provide? Oh, but there are more upgrades. Engine upgrades boost things like top speed and acceleration. Nitrous upgrades, perhaps the most extensive set of bolt-on extras, allows you to push things well beyond the normal system. Ordinarily, all racers charge boost by way of drifting around corners at max speed (this is where all that strategy that people forget Ridge Racer has), but if you equip another boost tank from a particular manufacturer (unlocked via a race set my them, mind), suddenly things change.
This is where online play becomes such a boon. If you're brave enough, you can host games that allow full customization, and it's then that you see those upgrades that allow for auto-charging of boost, that flip things so you only charge boost when you're power-sliding under the influence of turbo, that add an extra tank, that let you turn it on and off whenever you like. These things fundamentally alter the experience of racing around utterly familiar tracks. So yes, customization certainly makes this a worthy sequel -- and online it becomes a trump card provided you can play games that support it.
Tweaking boost is but one of the many subtle reasons why this isn't just a Ridge Racer 6 rehash. Yes, plenty is recycled from the 360 version, which is a shame, but then this was made in about a year. The online play certainly takes the series well beyond what was possible on a previous PlayStation platform, and yet the integration of online features feels so innately... well, Sony that it all works. You can invite folks from you buddies list into a game, and they need only fire it up and pick a default gateway lobby and seconds later, you'll gaming with other RR7 folk enjoying the game.
I know I already blew my top about it before, but Namco has made themselves such a solid engine that it's impossible to deny that everything -- from the increased hi-res textures that show more detail to the perfectly locked 60fps at all times to the stupid amount of detail in some tracks (little per-lap staples like flocking birds and airplanes are still very present) means that Namco loved you enough to make a solid launch game. Not so much the Bandai half of the company. Go figure. If ever you needed an example of the talent in place at Namco and that of the Bandai teams, just take a loot at the disparity in launch titles from both. It's rather obvious who made out like bandits with the whole merger.
Aurally, the game is just as strong -- possibly stronger -- than the visuals. I can't enforce enough how solid (if entirely basic) the soundtrack is. It's the perfect backing to racing around some kind of crazy future-airport. Dolby Digital is happily embraced, and tucked lovingly into all five channels. Yes, there is the issue of most of the cars sounding like lawn mowers or blenders, but that's sort of the RR way. These are vehicles made for screaming around corners at 200 miles an hour, they sound a little more like bikes than normal cars, and for whatever reason, I'm cool with that.
The music, also, is absolutely fantastic stuff, and the idea when you're outside the races, while not original by any stretch (SSX 3 did it first) is still awesome: the more you drill down into the menus, the more the music starts to build in, and different parts of the menu add in different effects. For instance, when in the time trial section, a stopwatch sound circles your head. Given that that music is almost hypnotic in its repetition, it's nice that Namco decided to wrap the full surround sound experience around the player.
Here's the bottom line: $60. That's what it costs to get what a lot of people may have already played on the 360 last year. If you didn't, and you like this series, buy this game. There's really nothing else to say. If you're a newcomer, it's entirely likely that you'll fall into the same categories almost all have since the series debuted on the original PlayStation. You'll love it for the sense of speed and whiz-bang graphics, or you'll hate it for what seems like mindless arcade hand-holding 200 mile-an-hour turns. There is real depth in this series, though most won't see it, and while the game isn't a massive step up over the 360 version, it is different enough -- and finally online with a Sony system -- that it bears at least a look. If you haven't played the series in a while, this may be even more of a must-have than Resistance. Yeah, I'm that amped about the game. So go buy it and see why.
