Walls can be broken, cars can destroyed by high speed impact (only to respawn seconds later, having lost precious time to competitors, much like going off the tracks in Wipeout). Tracks are no longer static things with guardrails that hem you in no matter how fast you hit them. The single biggest, most noticeable change is the addition of environmental destruction and vehicular combat. Anger and feelings of betrayal will be the inevitable from that particular crowd. In other words, fans who wanted more of the same should stay far, far away from this game. It’s a good game actually, with a lot of substance and fun going for it, but it has about as much to do with Ridge Racer as Silent Hill 4: The Room did with its predecessors. Once you actually sit down and start to play this game, it becomes obvious that this is not Ridge Racer. In many ways, the audio is the biggest departure from the more urbane sophistication of past titles to something raw and combative.
This is also, for the first time in the series history, a game that makes use of the sub-woofer for explosions, as environmental destruction and collision warfare are part of the Road Rage tactics. Dubstep once again rears its head with Skrillex contributing a track, and acts like Crystal Method and Noisia also make appearances. The music has also changed directions somewhat, going less for the suave, acid jazz feel of past games for something more aggressive. The frame rate is generally stable, though not rising up into the 50-60 fps range of titles like Wipeout HD, but considering the amount of environmental destruction occurring on screen, that’s probably too much to ask. This look is complemented by more of the “environment as HUD” concept that was pioneered by recent games like Splinter Cell: Conviction.
The game opens in a badly deteriorated downtown core with a much greater emphasis on urban decay than the series has ever seen. This has been replaced with a more down, dirty, gritty aesthetic. Past iterations of the RR franchise have always been slick, clean, and carried the vibe that you were probably going be to slinging back martinis in a hip club after the race was over. This newer, angrier, “Apple doesn’t have an iPad in my color and therefore the entire world must burn” sense of consumer rebellion also comes with a new chassis for the look and sound of the game. Which also means knocking things-and each other-to pieces. Now, “The Unbounded” are making their stand against The Generic Man, by showing their displeasure through racing. This is not about optimistic, friendly faced corporations engaging in a bit of spirited competition with slick cars. When Namco handed the reins of the franchise over to Bugbear, those crazy Fins looked at everything the series represented and kicked in the nitro before sending it colliding through a wall at 160 KPH.
Nothing about this is a sequel in the traditional sense. This is not the Ridge Racer you remember.