Ridge Racer as usual earns the respect it deserves for a PS3 launch title.
Its been quite some time now since the PS3 has been on the market and just 14 days since I got my PS3 with 2 games to try.( I got them free ) Ridge Racer 7 is one of them.The other one is Genji:Days of the Blade ( a review of which shall follow shortly )
So what do I make of RR7 after having played it.Read through to find out:
Graphically speaking RR7 does sport some nice graphics.Too bad that I do not have an HDTV to have fully enjoyed the visuals.Anyways,for a starter it is a nice looking game.The game environments are well rendered with some nice touches,like the flying dried leaves or the speeding column of lights as you travel through some tunnels.
The gameplay is as what you would expect of an RR.Nice and easy,especially mastering the drift technique does not demand too much of an effort.The first race is definitely yours.
But,things are not always that simple and beautiful in RR7.As you progress in the game,the events offered as challenges can become a hard and frustrating task.The reason behind is that in RR you really cant customize your vehicle the way you would in;for e.g,a GT.
Nevertheless,if you manage to drive like an ace,you might just be able to clinch the 1st place.In most cases I had to run through the same courses 5 to 7 times to come out 1st in order to proceed.At one time I even had to do the same track 17 times!Yup I was patient enough to do it.
Ahem…I still lost the race.
Just taking a break from it while I go through what Genji is made of.
Mind you though,RR7 is not that difficult a game.Choosing the correct machine only will make you the ultimate Ridge Racer.
RRs has always been given bad reviews always when Sounds came into the limelight.The ingame music are nice.i like the Lost Ruins best.Then what is wrong with the sound then.The cars,the sound the engines makes are not the most realistic sound you would hear around.But then one should not forget that RR is meant to be a pure Arcade Racer.That is why on one end you can pump in so much Nitrous.
Speaking of Nitrous,this is a fantastically nice aspect in the game.I never get tired of using it,especially in Arcade mode after you can the ‘unlimited nitrous’ option that becomes selectable.
Overall,I will consider RR7 as a decent game to have for new adopters of the PS3,I mean just to have a blast of nitrous while lying in wait for GT5 or any eventual Burnout.RR7 is a nice Arcade Drifter that plays in the most simple of manners and the learning curve is one of the smallest ever.Just for you to know which buttons does what and you are ready to go.And then there is the other aspect,learning the courses you race on.Once you learn them it becomes easy ( at the beginning ) to deal with the challenges.
Even when things gets difficult as the competition progresses,you will rarely feel like giving up.
A must have.No.But if you have been thinking of getting it,don’t hesitate.Its worth the expense.
8/10
Coming Next : Genji : Days Of The Blades Review