Ridge Racer 6 Xbox 360 Review

"No you are not imagining things. One of Sony's most well-known series by Namco, Ridge Racer has landed on the Xbox 360! Now I know deep down inside Bill must be laughing at the fact that Namco's arcade racer is now on the 360 and you know what he has a right too. I used to hate seeing PS2 exclusive even though I enjoyed many of their games. So I think it's sort of funny that old Bill pulled this off. Now for fans that love Ridge Racer, you know what to expect: insane drifting, the strange Japanese girl who is in love with you, and of course the announcer. Nothing has changed and I am just fine with that in the end. It's a supped up version that plays on the fact that it's on the 360 at several points in the game.

Now instead of ruining anything let me just say I have seen and heard a few things about this game. Having logged in many hours of game time both offline and online, the game is great if you are a fan of the series. You will see the use of the 360's graphical abilities put to use and the replays are stunning but keep in mind the game is pure arcade racing. With insanely fast cars and techno tracks, how does it stack up against the other racing games out for the 360? Read the full Ridge Racer 6 review and see.

Gameplay

For any fan that grew up playing Ridge Racer, you are going to notice while the basic formula has not changed, there are a few changes as far as how you play through this version. In the single player mode known as the World Xplorer you will have several paths to take to get to the end. Along the way there are a few different races; for example, the regular free for all where you earn nitro bottles by drifting and let loose with them like crazy though some insanely tight courses. Then there is the reverse nitro races where you start with 2 bursts of nitro and need to fill the meter up or lose them and they won't fill up unless you are using nitro. Last is the no nitro allowed races which is a little different for fans but offers a real challenge. The map is huge and you can pick to go straight by the numbers and go in order, or mix it up. The map is like a grid and you want to make it to the bonus areas, there is also a red marker in every area. By completing each race in first place and winning every one, you will block off the area. This unlocks a special and usually means a new car." [more]