Ridge Racer 7

"Decent game, but not brilliant!"

I got this game free with my PS3 60Gb deal, along with another game. I like sport games, and driving games do also take my fancy. I thought it would be quite good, looked quite similar to burnout, which it is, but not really anywhere near the standard.
When you first play it, it starts with a cool arcade game, which is a bit different. Then the top menu, is a bit arcadey, but what more can you expect. It is an easy layout and easy to control menu.

I shall firstly begin with the graphics. I am using a HDTV, which of course, shows brilliant graphics, which it does. It is quite detailed, especially when you are going fast in a dark tunnel, the lights fade infront, and the boost makes it a bit harder to see, but not to hard. The overall scenarey does look quite good and realistic too.

Next is the handling, of course it is not going to be your average driving game, it is all about sliding and skidding. Which at first, is quite hard to get used to, but eventually like most things, you get the hang of it. Sometimes if you over turn, then it can be a job to try and get it back on the straight.

You can do many things such as play against a friend without needing to go online, which is good. Time trials, do a career where you race and try to earn more points to get better and better cars. Also the story mode isn't excatly short, so is good.

The sound can be a bit cheesy, but once again, it is a arcade game. It all adds to the affect of the experience, hearing electronic up tempo music and American voices, saying phrases such as "Good job!"

My personal opinion is, if you like this kind of game, just wait for Burnout Paradise. It is a decent game, especially as I got it for free. But to be honest, I would never go out of my way and spend anything more than £25 on this game. It is only worth having if you are bored and have a friend over, you can have a quick race against eachother.

Not for real driving game people, Formula One/Grand Turismo would be more your kind of game. Not these games such as Need for speed/Burnout/Ridge Racer.

My final verdict is a high 6/10.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/08

Game Release: Ridge Racer 7 (EU, 03/23/07)