 Preview By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Namco Bandai |
| Publisher: | Namco Bandai | |
| Genre: | Racing | |
| ESRB: | Everyone | |
| # Of Players: | 1-4 (2-14 online) | |
| Online Play: | Yes | |
| Accessories: | PlayStation Network (online play, worldwide leaderboards), Hard Drive (5GB install), HDTV (480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) | |
| Estimated Release: | 11/17/2006 |
One would think that this level of customization would lend itself well to microtransactions (new cars, new parts, that sort of thing), but we've confirmed with the company that so far they have no microtransactions planned. That doesn't meant that they won't implement them at some point in the future; after all, even the last game had downloadable "keys" used to unlock new cars. Fortunately, what it does mean is that there's no danger in the game shipping "incomplete" (like a certain other racer that shall remain nameless). Any future microtransactions (if they are indeed implemented at all) should be the sort of optional equipment that'll appeal to hardcore fans without alienating more casual players.
Speaking of online support, Ridge Racer 7 promises full support of Sony’s fledgling network. This includes races with up to 14 participants, and of course gamers can take their custom cars online to battle it out with other players’ greatest creations. I know from personal experience with the last game that Ridge Racer online is a blast, although the Ridge Racer 6 community never really thrived due to poor sales of the game in North America. Fortunately that shouldn’t be an issue here as the series is returning home to the PlayStation brand, where a strong built-in audience of Ridge Racer fans awaits. Online play aside, the game will feature several other cool additions to the online experience including real-time updates on the performance of other human drivers, custom matching, and of course the now mandatory leaderboards.
The nitrous system found in previous games also makes a return, largely intact aside from the new customization options I mentioned before. As you perform good drifts you’ll build up the boost meter, which when full can be used to activate nitrous and zoom through courses at supersonic speed. Like before, smart use of the nitrous boost (hint: don’t use it right before a turn!) will again play a big role in the outcome of each race.
As if that wasn’t enough to provide the variety missing before, the team also increased the number of courses to 40 total, although that’s cheating slightly since that does break down to 20 original and 20 mirrored tracks. The career mode also returns, slimmed down from over 230+ races to a mere 160 races…so it’s still plenty long enough to keep you busy for a long time. While a reduction in the career mode may seem like a bad thing, it should result in a more focused experience than the last game’s entirely too long and mundane World Xplorer mode.
Finally, and very importantly, Ridge Racer 7 looks the part of a next-gen racing experience. Ridge Racer 6 suffered from some fairly mediocre graphics, particularly when it came to the environments, in relation to the competition at the time. From the screens and movies we’ve seen of this game, the environments here look to have more detail and variety, car models look more complete (while the exterior customization options will spice things up even more), and there are even a few new effects thrown in to liven up the experience. The visceral thrill of drifting at 160 MPH is something that really needs to be portrayed properly to make a game like this work, and this time the development team seems to have nailed it.
Overall, I’m excited by the direction Namco Bandai is taking with Ridge Racer 7. It should be the deepest game in the series yet, while still retaining the same arcade gameplay at its core that fans of the series love. Like its predecessor it too will face some pretty stiff competition in the genre at launch (including the Need for Speed franchise yet again), but appears to be much better equipped to fight that battle this time around.
Posted: 2006-10-27 18:08:35 PST