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I
opened the box to this game with some trepidation, I had heard very mixed
reviews of this game. Most of the PSX magazines seemed to agree that it was a
great game but not much better than the original Ridge Racer. I own the
original, it was the very fist PlayStation game that I bought all those months
ago when the machine was first launched and so I was wondering if I had just
wasted my money on a "one-week-wonder"
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To
those of you who missed out on the original Ridge Racer game, the concept is
pretty basic. You can select any of the three tracks available, each one longer
and more difficult to complete than the previous one. You can compete against
12 computer controlled cars in a normal race , two cars in the time trial mode
or just against yourself in the free track mode.
The aim of the game
is to get to each one of the checkpoints before your time runs out and to finish
the race in pole position
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The
quality of the graphics is almost arcade perfect, there are still a few minor
glitches in them every now and again, but not to the degree of the original
game. To be honest when you are flying around the tracks at light-speed you
don't even notice them.
In addition there are four race speeds ranging
from an exiting 160 MPH sprint, to a brain busting 250 MPH ride of a lifetime!
It is here where the game has been improved so much over the original,
the speed at which the game now runs is amazing, at the higher speeds you could
be tricked into thinking that you are actually racing for real! The adrenaline
rush that it creates just has to be experienced.
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The
sound is similar to that of the original, 12 music tracks are available for
selection during the race, some are remixes of the original tunes and all are of
a high standard. More in game samples have been added, allowing the commentator
to be even more sarcastic about your driving skills, or lack of them. As in the
original, when you get tired of the music provided you can swap the game disk
for one of your own music CD`s and listen to your own selection of music while
racing, a really neat touch.
The Options screen is plentiful, allowing
you to set up the music and F.X levels, play all of the samples within the game
and choose the controller keys that are most suited to your taste.
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The
playability of this game is massive, I would go as far as to say that it is more
playable than the arcade equivalent.
The Artificial Intelligence of the
new cars has been greatly improved and on the higher skill levels they will
block your attacks and dart from right to left to get past you. New cars have
been added and there is a secret mode that unlocks some special buggies for you
to race in.
The memory card can be used to save various scores.
When
you have completed all of the tracks a short demo/credits sequence plays and
Extra tracks are made available for you to play. These are nothing more than the
original tracks, but raced backwards. Don't let this put you off, they provide a
real new challenge for you especially as the qualifying times between the
various checkpoints become shorter.
In addition the various game
speeds also provide longevity to the game, each time you select a new speed all
of the breaking, accelerating and skidding points around the track are changed
and thus have to be re-learned. This means that the number of different
combinations that are possible within the game are staggering, this will mean
that you will play the game for longer.
This game has ONE FEATURE
buried within its surface that makes it a MUST BUY game....... THE TWO PLAYER
LINKUP MODE. If you have always wanted to own an arcade racing machine and
have a friend who also enjoys racing games, providing they also own a
PlayStation, your prayers have just been answered. I don't know whether
NAMCO realise this but you only need ONE COPY OF THE GAME to play the
head-to-head linkup mode and what a fantastic addition to the game this is.
There is no greater feeling than passing your mate just before the finish line
after an awesome overtaking manoeuvre on the last corner of the track. You will
find yourselves shouting abuse at each other as you block each other, smash into
each other and overtake each other. The mirror provided in the in-car view
allows you to smash your opponents into the wall as they try to sneak past you.
To get around the problem of two players with different skill levels playing the
game together, NAMCO have included a catch-up mode which if selected allows the
car behind to go faster than the one in front so that someone who is still
learning the track can still race against an expert. As an added bonus the
original three RIDGE RACER tracks have been put on the disk and can be raced in
the linkup mode with the newly added speed of this game.
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FINALLY
ARCADE RACING AVAILABLE ON A HOME SYSTEM. Move over Wipeout and Need for Speed a
new king is born ! It shows off the power and ability of the Playstation to the
Max.! Loads of different racing options will extend the life-span of the game!
Two PlayStations can be linked together using only ONE COPY OF THE GAME! If you
intend to utilise the two player LINKUP mode, then don't waste any more time GO
AND BUY THIS GAME NOW!!
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JIM |
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GRAPHICS: |
Brilliant |
If
you've bought this game and have never played it in LINKUP mode then you have
wasted your cash. Whenever we all get together its the first game to go on the
machine, we can get two machines to play from one copy of the game and Sony
should be congratulated for this feature/bug in the game. The challenge to hold
the lap record between my friends is INTENSE. Just when I thought that I had
driven the perfect lap and got the best possible time, my brother goes and
knocks over a second off it and its back to the drawing board again. I have
definately had my moneys worth from this game in the linkup mode alone. |
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SOUND: |
Good |
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PLAYABILITY: |
Brilliant |
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VALUE: |
Good |
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OVERALL
9/10 |
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MARTIN |
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GRAPHICS: |
Good |
I
am still playing the game for at least an hour most nights, It took a couple of
days to complete all of the tracks and to be honest the only one that presented
a major challenge was the 3rd EXTRA track, but that doesn't matter at all, I
still love the game, the FEEL of the car is absolutely SUPERB. Its the closest
I've come to playing an arcade machine at home. THE MORE I PLAY IT, THE MORE I
LOVE IT |
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SOUND: |
Brilliant |
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PLAYABILITY: |
Brilliant |
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VALUE: |
Good |
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OVERALL
8.5/10 |
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