There is real depth in this series, though most won't see it, and while the game isn't a massive step up over the 360 version, it is different enough -- and finally online with a Sony system -- that it bears at least a look.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The most heinous of crimes: a real lack of any feeling of speed. No matter whether you are going at a crawl or full tilt with nitrous screaming, the only difference you'll see is a bit of blur on roadside street lights. [Mar 2007, p.56]
This game has aged so well its mind blowing. I HIGHLY recommend playing this on a 4K TV with good upscaling software (Samsung GUTU series for example) and it will look better than lots of PS4 games. Super smooth controls at native 1080p 60fps, I guess people were used to more clunky controls in 2006 and thats where the average reviews are coming from. Actually doesn´t take a lot of time to learn the drifts, maybe 1-2 hours. This game is super high tech through and through, even more today when more and more PS3 era games are deemed unplayable due to their graphics and performance. Very very impressive stuff!
Slick new visuals but under the hood it's the same old Ridge Racer, which makes for some unpretentious racing and a nice change of gear from the realism-obsessed crowd.
Namco Bandai games definitely don't have enough time to make the better polished Ridge Racer game for PS3.
It features car customization but that really ruin what make Ridge Racer so special this means it no longer makes any car have a special feeling to it.
Graphics is sub par it not even looked like a PS3 game.
And the new drifting is so effortless that it's boring it no longer need a skill to pilot the cars like in Ridge Racer type 4 and the cars handles like it about to floating off the road.
Soundtrack is very disappointing Namco no longer producing in house music and now uses the
songs from around the world it not even fits the mood.
Motorstorm is the choice for you this time not Ridge Racer 7.
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.
The graphics were "ok" but... the DRIFTING... Wtf?? This is a painfull experience for racing videogames lovers.
P.S. I can't believe that, in september of 2013, shops are actually selling this s**t (in platinum edition) for 40 euros! (almost the same that GTA V).
SummaryA first in franchise history, Ridge Racer 7 offers 375,000 ways to make your machine unique, with up to 7,150 combinations to tailor the performance of each machine. The game's new customization features include: Create the Ultimate Exterior: Players can choose from a variety of body kits, colors and decals to change the look of their ma...