A Great Game From A Sweet Deal : Ridge Racer 6
Back when the 360 games first came out you expected to pay $50 + for a brand new title. Everything on the 360 was that way. I just so happened to encounter someone who had two 360 games to get rid of. Call of Duty 2, and Ridge Racer 6. Because I like to jump on any good deal I can find I announced that I'd pay $25 for each game. Sold. The games were mine. Now, I had little interest in Ridge Racer before this purchase. It was just a good deal and I couldn't pass it up. Now things have changed.
Ridge Racer 6 has turned out to be a great racer from the team at Namco. First, it has to be one of the best looking games I've played on my 360 so far. The scenery, and the vehicles all look fantastic!
Now, I know it's not about the graphics and more about how the game plays. Well, how does the game play? It plays great! Some of the best control I've seen in a racing game in a long time. Everything is s precise so when you hit that corner, and you have to engage in a drift you can easily control it. Just pray that you are good at controlling and can get yourself out of the drift or else you might be tasting the wall and losing that 1st place finish.
How about the game modes? Ridge Racer 6 has what they call the 'World Xplorer' mode. You are shown this grid, and you get to select from a huge number of different routes to take. Completing certain areas unlocks additional cars, and eventually you'll be driving differant classes of vehicle. Things start out easy, but then the difficulty raises as you begin to drive faster vehicles.
There are also online modes, and of course 2-player splitscreen.
The sound in Ridge Racer is another fantastic thing about the game. The cars sound... well exactly like how an extremely fast car should. Each race is accompanied by some great techno music. It really fits the speed of the game, and each track is quite entertaining.
Now here is something that some may like, and other may not. There is an announcer who likes to shout pretty much anything during the race. He comments on the nitrous that you use, that the AI uses. He comments on what place you are in, the collision you just encountered, the final turn. Everything!
I could see how some might find this annoying, however I seem to enjoy it. There is actually quite the variety in the differant things he says and this doesn't make it seem too repetitive. Now, after about 6 hours worth of gameplay I've heard pretty much everything he has to say but it still is no where near annoying.
So... I think that about covers everything about Ridge Racer 6. It's a fantastic racer. I think many will overlook it because of PGR, or NFS, or even the upcoming Forza 2 but I really think you shouldn't. It's a fantastic race title that you will enjoy. Thanks for reading.