Ridge Racer

"Ridge Racer is one of the greatest racing games on the PlayStation."

Ridge Racer launched with the first PlayStation back in 1995 and was responsible for selling a lot of systems on the launch day. Well, the years have gone by and a multitude of other racing games have come out. So does Ridge Racer still hold it's own? Absolutely. It's one of the greatest arcade racers ever made and is still worth playing.

Ridge Racer is all about arcade style racing where braking is highly overrated and speed is key. The game features a nifty technique called ''drifting.'' Instead of putting on the breaks while taking sharp turns, you use this driving skill to take curves at high speeds by putting your car in an angle and then straightening out your ride as you come out of the turn. This simple driving technique will be needed to master the game's fun race tracks.

When you first start up Ridge Racer, you'll notice that you only have four cars. Each car has its pros and cons. For example, the RT Ryuku has great handling but low acceleration, while the RT Yellow Solvalou does great on high speed but has rough handling. You're probably reading this and thinking ''Only four cars? That's a pretty small number.'' Don't be fooled. Ridge Racer has nine hidden cars for you to add to your garage. Despite the fact that Ridge Racer lacks real life cars, throwing these fantasy rides around the tracks is a blast.

Speaking of tracks, Ridge Racer features roads that are simply a joy to race on. You'll drive on tracks with huge bridges being supported by cables, beaches with palm trees, you'll even take your ride through a small town. But if you're looking to be blow away by Ridge Racer's graphics then you can forget it. This is a first generation PlayStation game and it shows. There's pop up and some bad collision detection, but what's here still looks decent. I personally grew too attached to this game to care that it's a first generation PlayStation game. Once you discover the fun to be had while playing Ridge Racer, the visuals will become second nature and if you're anything like me, you may even find them delightful.

Ridge Racer comes out a winner in the sound department as well. The game features catchy tunes with songs like ''Rare Hero,'' ''Speedster'' and even a song titled after the name of the game. You can listen to this music in Music Player option and you can even pick which of the six songs you'd like to hear before you race. Of course if you tire of the game's catchy songs, Ridge Racer sports a very cool feature: you can listen to you own music CDs while you race. It's too bad most racing games these days don't use this feature.

Ridge Racer, isn't big on depth. In fact, the diligent can beat the game within a day, but there's always the Extra mode and hidden cars to unlock to keep you busy. But don't be surprised if you still find yourself coming back for more even after you've finished the game and unlocked all the cars. Ridge Racer banks on simplicity but it's so fun to play that you may have a hard time putting it down. Personally, I love this game. It didn't take me long to beat, but I still play it when I could be working on unfinished games. Ridge Racer is one of my all-time favorite games and these are words coming from a gamer who wasn't there when the first PlayStation launched. I first played Ridge Racer in 2001 and I've fallen in love with it. Now that speaks volumes. If you can find a copy of Ridge Racer, be sure to pick it up. It's one of the greatest arcade racers ever made and one of the greatest games ever made.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/01, Updated 04/29/01