Nintengod
11-20-2007, 12:39 AM
Ridge Racer - Playstation 1 (Released 1995)
Sony and Playstation used to be cool. Way back....a long long time ago! The Playstation 1 was launched 12 years ago in Europe, and everyone thought it was incredible. Arcade style 3D graphics, games running on CD's, and all on this beautiful grey machine by a company we usually associated with camcorders and walkmans.
The Playstation 1 was lucky to have some fabulous arcade launch titles. Sure, the games lacked depth, but they were definite 3D showcases, and real system sellers. These included : Battle Arena Toshiden, Twisted Metal and.....Riiiiidgeeeeee Racerrrrrr! Yes, this was a brilliant arcade conversion of the arcade driving game we all thought could only be played on in arcade halls (remember them?) This was the dawn of the 32-Bit console era, and the beginning of a Sony brand that would dominate the market for 10 years.
The game was simple, shallow really. You had one main track, with a few variations and extra corners of that track. You had a pick of 4 cars, although more were added if you defeated all the monsters in the loading game "Galaxian", and you just raced around a beach-side circuit trying to win the race or get the fastest lap. The game (along with Playstation) brought gaming into the mainstream though, and we thank Namco and Sony for assisting with that.
Despite it being simple and shallow, it was great fun and addictive. Getting the fastest lap, and power drifting was time consuming, and it was an art form. Minor quibbles though would be a slow PAL conversion (typical for the time though), and the fact that Namco kindly created a 60 FPS, hi-res version of Ridge Racer and released it as a freebie with a later PS1 Ridge Racer game "Ridge Racer Type 4" - thus making this version effectively redundant. However, if you own a copy, dig it out and have another go, OR go buy it's hi-res brother! The score below reflects the impact the game made for its time.
Score : 8/10
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Ridge_Racer_Coverart.png
http://www.utahsaint.com/wp-content/ridge_racer.jpg
http://www.gamese****ch.com/rr.png
Sony and Playstation used to be cool. Way back....a long long time ago! The Playstation 1 was launched 12 years ago in Europe, and everyone thought it was incredible. Arcade style 3D graphics, games running on CD's, and all on this beautiful grey machine by a company we usually associated with camcorders and walkmans.
The Playstation 1 was lucky to have some fabulous arcade launch titles. Sure, the games lacked depth, but they were definite 3D showcases, and real system sellers. These included : Battle Arena Toshiden, Twisted Metal and.....Riiiiidgeeeeee Racerrrrrr! Yes, this was a brilliant arcade conversion of the arcade driving game we all thought could only be played on in arcade halls (remember them?) This was the dawn of the 32-Bit console era, and the beginning of a Sony brand that would dominate the market for 10 years.
The game was simple, shallow really. You had one main track, with a few variations and extra corners of that track. You had a pick of 4 cars, although more were added if you defeated all the monsters in the loading game "Galaxian", and you just raced around a beach-side circuit trying to win the race or get the fastest lap. The game (along with Playstation) brought gaming into the mainstream though, and we thank Namco and Sony for assisting with that.
Despite it being simple and shallow, it was great fun and addictive. Getting the fastest lap, and power drifting was time consuming, and it was an art form. Minor quibbles though would be a slow PAL conversion (typical for the time though), and the fact that Namco kindly created a 60 FPS, hi-res version of Ridge Racer and released it as a freebie with a later PS1 Ridge Racer game "Ridge Racer Type 4" - thus making this version effectively redundant. However, if you own a copy, dig it out and have another go, OR go buy it's hi-res brother! The score below reflects the impact the game made for its time.
Score : 8/10
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Ridge_Racer_Coverart.png
http://www.utahsaint.com/wp-content/ridge_racer.jpg
http://www.gamese****ch.com/rr.png