Ridge Racer 7 was a launch title for the PlayStation 3, much like how Ridge Racer 6 was a launch title for the XBOX 360. Both offer experiences with insights from the PSP Ridge Racer titles. This 2006 title exclusive to the PS3 would be a much different experience from the last Ridge Racer on the Sony consoles (I am not counting "R: Racing Evolution" as a traditional Ridge Racer title)- Ridge Racer V. This blog post takes a look at Ridge Racer 7.
LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S):
JUL 23 2017 - corrected some spelling errorsRidge Racer 7
Here is RR7:
^ from: www.amazon.com - Ridge Racer 7 basically picks up where XBOX 360-exclusive Ridge Racer 6 left off.
Ridge Racer 7 offers some different experiences while trying to maintain the classic Ridge Racer feel. For one thing, you can earn Credits good for buying cars and customizing cars. This is nothing new if you've played Rage Racer. What is completely new is being able to purchase cars and car parts to gain the edge in races. Unless you've played the Ridge Racer games on the Sony PlayStation Portable, you may be racing with nitrous boosts for the first time in a Ridge Racer game. The use of nitrous offers up unique strategies in races.
Your tour of duty around Ridge State will be a varied and frenzied one. Compared to other Ridge Racer titles, you will be racing in a more serious and more futuristic realm in Ridge Racer 7 than in most past Ridge Racer titles. You will find yourself racing on more natural terrain, industrial zones, and colorful city highways than in the past.
Vehicles.
The first thing to note about vehicles in this game is the drift types of each car. Standard drift cars are the easiest to drive and drift, Mild drift cars offer bolder drift dynamics while still being mostly docile, and Dynamic drift cars offer the wildest drifts and can be the toughest cars to maintain in drifts. You start out with Category 4 cars. You eventually will work your way to the highest class- Category 1. Once you obtain a vehicle, you can purchase upgrade packages to bring cars from a lower category to a higher one. Cars that can be purchased can cost either 200K or 250K Credits. Machines can otherwise be obtained through Manufacturer Trials. There are Complete Model cars that can be obtained once you earn 100 Manufacturer Points with one manufacturer. These Complete cars are fully-upgraded cars that can not be customized with aftermarket parts. All you can customize on these cars are the paint colors and add decals.Locations.
The tracks in Ridge Racer feature various races around Ridge State. Tracks are featured in a variety of different locales. Over 20 or so tracks can be raced on. These courses can also be raced in Reverse, bringing the course count to over 40 courses. So you will be quite busy and not feel like you are racing the same tracks over and over again. A few more courses can be unlocked through your progression through the Ridge State Grand Prix.Here is a look at the different courses in Ridge Racer 7:
• Rave City Riverfront - an exciting and challenging course through city tunnels in a downtown area.
• Industrial Drive - a moderate difficulty course in an industrial district.
• Lost Ruins - a challenging natural terrain course through ancient scenery.
• Harborline 765 - a fairly fast course with tricky corners.
• Old Central - a beautiful urban course utilizing Chinatown and features both a fountain and a big jump.
• Highland Cliffs - a course through parkland consisting of some tricky and decisive corners.
• Seacrest District - a rather short Monte Carlo inspired course with loads of old European scenery.
• Mist Falls - a fun and beautiful natural terrain setting delivering high speed action.
• Midtown Parkway - a fast urban course featuring a straight through narrow corridors a bit from the Start/Finish line.
• Aviator Loop - the game's shortest course that is great for high-speed battle.
• Shadow Caves - a simple, high-speed course with wide roads.
• Laketop Parkway - a beautiful natural terrain course utilizing parkland.
• Surfside Resort - a relatively medium-length course through European scenery in a coastal setting.
• Lakeshore Drive - a rather short natural terrain course utilizing parkland.
• Southbay Docks - a technical urban course that utilizes industrial sections and a seaport.
• Island Circle - a technical medium-length course with tricky corners.
• Bayside Freeway - a great high-speed battleground with one sharp hairpin.
• Airport Lap - a high-speed technical course utilizing an airport and airport roads.
• Downtown Rave City - an exciting, yet challenging course run through a downtown area.
• Sunset Heights - a tricky course with serious elevation changes through mountain roads.
• Crossbay Tunnel - a twisty and tricky course on city highway tunnels and features a corkscrew loop.
There are some extra courses that can be unlocked.
Tuning.
You can purchase parts for vehicles to aid in their performance. These parts encompass elements such as exterior parts, engine tuning, tires and suspension, and nitrous. There are official parts to pick up for cars, but the real advantage is when you unlock some of the non-official manufacturer parts. Trust me- the different parts can offer you the much-needed edge for most of the races. These tuning parts outside of the main manufacturers are almost basically required for a lot of the later races.Racing.
You have a whole bunch of races to take part in, both offline and online. The meat of the game is through running the Ridge State Grand Prix (RSGP), sanctioned by the Universal Federation of Ridge Racers Association (UFRA). This championship consists of 13 individual Grands Prix followed by one more Grand Prix. So you will be racing in 14 Grands Prix around Ridge State. Besides the official races are various other events. You can compete in Manufacturer races to earn more parts to upgrade cars or win new cars. There are UFRA Single Races with a wide variety of events to choose from. Some even have specific entry requirements. Cars that don't meet regulations can be tweaked to temporarily allow them to be within the race's regulations. You know your car will need to be adjusted for a certain event if you select a car and see a wrench icon as you select a car before a race.As for the races themselves, one thing you want to take advantage of is the nitrous. If you haven't played any of the PSP Ridge Racer games, the method for which you charge the nitrous through drifting. You can best get a charge going by drifing into tight corners and long corners. When you generate enough nitrous energy, you can unleash a nitrous boost to blast past your opposition. Your options are more interesting when you have an upgraded nitrous system. You can do a Single Nitrous boost or a Double Nitrous boost. If you have all three nitrous full, you can execute an Ultimate Nitrous. Using some of the nitrous systems outside of the manufacturer systems can allow you to try some unique tricks to using nitrous. For example, the Galaxian Nitrous system will allow you to modify the time needed to perform a single charge or an Ultimate Charge. So you will need to employ some strategy as you enter these races. You only make money when you win races or championships. While you don't have to win every race in a championship, you do need to score enough points to win the championship.
Without spoiling the game, be ready for some frustrating races once you clear the main Ridge State Grand Prix events. These are events called Extreme Battles. Many of these races are expert-level races that will really require you to make greater use of your tuning and more adept driving.
If you prefer doing racing away from the offline realm, you can compete in a variety of online competitions. I have no online racing experience in creating this post.
Race Types.
You will be doing a lot of racing in Ridge Racer 7. Then again, this is a racing game, right? All or most races last three laps around each course. Many races have no restrictions to them. Some others that have restrictions may relate to racing with a certain manufacturer, using only certain parts, certain levels of tuning, etc. Some restrictions are certain variables or race rules. For example, some races may not allow nitrous to be used. So here are some of the different race types you will compete in:• Standard Race - these are races consisting of eight drivers (yourself included). All of the Ridge State Grand Prix races are Standard races.
• Overtake 13 - as the name suggests, these are races consisting of you trying to pass 13 other cars to win.
• Time Attack - try to post the fastest overall time and/or try to beat the lap record. In the UFRA single event Time Attack events, if you fail to cross the finish line within the allowed time, you will lose.
• Duel - in the Extreme Events, it is you vs. another car. Defeat the other driver in a three-lap race to either win or even win that driver's car. These will NOT be easy, so make sure to have a fairly upgraded car as well as some enhanced driving skills before taking on Duels.
There are many more kinds of races outside of the ones I've listed here. Just know you will be doing lots of racing and unlocking lots of content. You are going to be quite busy with this game. Speaking of being busy, let me get busy in discussing some of my final thoughts on Ridge Racer 7. Next section, please...
Ridge Racer 7: Final Thoughts
Ridge Racer 7 offers a lot of new experiences for those who haven't played the PSP Ridge Racer titles (I haven't played them myself). Considering this game was made in 2006, this is still a beautiful game that offers a fun and engaging style of racing. A great soundtrack compliments this game and adds to the intense action. Using nitrous and competing in tight races offers an incredible style of racing not before seen in past Ridge Racer titles. In using the Nitrous, it actually doesn't feel cheap like in a lot of other racing games. This game still manages to maintain that Ridge Racer feel while not feeling like just another boring arcade-type racing game. For someone who hasn't really played this game for too long, I must say Ridge Racer 7 actually exceeded my expectations. A lot of people basically wrote this game off or thought it wasn't all that good. If you are one of those people, you may want to reconsider trying this game. Customizing cars is a unique experience and a great one to decide how to try to win even the toughest races. While this game may not have a vintage style soundtrack, it does have a great set of tunes to compliment the racing action. I actually can tolerate the female voice-over as well as the voice-overs from the male. Neither are annoying to me. Someone who may nit-pick may hate on how these CARS sound more like MOTORCYCLES. Then again, you're not playing Ridge Racer 7 to enjoy engine sounds.
My only real knocks on this game is that you may have to do some extra grinding just to build up Credits. Some races can be frustrating- not just the Extreme Races. So many times I felt like I can make some magic happen late... only to fall short and settle for a loss. I've had the worst luck racing Island Circle. On the other hand, I've considered Shadow Caves my strongest tracks since I don't think I've ever lost a race there in my play in RR7. The most fun track to me is Midtown Parkway. I don't have a favorite song in Ridge Racer 7; but if I did, I love "Supercruiser." I also like the music themes when you win/buy new cars. There are no PlayStation Network Trophies for Ridge Racer 7. Because of this, you basically can play almost any way you want while not feeling like you have to accomplish certain tasks through your racing.
Ridge Racer 7 offers new experiences to most veteran Ridge Racer players and offers a racing experience that is intense and exciting. The game's use of nitrous doesn't feel cheap even as this game still retains its Ridge Racer feel. Not even the more mature and futuristic feel of RR7 should be enough to drive away most Ridge Racer purists. Some even say this was the last great Ridge Racer before the likes of the even more mature "Ridge Racer Unbounded" came along years later. No matter what, this is a racing game you should have in your collection if you are any real racing fan and own a PlayStation 3.
Video Preview.
Time to get you interested in Ridge Racer 7. Check this video out:^ "Ridge racer 7- PS3- Gameplay"
Again- this game is from 2006 but is still a great title today. Get the game here:
More Ridge Racer goodness:
This look at Ridge Racer 7 is now complete.
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