"It's Good to Be Back"
It's been more than a few years since the last Ridge Racer game, Rage Racer, graced these shores of the US. So, of course, being a Ridge fan, it was a given that I would automatically welcome the newest in the series with open arms, right?
Start 'em Up
The first order of business in the game is choosing from one 8 different options, bear in mind, though, only 3 (later 4) of them pertain to any race. After starting the GP and watching the delighful presentation, choose a race team, then choose a racing sponsor. Next race through the 8 courses, distributed across 3 stages, and bring home the gold. Simple enough.
Which is the game's problem. At a superficial level, you're given the appearance of an in depth arcade style racer.
But in reality, it's really simplistic. Imagine looking into pool made of glass, sure it looks deep, until you dive in.
Ragin' Racer
R4 is disappointing to those who savored every moment in Rage Racer. In Rage Racer for example, you bought your cars with earnings received from each race. Then give your car a somewhat custom paint job and tack a large logo onto it. Now, it's your car, it's you. In R4, cars are given to you based on performance. Sure it doesn't look bad on paper, but consider, that each race has to be run 100+ times. The linear nature of the game also screams mediocrity. Gran Turismo really put a hurting on NFS 3 due to it's somewhat loose structure. Likewise, NFS 4, adopted this looser structure. But in R4, there is only 1 race series and running through the same one gets tired after a while. But even Rage Racer was much better set up. Different classes of cars racing on the same track demanded different strategies for racing on the same track in that particular game. Car customization is also mediocre. You can give each car a general appearance, and the logo program, while far superior to Rage's, is useless, since the logos are far too small to take notice.
320 Cars! Whoa mama!
Namco lays claim to having a mindblowing 320 cars. In reality, there are only 44 different models. By combining race team influence (which now dictates how you car responds in acceleration, top speed and handling) with the different manufacturers (which dictate whether you're a drifter or a gripper and body style) you come up with different car combinations. The kick here, is that upgrading of cars is out of the quesstion. The "team" takes care of all you tuning problems, and in recent light, should be punishable by flogging, when compared to NFS and GT (and again Rage). The whole earning cars thing also wears off. Sure it might sound cool, but each car has very minute differences in feel (if any) and having users purchase their cars would at least give a feeling of attachment. The final kick to the nuts here is that you only allowed to race 8 cars at any given time in non GP situations, which is somewhat understandable (the game occupies only one block of memory) but totally defeats the point of amassing a huge collection. Although a trip to the garage can enable you to change your cars. Which also is extremely pointless, since R4 lacks a single race option, you can only run you machine in time trials, or the vs. mode and the extra trial mode.
Not All Is Bad
You might be thinking, "He really thinks this game sucks." But that's not totally true. If you take the game as a sequel to Ridge Revolution, then the negatives fade away.
Drivin'
Hands down, R4 looks good, it won't as jaw dropping as the first time you beheld Rage Racer, but there's no doubt, this is the best looking PS racer around.
Seams are kept to a minimal and the detail in each track is memerizing. Pop up is virtually a thing of the past and the replays show off some really good specular highlighting, blur it for some really cool visuals. But it's not just ingame that looks good. The menus have a certain pizazz that is simple yet elegant. The busy backgrounds of Rage are gone, and replaced by the smooth contempo look of R4.
Movin' To Da Beat (Ridge Racer)
Another positive is the music. Although not redbook, Namco has managed to amaze the masses by creating a jazzy techno flavor in the music selection. Although less vocal than Rage, the game has 14 tracks with which to enjoy while you stomp the competition. Even the track names fit into the theme of the game's more laid back attitude, with such cuts as "Pearl Blue Soul", "Quiet Curves","Move Me" and my personal fave "Moving in Circles", which is a remixed version of the intro music. The announcer is the worst part of a sonically stellar package. Not bad, mind you, but he lacks the attitude of Reiko from Rage and the charm of the original announcer.
Get It On With The Analog Control
R4 really feels tight. Unlike the other Ridge games, you really have to screw up to mess up a well timed drift. The cars almost seem to know when to stop drifting. However, grip driving seems more sluggish and definitly will be harder to Ridge vets to adjust to. But to enjoy analog control, whip out the analog controller. That's right, R4 supports the analog controller, and really gives the cars the response that has been lacking from the previous Ridge games. Physics is tighter too. Hit a car, an instead playing RidgePinball, you instantly recover and go about passing the poor slob. There are now few instances where you'll go from 150 to 0 just because you hit a wall.
Sure, Take It Easy
One thing about the improved things, is that the game is made easier, much easier. Fortunately, the game makes it easier or harder to win based on the team you choose. Ridge experts, choose hard (Racing Team Sovalou) or expert (Dig Racing Team) for satisfactory difficulty ratings, choose the above with a grip (Ąge Solo or Terrazi) manufacterer to achieve Rage like difficulty. The difficulty negates the whole car earning system. It's actually harder to get some of the weaker cars than it is some of the more blatant powerhouses.
Challenge Me
One thing totally new here is the split screen Vs. mode. I must admit, I'd played alot of these before but only R4 delivers such a smooth and consistent frame rate, plus you can place 2 other drones in the race, though oddly enough they don't count in the rankings. However, it is as playable as the one player ordeal. Although the garage limitation can be hinderance. A pain in the keister is the digital tachometer, which provides nothing more than distraction, rather than a useful gauge. To it's credit, you'd be hard pressed to find a better two player racing game. Better yet, link up and go four way for the ultimate party.
To Tell A Story
R4 includes a rather neat story mode, the main gist of the story isn't altered by your performance, but small details are. In one sequence, your performance determines whether or not you get fax from Reiko herself. It's not really neccessary, but the writing is very good and does a good job of pulling new players into the world of Ridge Racer. It never felt so good watching the replay of the final race-although it would really feel good if the game was hard-with the commentator giving a custom congratulations to your team and the crowd cheering.
It Finishes, but Not With the Checkered Flag
R4 isn't a bad game by any means, but it also falls short on the hype built by it. The linear nature of the game just screams in your face when you play it, and it seems shortcuts were used all over the place. It feels complete, but not "complete". The soundtrack and the graphics are good, that's a given, but the whole dumbing down the game just makes it feels wrong. Get it, but only if you haven't played NFS 4, or Rage Racer.
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