Title Ridge Racer 7 Date 12.30.2006 Genre Racing Platform PlayStation 3 Developer Namco Bandai Publisher Namco Bandai

Well here is a title that got a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons. Ridge Racer, all jokes aside, is one of the best series in all of gaming, I mean, they have to be good to have seven of them. With this being the first attempt on the new shiny PlayStation 3, and a lot of people focused more so on Gran Turismo 4, this game will get overlooked by a lot of people. However, I am here to tell you if you have a PlayStation 3, definitely look into adding this title to your collection.

Graphics
It looks great, great textures and awesome sense of speed, shiny cars and all that, but it doesn't look AMAZING. The cars all look futuristic, and aren't even called cars, but "machines." You'll notice some choppy textures here and there, but the sense of speed is overwhelming and hard to ignore. The game doesn't look much better than Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox 360, and only a higher resolution is the only real difference.

Gameplay
The gameplay is what you expect from a Ridge Racer title. It will frustrate you at times, but makes you feel as though you've accomplished something. Ridge Racer is one of those titles that just feels right with a PlayStation controller, and that is yet again the case here (why I chose it over the 360 version). Drifting is still a huge part, though that is where I find fault in the game. When drifting is doesn't feel at all like you're doing anything, the car almost feels like it's a box sliding sideways then it resets itself without the player doing anything after it gets through the turn. It's not enough to make me angry, it's just a minor thing that prevents this game from being as great as it can be.

The gameplay is damn good. If you're a fan of the Ridge Racer series you'll love this game with it's added car customization, and slip streaming add much more depth to this game. The framerate is perfect and you have an AMAZING sense of speed and power when playing this game. Fans of the series will know just how to win, but there is a learning curve to this game if you haven’t played a Ridge Racer game before. You won’t know how to win, because to win you have to nearly crash into walls slamming through your drifts. It's a fun game, and the gameplay really shines. It only got downgraded because the tracks are all the SAME. They're all pretty much from Ridge Racer 6, which was very disappointing for me.

All together, this is probably the second best title on the PS3 launch. Ridge Racer has been consistently great for years and this is just more proof of that fact. With all the unlockables and all the races, a player will easily put a ton of time in here to unlock everything. And as I said in the title, if you enjoy any sort of racing game and own a PS3, this is probably the best title on the market currently. The only reason it's a 9 and not a ten is minor details. They're very minor, but they're noticeable to any gamer. All that aside, this and Resistance are the two best PS3 games out there.

Sound
There's nothing amazing here, but there are no complaints either. Good soundtrack, good sounds, good everything, just not great. The announcer lady sounds lame, and the tracks have the same techno you should be familiar with if you've played before.

Replay
Oh yeah, this game has such awesome online play, 14 player matches with a unique team system, it's all very nice and this game definitely has the longevity with this added feature.

Buy, Rent, or Pass?
Get it; it's the first racer on the PS3, and definitely worth it to fans of the series. If you're not a fan, watch a gameplay movie or find somewhere to try it first, but it is actually an extremely well put together game, and doesn't feel rushed like other PS3 launch games.

Game Score

B+

Reviewed By: Contributed