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Best Racing Game for PSP so far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 29 / 32
Date: April 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Currently, there are only 3 racing games available for PSP, and Ridge Racer is definitely the best of the three. You should be able to pick it up and learn the basic mechanics of the game fairly quickly. Most of the courses (of which there are many) are designed so that you are supposed to drift, rather than brake, through the turns. Drifting also builds up your nitrous so you can get boosts later on.

My only complaint is that the game gets pretty difficult. It seems that a cheap tactic was used to make the game more difficult. You see, it is fairly easy to drive the courses faster than all of the other racers. Unfortunately, this does not always mean you win. You will start out in last place out of 12 cars every single time. The lead car will start out with about a 20 second lead and you have three laps to catch up. So it's not like you can ever get a good start and jump into first place and just worry about holding onto the lead for the rest of the race. You are chasing another car almost the entire race. What gets frustrating is that you will often finish a few seconds behind the first place car and realize that you technically finished the race faster than he did, but you still lost the race.

I guess I learned to get over that annoying detail since the game itself was just incredible. Until Gran Turismo 4 comes out (and maybe even after, who knows?), this is the best racing game on the PSP.

Fun But Overrated

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 28 / 32
Date: May 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is pretty fun. The game modes include time trial, arcade race, world circuit, and multiplayer mode. You can choose from three cars (in beginner circuit) and up to seven cars to race from in the more advanced circuits. This may be a fun game, but the fun doesn't last long.

You race other drivers to unlock new things. But that is about the only objective. Also, beating the races are very easy. The only hard part about this game might be learning how to drift, turn, and powerslide, but that only takes about five minutes to learn.

Also, the races are barely any fun. You start out in last place and the car in front of you is always like 30 seconds ahead. There's no qualifying or practice, you always start last.

Also, gaining nitrous is hard and doesn't help much. You gain the nitrous by powersliding (which slows you down), and you only gain about 1/5 - 1/4 of a tank (depending on the turn and speed) After you get it, it lasts for about 5 seconds and you gain a little bit of speed, but then after that, you go back to the speed you were at before you ignited the nitrous.

And the last thing I have to say about this game that it is overrated. All the reviews I've seen say this is an awesome PSP launch game, but to me it an okay game. I would recommend buying Need For Speed Underground Rivals instead of this. But some people seem to love this game so I would recommend renting this game first at gamefly.com (that's what I did and I'm glad I did it because I didn't like it very much). (Please refer to me at gamefly.com).

Great fun and amazing graphics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: August 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is just plain amazing in terms of graphical power for a handheld-device game. Plus, it plays well. I am not a huge fan of racing games on consoles or PCs (unless they are true similations), but this game is very entertaining. You can also play it in short bursts, a race or two at a time, which makes this game ideal for a handheld.

Unless you completely hate the idea of owning a racing game, you probably want to get this one.

Stunned

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 32
Date: April 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've only played one other title on the PSP so far, Wipeout Pure and I must say I was initially impressed with what this little handheld device can do. Today, I loaded up Ridge Racer and I have to say there is no comparison.

The first thing I notice is the music. It's adrenaline pumping music which goes hand-in-hand with the unbelievable graphics. There are at least 6 or 7 different music "discs" to listen to, each with around 7 or 8 songs.

Once the game got going, I played the first track Seaside Route 765 over and over again until I got through it. I quickly went on to the second and third routes and then on to other world tours. It's thrilling to find yourself in first place in a race and I'm compelled to keep competing to see what other tracks are like. I'm enjoying this game so much, I must say I hope it takes me a while to get through all the tracks. It's also great trying out different cars and getting to know their unique handling style.

After the race, you can watch an instant replay from the perspective of a television camera following all the action. The cars are about as close to photo-realistic as any graphics I've seen in a video game. The city-scapes and rural scenery alike are absolutely beautiful, although not quite like a photograph. I think this adds to the appeal.

Also, the game that is available when you first load Ridge Racers was a nice touch. I remember playing that as a stand-up arcade game and although quite a different experience from Ridge Racer itself, it's a fun little diversion.

I want to see who will come out with a better title than Ridge Racers on the PSP.

Got PSP? Get Ridge Racer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you have a PSP then this is one of the few games from the current crop that are worth buying. The graphics are decent (better than DS graphics) and the gameplay is smooth unlike the DS version.

The game is pretty easy to slide into and as your comfort zone increases, the difficulty also increases...after about 5 hours you will be winning races still BUT some of them will be down to the last 100 meters...Nitrous usage will make or break your race...

The hardest part of this game is avoiding opponents while making turns...they get in the way, slow you down and the bump gives them a boost...AVOID them!

What will win a race for you is effective management of nitrous and the ability to fill up those bottles quickly without losing straight line speed...

GREAT game!

Power sliding to a winner

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Namco has put together the ultimate Ridge Racer compilation for PSP owners.

GAMEPLAY:
Ridge Racer games have always been about driving fast and power sliding around turns. Ridge Racer for the PSP is no different. Essentially a compilation of Ridge Racers past, it's an excellent choice for long-time fans of the series and newcomers. The meat of the gameplay comes in the World Tour mode. This mode is divided up into several tours in different classes. As you progress you unlock faster cars, more tracks, etc. There's also the requisite single race and time challenge modes, as well as a create your own tour mode in which you can select tracks into your own compilation. The controls respond well, and the cars feel fine, though you'll generally feel more comfortable with one drift type (out of 3 standard) over another. The sense of speed in the game is pretty good, especially when you hit the nitrous, which you build by power sliding.

GRAPHICS:
Ridge Racer flat out looks sexy. The cars are modeled well, the landscapes on the tracks are populated with birds, airplanes and on my favorite track visually, a lit up ferris wheel. Considering that this is a first generation PSP game, it truly looks fantastic. There is a bit of jagginess on the cars themselves, but it's not distracting once you get going. After a couple generations of games, it will probably look merely average, but for now there isn't much that looks better on the PSP.

SOUND:
With lots of new tunes and a good selection of classic RR tunes, there's something for everyone to listen to while tearing down the streets of Ridge Racer. The cars themselves all have nice engine sounds, and the sound of your tires squeeling around a turn will quickly become music to your ears.

OVERALL:
Namco obviously put a lot of effort into making this a great game for fans of Ridge Racer as well as newcomers. Everything in the game shows quality. The only real complaint I have is that the races tend to get tedious as you progress through the world tour. Once you get to the EX and Special classes, you start to wish you could get through them a bit faster. The game probably could have benefited from a couple more modes or race types to mix things up a bit. Still, it's an easily recommendable game for PSP owners.

Fun and not too hard either

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you want a safe bet for fun, buy this game. It's not just great looking but it's really fun too, especially the World Tour with its ability to unlock tracks and cars.

At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle the complexity of the racing cars but it's actually quite easy and there's no complexity at all. To win you have to learn to "drift" which is what I would call "skid" around corners. In fact, for the Pro Tour races which open up as you progress through the World Tour, skidding is essential because the more you skid, the more Nitrous Oxide will fill your tanks for that important boost. Yeah, I'm not sure how that works either, but that's the way the game plays! To effectively skid around the corner just lift your finger off the gas for half a second before you hit the turn and then hold on for dear life as you scream through it sideways!

The game gives you different classes of cars and there are 3 cars in each class. Although they look different and have different makes and colors, they all have the same top speed and differ only in how much they skid, from low to high. I found the "Mild" car the easiest but if you're insane choose the "Dynamic" car and watch yourself slip and slide all over the place.

If you win a round on the tour, you'll get a new car, delivered to you and some new tracks will be opened up for both the tour and the time attack or single race modes. As the tours progress they will become harder and faster. I've just finished all the Basic tours and I'm onto the Pro ones and they certainly seem to be a much bigger challenge. I came 1st in almost every basic race but got mashed by the Pros, mainly because I was trying to skid on almost every corner to get some Nitrous!

In addition to the World Tour, you can race any of the tracks you've opened up with any of the cars you've opened up, either just for practice/fun or in a time attack mode. Time attack is just you against the track: try to get around as fast as you can. If you want it'll show a ghost car - a phantom car that mimics how you drove that track last time.

For me, having the World Tour provides a structure to this game that I find very appealing. It's a challenge and it enables you to learn gradually how to race without dropping you into the deep end. The game's graphics are awesome, and the running commentary from your co-driver(?) is highly appropriate and funny, although he's been wrong a few times when he says "You're in 2nd place!" when I've actually just clinched 1st - must be a timing issue.

There a lot of nice touches in this game: the attractive menus, professional voice overs and even a mini game of what looks like the 80's version of Ridge Racer. This comes up during game loading and contrasts nicely with the mind-blowing 3D reality of PSP Ridge Racer. There's also a gratuitous introduction video that features a disturbingly cute computer generated Japanese woman who seems to be timing a race with a stopwatch, who then lies on a car, dreams for a bit and then realizes she's forgotton to stop the stopwatch. This might mean more to those of you who have seen her before but it didn't mean much to me! Fun intro though!

Over all, well worth the money. I only hope that other PSP games will be able to match the production values found in Ridge Racer, which are at or close to 100%.

A little warning

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: May 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I rate how much I like video games by how much I enjoy it and by how long it takes to win. Ridge Racer is addicting, and I spent plenty of time on it, but found that I'd unlocked all the tours in less than five days. It's hard to win all the tours, though, so that might keep me occupied for a while. Still, many would find it discouraging to go around the same track over and over and over. If you can rent it or borrow it from a friend, do so. If you can only buy it, go for it, but be ready to want to trade it in after a few weeks.

The Perfect Racer for the Perfect Handheld

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 28
Date: March 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ridge Racer was the first game I ever played on the original PlayStation. I spent hours upon hours playing it. I figured, just for nostalgia's sake, I'd pick up Ridge Racer while buying Sony's new PSP, see if the magic remained.

Yeah....almost everything about this game is perfect. Impressive graphics. Responsive and intuitive controls. At first I was worried about playing a driving sim with the PSP's tiny analog stick, but it works wonderfully. Great music.

I was also worried about playing a driving sim on such a small screen. How would I be able to pick up on visual cues that a sharp turn was imminent? Somehow, the game designers throw in enough visual cues, almost subliminally.

Ridge Racer for the PSP borrows liberally from previous iterations like Rave Racer, etc... Just about every track looked familiar to me, every piece of music, too. I didn't recognize all of the content, but enough to realize that not everything here is new.

So far, I've purchased Wipeout Pure, Ridge Racer and Lumines for the PSP. Ridge Racer has gotten about 90% of the attention. If you get the PSP, get Ridge Racer, if only just to show off what your new PSP can do.

Stunning

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: May 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I made an impulsive decision yesterday by buying the PSP. Just in case you didn't know, I'm from Singapore, and Sony only officially launched the"ultimate portable gaming console" at this part of the world yesterday. I walked past the shop, took a look at the demo, and took out my credit card.

Going home together with me is the inaugural title for the PSP, the racing classic Ridge Racer. I've played the game on my wife's colleague's parallel-imported PSP some months ago, and was pretty impressed by the look of things. But it was only when I had the time to finally take on the game on a more prolonged duration, that I fully appreciate the beauty of it. And it is, as I mentioned, just beautiful.

The thing that immediately captures your attention is obviously the graphics. Fantastic is an understatement when it comes to how good Ridge Racer looks. Even when you're primarily focused on the road while racing, you can't help but notice the amazingly detailed background. For one, your races will take you thought different hours of the day, which means you'll come across the brightness of the day, as well as the cosiness of sunset. During different courses, you may also notice an airplane flying above you; or see yourself driving past an awe-inspiring lake; or a crowd of spectators cheering you on... you get the idea.

The graphics also put a lot of emphasis on speed. So when you're bursting down the road at 240km/h in a tunnel, you'll find the background fading away in a blur to create a sense of speed. The best part, however, is that the frame rate never seems to skip a beat despite the extensive graphics. Having the screen freezing for moments while I go side-by-side with a rival car in other racing games (such as Burnout) on the PS2 is definitely not a problem for the PSP and Ridge Racer.

You've a few options to approach the game, while single events like Single Race and Time Attack may be a good training ground for newbies, you'd expect to spend most of your time unlocking new tracks and cars in the World Tour mode. The earlier tours are relatively easy to pass, but from what I heard, it just get tougher as it goes, so expect to redo races a lot of times as you progress. Oh, and did I mention you can have a wireless racing session with your friends if they also own the PSP?

The controls are relatively standard. You've the X button for acceleration, and Square Button for brakes. If you're using the manual gear, the Triangle button shifts a gear up, and the Circle Button shifts a gear down. The "L" button switches between first and third person view, and the "R" button activates the nitro you earn while doing power drifts during corners. Oh, and you also control the direction using the D-Pad, but I'm sure you already know that. The controls make reduce the need for any tedious learning curve, and make sure that you can start right away to do the thing that you bought the game. That is, to play!

Now, the next big thing for this game. The audios. If you're played earlier renditions of Ridge Racer, you should have knowledge of how cool the soundtrack, er, sounds. You get some rehashed tracks, as well as new tracks that really make it a joy to listen while you take on the competition. You'll also get to select from different playlists, so you're by no means stuck with what you don't like. An archive is also available for you to listen to remixes of old Ridge Racer tracks. Now, for the nostalgic fan, this is really a cool idea.

On the whole, Ridge Racer is a testament to how good a game can be on the PSP. If you're not a Ridge Racer fan, you may not enjoy it as much as those who're. Still, you can't deny that the graphics and audios in this game are worth another look. It's a pity that the sound couldn't do better, due to the limitations of the console itself. Listening to music on the PSP without earphones is like listening to a badly tuned FM receiver in my opinion, but then again, earphones are provided! Anyhow, I'd highly recommend Ridge Racer for fans of the racing genre, if only just to enjoy the beauty of the game's aesthetics.

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