Ridge Racer 6 Review (no fat)

Game Description

The Ridge Racer series has always been different from typical racing games in how it prefers to place emphasis on the essence of racing itself, as opposed to truly implementing simulation. Realism is joyfully sacrificed to make way for the intoxicating feeling of driving at top speed, and crashing into your opponents never causes your car to break down. Ridge Racer 6 does not debark from its illustrious predecessors.

Ridge Racer 6 Gameplay

As the latest installment, Ridge Racer 6 says true to the franchise’s basic ideas. You won’t find licensed models here, nor will you experience official tracks. Instead, your vehicles range from archaic cars that can barely cover a one-kilometer track to futuristic automobiles that will simply crush your opponents with their bewildering speed. You need not even worry about your car becoming a wreck, as even the most vicious collision will have no effect on your vehicle. Each car also boasts its own characteristic, such as the grip, which is an essential aspect when selecting your vehicle.

Similarly, the tracks you will experience have absolutely nothing to do with the official routes found in other games. You are however blessed with the opportunity to marvel at a variety of locations, which range from vast and scorching deserts to calm littorals. Unfortunately, many of those new tracks are just slight alterations of their existing counterparts.

Ridge Racer 6 makes exhaustive use of the drifting system, whereby turns become a mockery as they are treated way too easily. Again, this is just another feature of the game’s unrealism. The need to brake is casually reduced to a minimum with the drift mechanism, as you only need to let go of that favored acceleration button to have your car take turns with eerie precision. This contributes to keep the game always fast during races.

You will eventually find yourself relying on the celebrated nitrous feature to increase your chances of winning. These boosts are automatically charged whenever you drift, which will certainly happen a lot throughout the game. Make good use of the three levels of nitrous to rip your opponents apart as the sudden increase in velocity makes your mechanic alter ego literally soar towards victory. This adds a welcome strategic element to the game, specially in multiplayer mode, where you can use your boosts to shock your unsuspecting opponents.

Ridge Racer 6 shines with its multitude of Easter eggs. The exhilarating number of races, which shamelessly exceed 100, should suffice to give you an idea of the game’s depth. While many of those tracks are similar, they do impose new objectives, which make the experience wholly different each time. In addition, new cars and routes are unlocked as you win races, and some of the later vehicles are unique and hilarious, such as Pacman’s spaceship.

Of course, the game’s difficulty increases as you move up the echelons and attain better ranks. However, Ridge Racer 6 has an enjoyable learning curve. The fact that your own skills increase at the same time means you won’t find yourself suddenly frustrated by a particular track. As most of the in-game opponents pose no threat at all and the real challenge involves covering the track within the time limit, the feeling that Ridge Racer 6 endorses speed more than anything else is again reinforced.

Unsurprisingly, the real challenge resides in its multiplayer modes. Compete with other gamers from around the world, and strive to be the best. Ridge Racer goes even further than this generic mode. You can now download other aficionados’ races and try to top them. This feature alone gives Ridge Racer 6 excellent depth. Namco has also announced that new vehicles can eventually be downloaded.

Ridge Racer 6 Controls

A racer would be a failure without suitable controls. Ridge Racer 6’s controls are simple, yet stellar. As you tap on your left diagonal pad, your car immediately moves over to reflect your latest decision. Keep the button pressed to go around a corner without your car skidding. The handling of each car obviously depends on the latter’s characteristics, but it is in all cases very intuitive. The inclusion of several control schemes means you won’t find yourself struggling with an awkward button layout.

Ridge Racer 6 Visuals

Ridge Racer 6’s graphics unfortunately strike out as unimpressive for the Xbox 360. The lack of details in any landscape makes each setting vague and plain. Colors are also used sparsely, giving each location a lackluster feel. Thankfully, there is no slow-down, and the animation always remains smooth, regardless of the number of cars on-screen. The vehicles look great and are thoroughly detailed, but this does not make up for the overall blandness of the game, specially with the backgrounds repeating themselves almost indefinitely.

Ridge Racer 6 Sound

Racers typically have upbeat techno soundtracks to get the adrenaline pumping…Ridge Racer 6 is no exception. The music gives you a sense of urgency, and is of a good quality throughout the game. The irritating announcer, who rapidly gets on your nerves with his cheesy voice and dumb comments, unfortunately offsets the great soundtrack. Get him to shut up and you’ll be far better off with the sound tracks. Fortunately the shutting up part is possible through the options menu.

The sound effects are excellent, with realistic crashes and bumps but there is no backup results shown of the crashes through graphics, so even though you might go on to smash headlong into a barrier, you car takes no damage at all. Digressions apart, because of the inclusion of a music selection menu, you can listen to your favorite tracks and just skip over the ones you’re not particularly fond of.

Ridge Racer 6 – 2cent

While Ridge Racer 6 is by no means innovative, or spectacular, it is still a fine racing game for fans of the genre. It’s fun in spite of its lack of realism, and the online play options give it an outstanding replay value.

Ridge Racer 6 Cost

Ridge Racer 6 currently retails for $59.99.