It seems like arcade style games tend to take a backseat to sims these days as sims keep getting more realistic. Ridge Racer 6 has been one of the lesser talked about launch titles but is actually quite good. Ridge Racer 6 isn't a perfect racer but is enjoyable. It also isn't a title that everyone will enjoy and for some it is game that is fun to play once in a while.
Ridge Racer is all about drifting and loading up on nitros. You are able to save up nitros and build it up to 3 levels. To build up your nitros you will need to do some drifting. These things are crucial to win races and in later races you will have to have mastered drifting and using nitros at the right time. In fact, as you move on you'll find the AI to be a bit cheap and that you'll need to hit the corners correctly and have your nitros used at just the right times to win.
Ridge Racer 6 features a nice variety of tracks. Each one is nicely detailed and nice looking. The tracks aren't actually in real cities but are created for the game. This is actual a good change so you don't see the exact same thing as in other racers. In addition to the fictional tracks, each of the cars in the game are also fictional and not licensed. There are 130 cars to unlock with 13 to start with. With this large number of cars, each have varying stats in different classes even though none are real. The lack of car customization is a downfall considering what is available in many of the other racers. Even the option of changing your cars' colors has to be unlocked.
My main complain with the graphics is the lack of damage shown on cars. Just because it's an arcade racer doesn't mean it shouldn't show damage. Maybe they should make it show an unrealistic amount of damage while still being able to run at normal speeds. Environments look good and contain plenty of things to look at, though you should focus on the race. But really the graphics don't do much to exploit the power of Xbox 360 that you might be looking for. Ridge Racer 6 is also able to provide a good sense of speed while maintaining a smooth frame rate.
The game's soundtrack isn't really anything special and will have most playing their custom soundtracks. The music is typical of arcade racer with techno music. The game also features an announcer that is a bit annoying. In fact you'll be wanting to turn off the announcer fairly quickly. It gets really repetitive fairly quickly.
Going online, you can have a 14-player race. Online races play out nicely even if they don't offer anything special. You are also able to upload Time Attack times to compare with others as well as download ghosts to race against. For those without Live access, there's also 2-player offline racing. It's not as thrilling having only 2-players but it's at least an option.
Ridge Racer 6 is certainly a fun-fast-arcade racer, but isn't something that everyone will enjoy. The game is a bit basic in areas, especially when compared to other titles. This makes it harder to justify the $60 price sticker. But in the end, it's still an enjoyable title and that's what matters the most. This is perfect for those that need a break from the realism and complicated racer and go with something that you can dive right into (sort of). Ridge Racer 6 is at least worth a look.
