1. ClarkeA.

   10

   The only racing game that looks better is Motorstorm the problem is it isn't as much fun. Ridge Racer features more tracks and car customization. The game was ported extremely well to the PS3 and is worth buying if you want to scream around corners at over 275 MPH.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 2 users said Yes.
2. Harry210

   8

   Ridge Racer 7 is a perfect definition of a pure arcade style racing game with fast and furious races to dig into. The graphics (despite being a launch title for the PlayStation 3) are great. The car models are attractive and look futuristic if a bit blocky; the environments are quite nice and provide some lovely views to race around. The game play is different to any arcade style game I've played like the Burnout series. You race around tracks (in race modes) with a selected car and try to get first place while an annoying chick cheers you on and tells you what position you're in and if you're slipstreaming (damn I just want to chuck her out of my car). In terms of the selection of modes, there is a nice selection to take part in like races, championships, duels and time trials. There are events in the single player mode like races or time trials to compete in which are enjoyable. Some events earn you cars and these cars can be customised with performance parts, paint jobs, decals and body kits. This is no Need for Speed in terms of the depth of customisation but it's a very good addition to the Ridge Racer series and allows you to personalise your car (or machine as they are called in this game) and make it different to other competitor's cars. The game play is enjoyable with intense, fast races and with the inclusion of a nitrous system which can be earned by drifting around corners makes the game ridiculously fast and you need to pay attention to the road. When you lift off the accelerator and turn into a corner, your car starts to drift and gets sort of gets dragged around the corner and drifting doesn't make your car lose speed (it's hard to explain in words). People at first may find that the cornering mechanic of this game may look and feel weird but you'll get used to it. There's no need to use the brakes! Cars do handle heavy while turning without drifting. Despite the cars that you drive look like, well, cars, they don't have any realistic characteristics that a real car has other than the ability to turn, accelerate and brake but this is an arcade game so it's acceptable. The tracks that you race around are nicely designed and some have some huge jumps to jump over. Even at high speed and 13 other cars on the track, the game runs smoothly with hardly any slowdown. The nitrous system is great and a great welcome addition to the Ridge Racer franchise in its introduction in the Ridge Racer PSP instalment. The A.I opponents that you face are challenging enough to make races interesting. At least Namco didn't program the A.I using the rubber band formula that most arcade racers use (like Burnout) so regardless of how fast you go, the A.I will still keep up with you. Using nitrous while in 1st place gives you a bit of breathing space. I do like the presentation of the menu screens; presented in front of a white/blue futuristic background. They are smartly designed and easy to navigate through. RR7 does have some niggles though but not huge ones. Sound design is pretty average: The cars sound like angry Bees and I can't really distinguish one car engine sound from the other as they seem to sound the same most of the time and as I mentioned earlier, the annoying chick that cheers you on and comments on how you're doing every 20 seconds can be really annoying (at least you can turn her off.) The music is heart pumping with suitable techno/dance tunes but they can get quite repetitive hearing them. However, at least all of these problems can be solved with a touch of a mute button. Ridge Racer 7 is a fantastic arcade racer and essential for any arcade racer enthusiast.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
3. VersemS.

   7

   Fist of all, this game makes me feel like I'm in an arcade! and all those voices that tell you stuff can get annoying once they've said it a billion times... The graphics aren't amazing but if you look closely at the road while your parked, you can see that the textures are pretty sharp. It's a worthwhile purchase as long as you aren't expecting too much realism.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
4. Crab666

   1

   I'm new to metacritic and one of the first things I did was to check out some of my old games to see what they got. When I checked out Ridge Racer 7 I could not believe some of the ratings this was given because the physics and controls in this game are completely BROKEN! And that's not even all that's wrong with it.
   
   There are many cars all with varying degrees of crapness either being way to stiff and unresponsive or being so tail heavy that they wobble uncontrollably down the straights after you drift round a corner or just suddenly spin round in the middle of it, there is even some that are an inexplicable mixture of both! The game does allow you to customise the dynamic features of the car, what little difference they make these usually make it worse.
   
   I hated the soundtrack, but to be fair that that's down to personal taste. It does give the option of turning it off, I did so only to discover that the sound effects are even worse. Every car produces the same boring monotone hum and then there's the announce lady who in a really annoying high pitched voice obnoxiously tells you things that you just don't need to hear! "Your in the slipstream!" as if couldn't tell since I'm going a little faster and I'm right behind another car, idiot!
   
   It features the worst tack design I have seen before or since. There is no organic feel at all as if it was designed quite literally by a machine, with the same width and surface all the way through. It goes something like this, flat straight, right 90 degrees, straight elevated 10 degrees, left 180 degrees, straight dive 20 degrees, even the jumps were static and boring. At a time when the burnout series had you racing through a mixture of tight dirt roads wide open lanes this level of lazy design is completely unacceptable.
   
   To give credit where it is due the game was visually impressive and it feature's (for the aesthetic part at least) a excellent customisation feature which allows you to change the look, pallet and even your driver number. But these are nowhere near enough to make up the the game's massive dynamic shortfalls. The only fun I had was customising the appearance of my car, for that at least my final verdict is a 1/10.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.

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