Ridge Racer 7 [PlayStation 3]

"Ridge Racer is one of the oldest race game series available. The game began its life in the arcade, but it became famous because of the console editions on the PlayStation 1 and 2. There have also been sidesteps to other consoles, like Ridge Racer 64 and Ridge Racer 6 on the 360 and even to handhelds, with the terrible Ridge Racer DS and the fantastic PSP editions.

It has become the tradition that each new PlayStation is broken in with a new Ridge Racer game and so for the PlayStation we have got a new Ridge Racer launch game too, part 7 this time.

The graphics
A launch game has to be a good showcase of the capabilities of the new machine. It doesn't look it now, but Ridge Racer (1) was a great looking game when the PS1 was released. Ridge Racer V demonstrated the power of the PS2 very well (at that time) and part 6 did the same for the Xbox 360.

So I was also expecting superlative graphics for this Ridge Racer 7 on the PlayStation 3. But I was a bit disappointed, especially after having played MotorStorm, Resistance and even the Gran Turismo HD demo. The game is running in full HD mode (1080p) and the framerate is high too. But it looks like the graphics designers at Namco couldn't cope with all the billions of pixels available. Every once in a while you discover a piece of track where they did their best, like the giant waterfalls, the tunnels with the reflecting wet tarmac or at the Buddha statue. But in most parts of the game the graphics are somewhat sterile, boring almost.

When I played a RR7 demo for the first time a few months ago, I noticed that the game didn't give a good sense of speed and I am afraid this problem hasn't been fixed. When you are racing along at 200 km/hour it feels like going 50 instead, especially on the wide and long straights. In my opinion this is unforgivable for an arcade racer. They tried to add some "speed effects" on the edges of the screen, but to no avail. Which is strange, because the same trick works very well in Burnout Revenge.

The cars look very good, the designers really went all out on the fictitious car brands and models (unfortunately no real brands in Ridge Racer).

The controls
Ridge Racer is all about drifting, the entire game is based on it. And in Ridge Racer drifting means going completely sideways through almost all turns. You can start a drift by simply starting a turn and releasing the throttle for a moment. After that you can reapply the throttle again, so you are taking each corner at full speed. The only task that remains is making sure that you exit the corner with the front of the car pointing in the right direction. Braking is obsolete here.

Sound pretty unrealistic, doesn't it? But wait, it gets even worse. During a drift your car moves like it is on a rail. It doesn't matter much how you turn the steering wheel, it will follow the turns automatically. As long as you are in a drift you will never crash into the boarding. There is no gray area between grip and drift either, it's all or nothing here. One moment you are having full grip, you let go of the gas and then you're sliding as if on ice. Turn your nose into the driving (or sliding) direction again and suddenly the grip fully returns.

This control system has been the key characteristic of Ridge Racer for years and it makes it into a typical arcade racer, it doesn't get more arcade than this (OutRun maybe?). But like in many arcade racers you loose some realism to get much fun in return. What's cooler than skidding through turns at full speed and with screaming tires?

An annoying side effect of the system is having to choose "to drift or not to drift" for each turn. In the sharper turns you have to drift because otherwise you'll hit the fence (braking is not an option). In wide turns drifting will decrease your speed too much, so you will have to just follow the turn. So it is important to learn the tracks, every mistake is fatal and you will not end up in first place.
Another problem is the fact that you cannot go left or right during a drift. So you will have to start your drifts making sure that the "rail" won't take you right into the rear end of one of your opponents. Oh, and here's another tip: forget about the cockpit view in this game. During drifts this view will have you looking at the crash barrier only, without seeing where you are going.

(By the way, the above criticism holds for all Ridge Racer games, not only for Ridge Racer 7. But ask yourself, is this control method still acceptable these days?)

The game
In all earlier Ridge Racer games you earned new cars by winning races. But now, for the first time in the series, you will have to buy your cars using earned credits. Using these credits you can also tune your cars, another first (luckily Namco does keep with the times in this regard). You do win your first car, by winning a "manufacturer's trial", a race organized by a specific brand. Those brands are important in RR7, because by racing grand prix's using a specific car brand you will earn "manufacturer points". These give you discounts on that brand's tuning parts.

It's easy to win the first races and grand-prix's, but it soon gets more difficult. You can retry each GP race an unlimited number of time though, so that helps. After a number of tries you will know exactly where to drift and where to use your nitrous boosts.

Nitrous boosts? Yes, since part 6 in the series we have a nitrous button, that gives you an extra boost temporarily. You can only use this button when your nitrous meter is full. Filling this meter is done by, you guessed it, drifting. The higher your speed during a drift, the faster this meter is filled. The meter consists of three parts, each part giving you one boost. But you can also use two or three parts in one go, giving you a stronger and longer boost.

Very nice addition in my opinion, as it makes the drifting just that bit more satisfying. It also introduces a strategical factor to the game: do you use the built up boost immediately or do you save up for a double one? And where to use the boost? Do you play it safe by using them on the straights and do you hit them just before a corner instead, so that you can use the extra speed in the next drift and thus filling your meter again?

Another addition in this edition is the slipstreaming. When you are tailing another car, you will get some extra speed, which can be used to overtake the car. If you are planning to win the races later on in the game, you will have to master this, and the drifting, and the boosting...

Multiplayer
In Ridge Racer you can play multiplayer in splitscreen mode or online. Playing online works seamlessly through the free PlayStation Network. The games start up quickly and play fluently. The split-screen mode is not as great, the frame-rate drops terribly. It is playable, but barely.

To buy or not to buy?
Are you a real Ridge Racer fan and already an expert in RR-style drifting? Then you just have to get this one, part 7 is again looking better and the game's structure is well thought-out too.
But if you compare this game to the other PS3 launch games and other recent race games then it's not very special. If you like arcade racers then MotorStorm or Burnout Revenge are better choices."