Ridge Racer (PS1, 1994)
Graphics-7 Sound-6.5 Control-7 Challenge-7.5 Story-
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-5
Overall Score-6.5
+
Pretty stable framerate
Pretty good sense of speed
Four different cars
Unlockable track (just a reverse version)
Replays
Save feature (hidden in the records menu for some reason), control config, first person and third person cameras, unlockable cars (need to destroy all enemies in the galaxian mini-game on the loading screen for the first eight - wtf, two more are unlocked via the time trials), mappy/galaga/galaxian themed cars, (super fast) day to night cycle in two of the tracks
+/-
Arcade physics (sometimes unintuitive, need to slide through tight curves (you generally won't slide (immediately) if you start to press break before turning)
Gets weird when bumping into stuff
Get a spinning wheel/burn rubber from starting from 0 when the race begins)
Starts out fairly hard
One screw up means you don't get to finish the race in the extra courses
The chopper (looks cool but is kind of distracting), so-so lighting/sunset effects (just a gradient)
-
Obnoxious and retarded commentator that can't be turned off?
No 2-player
Fairly easy to get your steering jammed when sliding
Sloppy hit detection around some edges and near other cars, no rear view mirror
Unbalanced cars (near impossible to win the extra course races and lamborghini/galaxian car with some of them, no need to even let go of the accelerator in the first extra course with the second car)
Only one track which is then added to a little bit with a really annoying zig zag section and then reversed for the extra courses, some pop-in and polygons cracking up, somewhat choppy geometry in the third person view and replays, no tutorial (showing how to slide and start a race properly), trial & error (in hills and there's a couple of parts causing you to jump with some cars, map doesn't show the car behind you (only one other car) and there's no rear view mirror or camera setting), you tend to lose more than the cpu if it bumps into you from behind and you can't make cpu cars spin around, some annoying music tracks, bugged car AI after finishing a race (emulation issue?), can't immediately restart a lost race (can do it while in the race though), winning the last races is more about staying in the right spots than driving perfectly since the AI can't pass or bump into you then
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-5
Overall Score-6.5
+
Pretty stable framerate
Pretty good sense of speed
Four different cars
Unlockable track (just a reverse version)
Replays
Save feature (hidden in the records menu for some reason), control config, first person and third person cameras, unlockable cars (need to destroy all enemies in the galaxian mini-game on the loading screen for the first eight - wtf, two more are unlocked via the time trials), mappy/galaga/galaxian themed cars, (super fast) day to night cycle in two of the tracks
+/-
Arcade physics (sometimes unintuitive, need to slide through tight curves (you generally won't slide (immediately) if you start to press break before turning)
Gets weird when bumping into stuff
Get a spinning wheel/burn rubber from starting from 0 when the race begins)
Starts out fairly hard
One screw up means you don't get to finish the race in the extra courses
The chopper (looks cool but is kind of distracting), so-so lighting/sunset effects (just a gradient)
-
Obnoxious and retarded commentator that can't be turned off?
No 2-player
Fairly easy to get your steering jammed when sliding
Sloppy hit detection around some edges and near other cars, no rear view mirror
Unbalanced cars (near impossible to win the extra course races and lamborghini/galaxian car with some of them, no need to even let go of the accelerator in the first extra course with the second car)
Only one track which is then added to a little bit with a really annoying zig zag section and then reversed for the extra courses, some pop-in and polygons cracking up, somewhat choppy geometry in the third person view and replays, no tutorial (showing how to slide and start a race properly), trial & error (in hills and there's a couple of parts causing you to jump with some cars, map doesn't show the car behind you (only one other car) and there's no rear view mirror or camera setting), you tend to lose more than the cpu if it bumps into you from behind and you can't make cpu cars spin around, some annoying music tracks, bugged car AI after finishing a race (emulation issue?), can't immediately restart a lost race (can do it while in the race though), winning the last races is more about staying in the right spots than driving perfectly since the AI can't pass or bump into you then