 Review 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) | |
| Buy Now: |   |
The customization doesn’t end there though. Using the Machine Connector feature, you can tune your car in ways usually reserved for sim racing titles, including exterior parts, engine tune-ups, tires and suspension, nitrous as I discussed before, decals, and more. All told Namco Bandai promises over 370,000 different appearance combinations, as well as over 7,000 different performance combinations. While the appearance combinations obviously matter little in terms of actual gameplay, on the whole it still adds a layer of depth the series has never seen before. It also keeps you motivated to continue playing, as you’ll want to earn more credits to unlock better cars and parts for use both offline and online.
Another big change to the game this year, and one that also improves the core gameplay, is the slipstreaming meter. Basically, getting behind an opponent’s car allows you to draft behind it, adding in the NASCAR-ish strategy of staying behind another driver as long as possible before sling-shotting around them at the very last second. It’s an excellent and realistic addition to the game, and one that’s long overdue.
Speaking of online, Ridge Racer 7 brings the online aspect into every facet of the game. From the very beginning of the game, you’re asked to create a Ridge State ID card that’s used to track your progress. Assuming you have an active connection to the PlayStation Network, from then on out you’re shown your current rank in the online Ridge Racer 7 community as soon as you start the game up. Everything you do from that point onward helps to improve your ranking, with the game constantly uploading the latest data as you earn Fame Points in the game’s various modes. Fame Points are your overall reputation online, with more improving your overall standing in the online community. Fame Points also open up new races for you to participate in as well.
As far as actual online racing is concerned, there are several different gameplay modes to take part in allowing up to 14 players to compete at once. Standard races are just your typical arcade-style races, with each player fighting for position against the rest. Team Battle divides players into two teams, while Pair Battle divides players into pairs. Points are then awarded to players based on their finishing positions, with the team or pair with the most points winning the overall battle. Finally, Pair Time Attack features the owner of a room and a member racing three laps to see who can achieve the best time. Performance wise the game has run smoothly for me, with no apparent issues with lag despite running on Sony’s relatively new network.
Offline, much like the last game Ridge Racer 7 features an expansive career mode. Dubbed the Ridge State Grand Prix, this time around it’s much more focused than the mess that was the grid-like World Xplorer mode last time. You’ll start out by running one or more Manufacturer’s Trial races, which when won establish a relationship with the sponsoring manufacturer. Winning then allows you to purchase cars and parts from that manufacturer, and as you use their gear in races you’ll earn Manufacturer Points to build up a favorable reputation with them. More Manufacturer Points means a wider selection of parts in the customization mode, so you’ll want to experiment with different cars and points to gain a favorable reputation with them all.
After the initial trial, there are a number of events to compete in including official UFRA single events, Ridge State Grand Prix events composed of a series of races, and other types unlocked as more are completed. There’s a lot of variety to be found, helped out by the fact that the game features a total of 44 different courses (22 regular and 22 mirrored). Unfortunately, a lot of these courses are simply repeats of those found in Ridge Racer 6. While this won’t bother gamers and Sony diehards that never played the Xbox 360 installment, it certainly bothered me. As a result, even with the most tracks in the series yet the available course selection still felt underwhelming and repetitive to me. Of course, that won’t bother Sony fans that never played the last installment. The layout of the map in Ridge State Grand Prix in general is more flexible than it was before, allowing players more flexibility to jump around to different types of events as they wish rather than strictly working from left to right across the screen.
Posted: 2006-11-21 13:12:34 PST