Ridge Racer 7

Fans who played through Ridge Racer 6 will have to decide if six new tracks, a new soundtrack, slipstreaming, and car customization makes the game worth buying "again." Regardless, there's no denying that Ridge Racer 7 is a solid, fun arcade racer.

Simulation hardliners need not apply, but pound-for-pound, this game makes a very good case for itself as the top title of the PS3 launch.

With solid visuals, excellent arcade drifting action, car customization, and promising online, Ridge Racer should hold up well against competitors like "Need for Speed Carbon" and the rest.

It’s not cheap, it’s excruciatingly difficult. There is a difference.

Ridge Racer 7 is certainly not a system seller, not when the game is readily available on other platforms, especially a 360 version that's somewhat similar and only $20 these days.

Give Ridge Racer 7 a test drive and find out why it's one of the most underrated PS3 games at launch. [Jan. 2007, p.76]

What makes Ridge Racer unique is that, even though the entire race is driven at top speed, it requires total concentration, control and pin-point precision to capture the chequered flag. Your performance has to be consistent throughout.

While the title has the necessary great graphics and unreal drifting mechanics, the new option of improving and customizing your machine sets Ridge Racer 7 apart from all the others that came before it.

Would-be drivers will feel like members of a global race community, complete with constantly updating race statistics and personal achievements. A nice selection of tracks, tunes and rides round out this very solid package.

The only problem for Ridge Racer is the audio which is less than stellar, but in the end Ridge Racer 7 makes an impressive debut on the PlayStation 3 and is worth a look even if it is just to drool over.

Its legacy will be the same as all the previous games in the series; a solid launch racing game that will tide you over while you wait for “the next big title.”

Unfortunately, in order to unlock cars and tracks, I have to run through a somewhat boring single player game. I say boring because it's too easy.

Does Ridge 7 usher in the next-generation of racing? No. Is it the best way to while away the hours, driving on the PS3? For the time being, yes.

Although the core gameplay hasn't changed much in over ten years - Ridge Racer is as fun as ever. It runs as smooth as butter, and with the rare ability to be displayed at 1080p for HDTV owners, it's plenty pretty enough.

While all these improvements are welcome, they can’t totally obscure the fact that this is - at the end of the day - exactly the same Ridge Racer we’ve been playing for years.

Ridge Racer 7 introduces some great new additions that make this the most significant update Namco's arcade-style racing series has seen in years.

All around, if there's anything to ding Ridge Racer 7 for, it's the sense that it's less a sequel and more of a decimal point. Call it Ridge Racer 6.5 or Ridge Racer 6: Director's Cut, it's pretty much the same thing, minus the achievement points (grrrr).

A serious franchise update. The game fails to impress on just about every level, and ironically enough, manages to stay fun and entertaining thanks to a fully realized online battle mode and the all-important vehicle alterations.

The Ridge Racer series has always seemed to provide games more suited to the casual arcade crowd than serious racing devotees, and despite its jump in graphics quality and new twists, this latest installment isn't likely to convert many to its streamlined feel.

All the elements of some quality multiplayer are there to be had, but without a useful means of communication, it can be a crapshoot at times.

There are far worse choices than the stimulating Ridge Racer 7. [Jan. 2007, p.59]

It's the ultimate Ridge - glowing with PS3 power and delivering exactly what you want. If you want it. [Jan 2007, p.72]

PS3 power saps realsim out of the racing - but replaces it with a slick arcade polish. [Jan 2007, p.68]

Easily is the best installment yet for the main series, bringing its style of arcade racing to PlayStation 3. While the suck is lackluster and there aren’t many new vehicles or tracks, it does offer intuitive new motion-sensitive controls and great online gameplay. Ridge Racer 7 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it definitely gives it a good spin.

Namco continues to improve the arcade racer with huge customization feature and decent online play.

Ridge Racer 7 is more of a highly proficient stop-gap, a lightning-quick and not-at-all dirty Playstation 3 update in lieu of the true reworking we'd really like to see this far down the line. Nice, then. Solid even. But not truly next-gen. [Apr 2007, p.112]

If you're short of games to play on your shiny new PS3, RR7 is a solid choice. But be warned RR fans - you'll have seen almost all of this before on PSP and 360.

There is nothing revolutionary about Ridge Racer 7, but it is one of the best driving games on a console already busy with automotive titles.

It's hard not to fall in love with Ridge Racer all over again now that it's looking so good. Online play will compel you to race on past the use-by date too.

Even though drifting makes those corners a lot more interesting, I that fear some people will be put off this initially frustrating mechanic that sometimes leaves you skidding about in the dust of the AI after losing multiple times just because you can't straighten up properly.

A fun and fast arcade racer. It feels a bit too much like an update to "Ridge Racer 6." A few more new tracks would not have hurt. [Apr 2007]

It’s challenging and polished, but it can also take a bit of getting used to.

Though I'll wholly admit that the game feels a bit soulless and overly calculated at times, I was pleasantly surprised by the overhauled career mode and the superb online play and integration.

Enjoyable but not the earth-shattering game it could (and perhaps, should) be. There's no excuse for trotting out the same old racing schtick with the Playstation 3's potential left untapped. [Issue 148, p.52]

As with any Ridge Racer game, this does exactly what it says on the tin. Although times have changed and the series isn’t the high profile name it used to be, if you want an old school, arcade style sliding, high-speed racing game, you need not look any further.

The game's 40 cars look disappointingly familiar. However, this game successfully brings arcade racing home, fully loaded with fast rides, excellent drifting, the ability to customize vehicles, and 14 person online play.

It's better in some areas than 6, and is certainly brilliant played against real people, or just picked up and played properly with the nitrous turned off in arcade mode. But it's not really as challenging.

Essentially, what we have here is a further improved and expanded version of Xbox 360’s Ridge Racer 6. And that in itself makes Ridge Racer 7 notable as a great sequel. [Jan 2007, p.109]

Yes, you'll encounter a touch of the overly familiar sameness you get when you play any "Ridge Racer", but it's like slipping on a well-worn pair of jeans: It feels fine every time. [Jan. 2007, p.81]

This is supposed to be the big racing title at launch, the game that should convince guys like me to buy this system, and it just plain doesn’t.

Mastering Ridge Racer 7 feels more like a mathematical exercise than a game. Technophiles may love it for exactly that reason, but other audiences may wonder where the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat have gone.

It's really more "yawn" than "whoa". [Jan. 2007, p.68]

It now feels in need of a shake up to make it bounce back instead of producing yet another diminished return. [Jan 2007, p.75]