Ridge Racer 6

Namco's gift to the Xbox 360?

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In 1993 Ridge Racer made its first appearance in the arcades, and instantly built up a rapport with the thrill-seekers who inhabited such joints, mainly thanks to its 'drift-crazy' motif, a racing experience which offered little in the way of realism but much in the way of excitement. Since its birth the series has made its way into the home through translation onto Sony's Playstation systems. So far every new Ridge Racer game has been primarily launched first on a Sony system, and in some cases ported onto other consoles. But here is where that tradition ends. For the first time ever, the latest incarnation; Ridge Racer 6, is exclusively for Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Fans of the series will be happy to know that this is the only tradition which has been broken. The renowned arcade style drifting physics remain present and exciting as ever, with the title staying true to the qualities that helped elevate the series to the giddy heights it has enjoyed. The handling itself is all about flooring it down the straights and when you come to a corner just letting go of the gas and pointing the car in the general direction needed, resulting in the customary frenzied slide around the corner which you will have to control in an effort to lose as little speed as possible.

A new feature which gives the somewhat simplistic thrills of Ridge Racer a little more depth is the Nitrous boost metre, first seen in last years PSP Ridge Racer game. There are three blocks of nitrous which charge up as you slide around corners. Each block can be used individually to give a speed boost, or can be used as a double or triple boost if you charge up all three blocks of your metre.

The main mode in Ridge Racer 6 is the World Xplorer, which features an expansive 241 races. The World Xplorer features a map offering the player different routes to reach the ultimate goal. Initially there are only 111 races available with limited ways to reach the first milestone, the 111th race. Once this is completed many more routes open up and you'll gain access to the rest of the hugely expansive single player experience. Throughout all the different races each route provides its own challenge, mixing things up a little. For instance duel route which is unlocked around half way through the game consists of tough races against one opponent, whose car happens to be considerably quicker than yours. Other types of races include: No Nitrous races, Reverse Charge races and Standard races. The structure of the World Xplorer mode means that some races can be bypassed entirely as you proceed through the game, although bonus cars are given away as rewards for completing clusters of races.

Even newcomers to the series are likely to find the first few races they attempt very easy indeed, due to the gentle nature at which the game eases you into the process of things. Those that enjoy a challenge shouldn't worry though, as the later stages can test even veterans of the series. Indeed some of these races are likely to take experienced Ridge Racer players 10-15 tries before winning, making Ridge Racer 6 ultimately one of the most difficult games in the series so far, despite initial judgements. Ridge Racer 6 also offers a regular Single race mode, along with Time Trials and Online race modes for up to 14 players.

Graphically Ridge Racer 6 is good, but hardly amazing considering the hardware it runs on. Having said this it does tick along at a smooth frame rate of 60fps and offers a fantastic sense of speed. Sadly the car models don't boast a level of detail comparable to those found in Project Gotham Racing 3 but still look decent and do well to depict the somewhat wacky fictional cars that Ridge Racer games have always featured. The ground textures look a little plain sometimes but there are some decent lighting effects which help keep the game lively. Ultimately though, this game isn't the usual graphical showpiece we have come to expect from Ridge Racer games of old.

The sound is again, pretty good, but not especially outstanding. The engine notes sound a little wimpy and disappointing, although some audio aspects such as the tire scraping and the drifting sounds are more impressive. The most notable thing to mention about the sound though, is the race announcer. The race announcer shouts out various comments regarding your performance and the cars around you, which can be helpful at times, however it can also become very tedious, very quickly. There is a second race announcer voice available when you reach a certain point in the game giving a little more in the way of variety but eventually this also tires. The music has always been a strong aspect of Ridge Racer games, and it is back with more of the same fast paced electronic style tracks, with some slower more relaxing tunes providing a welcome mix.

While not as significant as many of the other games in the series, Ridge Racer 6 does a supreme job of being the arcade racer many have known and loved for years. While fans of the series and newcomers alike won't be blown away with what this latest reincarnation throws at you, Ridge Racer 6 is by no stretch of the imagination a bad game. Although a tad bland, anyone looking for a no compromise classic arcade racer would do well to check this out.

79%

By Steven Embling