Ridge Racer 64

"Just as fun as driving drunk"

Namco has not been friendly to the N64 crowd; All their attention's been centered on the PlayStation. Why did I even bring up the PSX? Simple: One of the first games that Pac-Company released for that system was Ridge Racer. Barring about a half hour's worth of play at a video store display of the original PSX version, I have no prior experience with the franchise.

As an impulse rental-- as well as a Ridge Racer virgin-- I did not know what to expect. I was uncertain of what would happen after popping it into my 64... besides another racing game, as this was my third N64 racing game rental in a row.

Of course, this is a racing game. Why not have vehicles? Immediately available are three, meaning you need to earn more. It's curious these cars have vanity written all over them. Namco's got a plethora of racing teams suppoting this grand prix, sponsored my such teams as Blue Mappy, Xevious Red, Pac Racing, and RT Bosconian.... Hmmm.... Methinks that Namco's gloating a trifle too much. In spite of their ''product placement'', they are all nicely detailed... including artwork. (Yeh... I can imagine ''Team Soul Calibur'' and ''Tekken GT Group'' in the near future).

Vehicles being placed aside, the game's visuals are crisp-- including the tracks. I've only seen three of the courses (oceanside, a forest, and a desert town)-- they're pretty. Light sourcing sweetens the cars' details (and trophies, which must be earned) on the showroom floor-- sweetness. Night racing is even a better way to experience the lights-- they have a ghosting effect; Cool is the best way to describe it, as there is no other term that ever came to mind.

RR64's music is a very good example of how the N64 touted its capability of churning out ''CD-quality sound'' on the system's box, thanks in part to some good instruments. Only three tracks stick out in my mind: ''Ridge Racer Roots'' has a catchy, thumpin' beat appropriate for a game like this. ''Manual Override'' is a near-perfect compliment to night racing, which belongs on one of those new-age radio stations. But, of all the music, ''Gunn Runner'' is simply inappropriate; It's best suited to be played during an episode of George of the Jungle (or a Sonic game), but a racing game devoid of a jungle course? Sorry, but I say no.

When first turning on the system with cart in tow, you're treated to a very nicely crafted intro sequence. It mixes the thrill of the Indy 500 and the silhouetted female figure of a James Bond-type film (whomever she is modelled after has been done justice) into one tantalizing package. Don't fall for it. RR64's intro actually gives the itself a much more intense feeling than what it is: A disappointment in several ways, poor in others. Unfortunately, Namco didn't develop this title itself. Nintendo did, and that's a potentially valid explanation why.

(Before you go flying off the handle about this, I am not biased against Nintendo in any way, but I would've rather had Namco do this. In honesty, I feel Nintendo has been producing and manufacturing mediocre games as of late.)

From the starting gate, something's wrong. From the first shout of ''GO!'', something is wrong. Jumping from the last of twelve to even 11th was nigh impossible, with my car left in the dust of the drones as they all went zippin' ahead of me. I tried gassing immediately before hearing ''GO!'', and upshifting (manually), even tried getting a boost with an automatic-- both attempts, futile. When the announcer says it's engine trouble, I definitely agree. (And this is supposed to be arcade racing?)

Further in, you're gonna have to pull off some tricky turns. The game's slippery controls only worsens these tricky curves. Even with three available options for turning and drifitng, none of them are my bag. How do these turning mechanics differ? Under the Classic setting is easily the most realistic: You'll keep spinning out if you don't get back to the correct gear and means that you need to correct often. (If not, there will be plenty of spinouts in your future.) Option #2, Ridge Racer Revolution, is, as the name suggests-- revolting: Perfect steering capabilities for powersliding... on zero-radius hairpins; Otherwise, you're racing bumper cars while driving drunk-- more dangerous than actually being on the road. RR64 is the most forgiving of the three, combining Classic and Revolution. Regardless, but handling is still like trying to drive on ice.

Even with the drifting, steering is suspect. Using the thumb stick, cornering is moderately tight-- how I like it; With the arrow pad, loose change will oft rattle around on the dashboard. Conversly proportionate to their sensitivity, sliding around corners proficiently is a bit easier with the arrow pad (odd). Either way, I still found myself banging ample walls within a race, if not just swerving out of control; I did manage to handle a majority, but I still would rather have tighter grip of the road.

Physics are just as poor and inconsistent. And, yet again, there is more than one way to go-- Revolution and RR64. RR64 offers collisions that benefit the further car, à la Joust, Revolution's physics are a tad more believeable. They're inconsistent in some areas. Case in point with RR64 rules in effect: The enemy gets bumped further ahead, you slow down; You get rear-ended by an enemy, they get pushed pack. ''Bumper cars'', as another reviewer said, describe the physics perfectly and are fine... only for bumper cars, and definitely not for a road racing game. Hitting the shoulders of the road head-on results in getting bumped back on the right path at least half of the time.

Another harsh experience came when I just coasted through another car during a slide. Yep. Nothing like sliding through another racer with nary a scartch anywhere. The fact that it can happen is wrong. Obviously, this is a bug.

Here's the real kicker: Like in an arcade, there is a countdown present. It's really unnecessary in a home version. It's no problem, unless I come near the finish line when the countdown hits 0.00, only 50ft. away, stopping on a dime-- I loathe this ''feature'' much; It pisses me off even further when driving at over 120mph, only that same 50ft. away, knowing that I should be rolling to a stop (as in San Fran Rush); Nobody should ever dare slam on my brakes to prevent me from crossing the finish line, especially when I know I should finish the race. I should correct that: The game's countdown is extremely unwelcome.

The challenge, otherwise, is there. The enemies race aggressively, as they should, and I never experienced a set pattern from these racers; They manage to keep their car from colliding most of the time. They will out ahead of you mysteriously zooming past you at a speed roughly 25mph faster than you are.

Catching up to the lead car is not easy... unless you manage to perform a run to near perfection; It's definitely gonna take a while. Masochism is a characteristic you need, as only finishing in first place of the twelve-car grid will get you anywhere-- top-three or top-five finishes are no-nos. After winning a few races, not only do you get the chance to win new cars (by racing against them) and open new routes of the same tracks, you also get to hear the announcer's joyous yells, which made me interrogate myself, thinking, ''Did they get Homer Simpson to do this?'' RR64's announcer's joyous scream does sound a bit too similar, as well as being repetitive and over-excited. Excitement can be a good thing, but this guy was spreading on the cheese-- that's how excitable this guy was.

Even after winning (this was in impulse rental) I felt like I was playing a loser game. I know it's supposed to be an arcade racer, but arcade racing's been done better. There were two general opinions that I though of this game during the rental period: One was ''mediocre'', the other being ''crappy''; ''Crappy'' ultimately won out, due to inconsistent physics, and that my overall experience was not a pleasurable one. In short, Ridge Racer 64 receives the red flag. Steer clear of this one.

MY SCORE: 4.5

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/05/01, Updated 10/26/01