Ridge Racer V by Namco
for Playstation 2
Review
by : Craig
Youngblood
Ridge
Racer V is the latest in the Namco series of racing games.
While I never played the previous games in this series, I’ve
heard some pretty positive things about the game. I decided
to pick it up while waiting for that other racing game, and
haven’t been disappointed.
Graphically,
this is a very pretty game. Cars zoom around the track kicking
up tire smoke and the road literally blurs at high speeds.
Lens flare kicks in as you top a rise and the sunlight strikes
the windshield. The cars are very nice looking and the game
is pretty free from jaggies. (Jaggies are jagged edges on
objects. High-end games and consoles should be fairly jaggie-free.)
One of my complaints on the graphics is that the car, for
the most part, stays centered on the screen. It can detract
from that feeling of high speed at times.
 The
controls are pretty solid. On other racing games I felt like
I had no control at times. However, with RRV I could
choose the type of car and steering I liked. You have the
option to choose between cars that drift or grip. Surprisingly,
I found I did better on the grip cars, even though I slid
them around corners. Driving on this game is a lot of fun,
and it’s easy to pick up. My girlfriend and I played each
other a couple of times, and she was able to pick it up really
quickly, and win a couple races (much to my chagrin.)
There
are a lot of different gameplay modes ranging from a free
race using any cars in your garage to grand prix races in
more of a “career” vein. There are also a lot of choices for
tracks and difficulty levels. However I quickly found myself
falling between the cracks, where I would crush the computer
on easy and yet towards the end of medium would get hosed.
It was pretty frustrating. Additionally, after awhile, even
though there were “new” tracks they began to get fairly repetitive.
Sound
is a mixed bag on this game. I loved the music. There’s lots
of techno beats to open up and run with, but the announcer
is the most annoying thing this side of Howard Cosell to listen
to. The cars sound excellent and it’s nice to know when one’s
sneaking up to you if you have your PS2 hooked up to some
speakers.
All in
all I’d recommend RRV to anyone who likes racing games,
and even to those who aren’t that good at them. You don’t
need to know gear ratios- you can just jump behind the wheel
and take off.
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