Ridge Racer V

by Namco

Product Features

• Acceleration and braking based on the pressure you put on the buttons
• Gameplay is centered on the Grand Prix mode
• Win new cars, trophies, and engines
• Two-player support
• Arcade style driving

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004TKMB
• Item Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 17, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,183 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

The original Ridge Racer was the meat in Sony's launch sandwich when the original PlayStation hit the U.S. The arcade driving game came home and introduced console gamers to the next big thing. But today, those halcyon days seem like ancient history. As the Ridge Racer series evolved, it became much more than a simple arcade port, adding more tracks and cars, and refining the game's trademark powerslide style of driving. The last installment of the game, Ridge Racer Type 4, really seemed to be as good as the series could get on the existing hardware. Thankfully, Sony has come along with a new box, and Namco is keeping pace with a new Ridge Racer game. But Ridge Racer V all but ignores most of the gameplay refinements that the series has seen over the years, returning to the general driving style of games like Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution.

Graphically, Ridge Racer V is the most impressive of the PlayStation2 launch games. The game looks like the other Ridge Racer games, but without all the pop-up and pixelated vehicles and environments. Little things like trees on the sides of the track, and the glow that emanates from your red-hot brake pads as you brake while driving around corners really bring a lot to the look of the game. You can even see the gauges inside your car light up when your headlights come on in a tunnel or while night-driving. The cars are well designed, and the environment mapping that creates the almost-too-shiny reflection on your car is pretty amazing. The display isn't flawless, though. The entire game has a very aliased appearance, making the edges of the cars and tracks look really jagged. The better your TV is, the more noticeable the aliasing becomes. Also, there are some seemingly random moments of slowdown, but it's rare and only occurs for less than a second. The game still sports only two camera angles, a first-person and third-person view. The third-person view is much tighter and closer to your vehicle than in the previous games, and it takes a bit of getting used to. The two-player mode runs at roughly the same speed as the single-player game, though the draw-in distance is a bit closer in the splitscreen mode, making the two-player races look a bit foggy.

The gameplay in Ridge Racer V is centered on the grand-prix mode. This is the mode that will net you additional cars, trophies, and new engines. You start out by picking one of three difficulty settings and entering the standard grand prix. Then you go on to the extra mode, a collection of four grand-prix events. Standard mode lets you pick any one of the game's base-level cars, then as you progress with that car into the extra ranks you'll earn upgraded versions of that base car. The track design is pretty standard Ridge Racer fare. Each track uses lots of the same portions of road, and certain sections of track will open or close depending on which track variant you're racing. This makes all the tracks seem a little too similar and limits the game's replay value. As in R4, the final track is an oval-shaped racetrack built for sheer speed. Another knock against the track design is that a lot of the sections are lifted from, or at least heavily influenced by, the track from the original Ridge Racer. You'll recognize the tunnels and turns the first time you see them. It would have been nice to see multiple environments and a more varied track design instead of being limited to racing the tracks both forward and backward.

The car handling is similar to that of the older Ridge Racer games in that it places a much heavier emphasis on powersliding around corners so you can traverse the tracks at high speeds. The sliding is emphasized by reducing the turning radius on most of the game's cars, which all feel a little sluggish when you're maneuvering back and forth across the lanes, when compared with any of the previous games in the series. Even the grip cars require you to do a decent amount of sliding around turns. The drift cars lose traction at the blink of an eye and really force you to play to perfection. Luckily, the control is excellent with the Dual Shock 2, and the game supports both of Namco's driving controllers, the Negcon and the Jogcon. The game uses the analog buttons of the Dual Shock 2, but it's extremely hard to notice when the analog gas and braking make a difference. Some of the later drift cars in the game seem to slide a bit differently depending on how hard you tap the brake button.

The sound effects in Ridge Racer V are pretty nice. The squealing tires and engine noise of the cars sound realistic. The game has an announcer similar to the ones in the previous games, but he repeats himself a little too often (for instance, he almost always says, "That was tight" whenever you pass the second- or first-place car) and mispronounces a few words, like "comfort" and "rookie." It's almost funny.

The music has always been a large part of the Ridge Racer series, and Ridge Racer V offers up a bit more of a mixed bag than usual. Rather than sticking solely to various forms of electronic music, RRV delivers some poppier tunes from the Boom Boom Satellites, as well as some pretty hot techno numbers. One of the best tracks is the music that plays in the menus before the race actually starts.

Ridge Racer V is a fun, great-looking game that will please older Ridge Racer fans. Players that picked up the series around the third or fourth game may be a little disappointed with the way the cars handle, but not so much that their fun will be ruined. Overall, the game feels a little rushed with its easy-way-out track design, and it's our hope that Namco will attempt to address the aliasing and slowdown issues before the game is released in the States later this year. --Jeff Gerstmann
--Copyright ©2000 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

RIDGE RACER 5 P

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, December 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ridge Racer V (Video Game)

This was the first game I played with the PS2, and it immediately put me into a panic. I felt like I wasted a lot of money on the PS2 for graphics & performance & game complexity that aren't at all apparent in Ridge Racer V. This is a simpistic game with graphics that you'd expect to see on the original Playstation. Luckily, I loaded up Madden 2001 next and was treated to some of the advanced capabilities of the PS2. If you must have this game, buy it used. Do not spend the full 50 bucks for a new copy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not awful, just more of the same, December 1, 2000

By 

punkviper (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ridge Racer V (Video Game)

The RR series has always been sort of self-explanatory. Realistic looking cars in a realistic environment, but playing like an arcade racer. No great amount of depth (like the Gran Turismo series) but not quite as cartoony as Beetle Adventure Racing or Top Gear Overdrive.

This is just more of the same. Is it the best looking RR ever? Yeah, and it should be, given that its the only PS2 version of the bunch. And, truth be told, it should look better. It does score above-average marks in the style department, but the highly Japanese flavor to it might turn off some gamers. Basically it is what it is: another Ridge Racer game. Type 4 was good for PSX, and a lot of people expected more from this one, but didn't get "the next level" of RR games, just another in a series.

If you want a decent racing game, wait for Gran Turismo 3, or if you've been a RR devotee, then by all means go for this one. For most gamers it's a "been there, done that" kinda thing.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Game, But Bad Announcer/Average Gameplay., November 11, 2000

By 

Kevin Nieman "Writer / Provocateur" (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ridge Racer V (Video Game)

I had never played any of the other Ridge Racer games, so when I bought this title for the PS2, I expected something like the PS1 Gran Turismo series. I was right in terms of graphics, but it's a disappointment otherwise.

The tracks zoom by at an awesome rate of speed, and the lighting effects are top notch. If I could rate the game on graphics alone, I'd give it a 5 star rating.

However, the one aspect of the game that irritated me the most was the announcer. Anyone familiar with the cultural differences between Japan and America would understand why the radio DJ in the game is horribly out of place. The voiceover is of a guy supposedly on the radio talking about the race and occasionally making a comment or critique. He'll often "That was CLOSE!" when you narrowly miss hitting another car.

But there's one moment early on when the announcer talks about how there are multiple racers racing in races all over Ridge City (How's that for alliteration?), and that we (the radio listeners of Ridge City) should "give all of them our full support."

Our what? What American-based game would have this kind of cheesy, communal camraderie between its citizens? None. We're the country of the hard-edged and arrogant, finger-flipping, competitor. The trash-talking capital of the world is right here in the U.S., baby! The Japanese value their sense of community, which is all well and good for them, but it feels Pollyanna-ish and cutesy in the States, and it was quite irritating to me.

At any rate, this is not a horrible game, but I expected much more from it. It has rather mediocre gameplay, which surprised me, and it's certainly not a title you should run out and buy. If you have a PS2, (Lucky, lucky us, huh?) then I'd suggest that you wait until the next Gran Turismo game. It will make this game seem like it's standing still by comparison.