Originally Posted by john tv
Some impressions from a long-time Ridge fan:
1. As Kelly mentioned right from the top, the drift mechanics are way simplified in this game, to the point that there's really almost no skill required to drift successfully. I come from the old-school Ridge camp, so I much prefer the drifting from 1/2/RRR to the later games, but this is too much. There's very little risk/reward factor here, as you can basically drift your way out of almost any predicament -- even at top-speed around a hairpin turn in automatic transmission, you can get out of danger with ease. I'm glad they made it simpler so noobs could have fun too, but they should've at least left the option to play with the old-style handling so us pros could enjoy it too.
That said, I'm still having a hell of a lot of fun. I just wish it was a bit more challenging. I don't want to get rusty. :)
2. The soundtrack sucks. It's arguably the worst in the entire Ridge series... lots of lifeless, repetitive beats with very little energy or passion. The remedy? Do what I did and put the Ridge Racer 2 Arcade soundtrack on instead, and prepare to feel the adrenaline flow as you 360 in mid-air off a huge-ass jump. Muuuuuuch better.
3. Online play has been very encouraging so far. Half the time I was playing there was nobody online (probably since the 360 isn't out here in Japan yet), but when I did find matches, the competition was surprisingly courteous and easygoing (must've been Brits, hehe), and there was no lag whatsoever. The downside to online play is you have to turn off PC sharing to avoid a nasty lag bug, which means if you stream your music from your PC, you won't be able to use custom soundtracks while racing online. I hope Namco releases a bug fix for this ASAP, because as I said earlier, the in-game soundtrack sucks.
4. There is an ASSLOAD of content here for Ridge fans. The World Xplorer mode alone takes ages to fully complete, but then there's the challenge of doing all the Solo Battle races in every class without using nitrous and without getting into any collisions. HARDCORE. Just the way it should be. This is a big redeeming factor for me, and helps me forget about the fact that even my grandmother could pull off a 360 with the drifting in this version.
All in all, I'm pretty happy so far. It ain't perfect, but for a launch game it beats the piss out of Ridge Racer V, and gives me hope that the series will continue on, free of the near-fatal effects that R: Racing Evolution brought.
BTW, does anyone else imagine Hulk Hogan's voice whenever they read isamu's posts?
