Ridge Racer 6

Queen Reiko struts her stuff in the whole of her high definition glory. We're sure there's a joke in there somewhere, but for now here's a review of Ridge Racer 6.

	Version Xbox 360	Developer Namco	Publisher Namco	Genre Racing

By Stephen Rowley

It's true that a launch title, at least by Microsoft's definition of launch, is rarely the place to see the release of new IP, but the first thought Ridge Racer 6 instils is still one of disappointment, simply for having such a high sequel number so soon into the new console's life. It's hard to feel that this is the future of gaming, but then the Ridge Racer series has always been more a celebration of its history, and a new game in the series for a console launch almost a tradition.

One of the first things you'll notice after loading it up is how Ridge 6 wears its protracted development on its sleeve, or at least on its title screen. Presumably as an exercise in time saving the overall design of Ridge 6 is uncannily similar to the not too distant Ridge Racers for PSP. The similarity extends into the fundamentals of this 360 game, with the inclusion of Nitro boosts that become available from performing Ridge's signature drifting. At least the gameplay has been finely tuned over so many iterations, and thankfully it is still dependably enjoyable here.

The way in which nitrous boosts build up may be different, but it's still strikingly evident that the guys over at Namco have been playing Burnout. If the building up of nitrous itself isn't a big enough clue, then the inclusion of a teeth-gratingly annoying 'DJ' mouthing off over the course of each race should make it more obvious than a 20-foot pink gorilla. In the Arctic. Wearing a tutu.

Still, at least you can turn his volume down, leaving you free to enjoy the engine noises and the quirky music. Sure the music is an acquired taste and the engine noises sound more funfair than Formula 1, but then Ridge itself has always been an acquired taste. Visually it isn't quite on par with the best 360 has to offer; car models scrutinised individually are a little rough around the edges, but sticking with Ridge Racer tradition, there is so much movement going on in the background of the already visually varied tracks, that the whole picture is at times quite breathtaking.

Not long after you've realised this though, you also start to think the reason you're taking in so much of the roadside detail is due to an overall lack of a feeling of speed, which in an arcade style racer is just plain wrong. It isn't until you get to use nitrous in the higher class races that the feeling of speed truly clicks.

The lack of speed is a bit of a let down, but at least the race structure goes someway to making up for it, and supports the best way that Ridge Racer 6 should be enjoyed. It also becomes apparent that the other racers on the track aren't fully there - sticking to pre-defined racing lines, never making mistakes, having nitrous they couldn't have - which adds to frustration when the difficulty starts getting higher.

The Ridge Racer Universe, as it's called, is a graph of all the possible racing events. The first race is placed at the bottom-left of this graph, with the racing class increasing the further right an event is placed, and the difficulty rising the higher up it is, until the final race at the top-right. Players can select to race just 1 event, or a chain of events at a whim, depending on how long they have to play, which compliments the game's dip-in, dip-out nature.

That cars are unlocked once a certain race, or pattern of races, is won proves to be incredibly compelling, providing that 'just one more win' feeling. It's a shame that the prize cars just tend to be differently skinned version of ones you already have, but these new paintjobs are covered in knowing Namco references to the company's gaming history, which for some will instil a fuzzy warm feeling of nostalgic bliss (though others might just think of it as blatant, shameful self abuse on Namco's part).

In small doses Ridge Racer 6 can be very enjoyable, but extended periods of play will undo this enjoyment. The gameplay, whilst fun, is very shallow (even for an arcade racer, these days), and there is so much content here - races, challenges, worthwhile Xbox Achievements - that if play sessions aren't metered there's a real danger of boredom creeping in. Little and often is the way to go.