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Actually, aliasing IS Namco's fault

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 26, 2000
Author: Amazon User

You see... the PS-2 supports full screen anti-aliasing, but the developers decided to overlook this in the developer's guide. It is very simple to add; however, Namco decided not to take the time to do this, thus making Sony look bad in the eyes of the uninformed. You should be seeing more games soon that do not sport this jagged, underdeveloped look.

great graphics, no gameplay, bad announcer, far too short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 26, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Ridge Racer V is a disappointing sequel to the Ridge Racer series, particularly after the many positive enhancements in Ridge Racer type 4 and Rage Racer.

As many other folks have pointed out, RRV takes advantage of many of the hardware capabilities of the PS2, and the graphics are stunning. Notable enhancements include rather convincing depth-of-field defocusing during replays, a total lack of popup or other noticable glitches that were common in the previous RR games on the PS, very convincing surface reflections, etc, etc. The game must be seen to be believed, graphics-wise.

The controls are decent. The force feedback isn't very strong but that's OK with me. The pressure-sensitive buttons are interesting--it took me a bit to get used to it, but it's definitely a major improvement over the old "on-off" accelerator (and far better than trying to use the analog stick as an accelerator).

I'm not that impressed with the cars. In particular, I think the high-end "grip" car makes a far better "drift" car than the drift car--the drift cars range from "this is rather twichy" to "this is almost undriveable". Nope, not realistic, and I'm not expecting realistic; but it harkens back to the original RR. It's just surreal to see these realistically-rendered cars behaving just like RR cars, complete with the little rear-end swivel when a collision occurs.

The gameplay is basically not there. While it's true that the RR series has never been known for deep gameplay, RRV is a solid step backwards to the original game format, and it's a mistake.

The game features one track composed of various sections hooked together. While this is a traditional RR hallmark, it's no longer an acceptable one. It made sense in the arcades when ROM space was limited; now with 4GB of space available on a DVD, there's no excuse not to add additional tracks. Racing the same track quickly gets old, and for some reason I found the similarities among tracks much more apparent in RRV.

The gameplay consists of nothing more than "race these tracks once". I managed to complete it on Normal mode straight through without losing any races; while I'm admittedly a longtime RR and racing sim fan, that's still far too easy. The only "hard" part was sitting through the tedious hour and a half of driving around the "endurance race", which seems to be more a test of how strong your thumb is.

The sound effects are very good; in particular, the car sounds aren't annoying (which may not sound like much of a compliment, but believe me it is). The music is mediocre--nothing really stands out (the music played while choosing a track and car to race is actually better than the majority of the soundtracks, which is kinda scary). Unfortunately, the "DJ announcer" is completely awful, no doubt about it--and what's worse, he can't be shut off completely (you can still barely hear him even when the announcer volume is turned all the way down).

There is basically little if any replay value in the game. Once you've mastered the tracks on any of the modes, the exercise of completing them again on a more difficult mode seems rather futile. Most of the extras that you win from completing races aren't very interesting. (What--a set of almost-uncontrollable cars? Just what I always wanted!) And I'm silly enough to replay RRR at times, so we've definitely reached a new low.

I really thought the RR series was heading in the right directions with Rage Racer and RRT4, but none of these enhancements (money, car upgrades, the admittedly bad attempt at a "plot" in RRT4) rubbed off on RRV. It's little more than Ridge Racer with improved graphics, which was acceptable as a first PS game, but a serious mistake now.

I don't exactly regret buying it, but given the lack of replayability I'll quite probably end up selling it. It's probably better head-to-head, but I wasn't looking for a H2H game. And I'm definitely looking forward to GT2001 or whatever it's going to be called...

Not bad, not good

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is nothing to get excited over, but it's not horrible either. The graphics are ok, but they don't compare to other launch games such as madden and ssx. Basically, I would say this game is about equal to Gran Turismo 2 for playstation. If you don't own this game, I would recommend waiting for Gran Turismo 2000 to come out instead of rushing out to get this one.

Still the best arcade racer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Well...what happens a lot with this game is that people dont take the time to really play it...at least get a proper feel to the game(and not just play 5 rounds and quit..=P)..if youve only played the older Ridge racer games(revolution)...this game is way differnt...cars handle very differntly from the older RR's...they have GRIP cars and DRIFT cars...but..its very similar to RR Type 4.....However i gave it 4 stars because of the fact that it IS TOO similar to RR type 4...but its still worth buying..the whole presentation of the game is totally differnt..it is unlike any other racer i have ever seen...you can tell this game has quality right off the bat...as an arcade racer it beats the heck out of any GranTurismo game...what people have to keep in mind is that ridge racer is meant as an Arcade style racer and not a simulation like what GT offers..so i really dont see why people compare the 2 games soo much even though they are very differnt...so if you love arcade style racing games..this is a must have...or of your new the the genre this is a good title to start off with.

A total waste of time

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I got this on the cheap thinking that it would be a decent racing game. I was wrong. I didn't know what to expect, but cars that handle EXTREMELY unrealistically, graphics that are just average in my eyes (compared to NFS 2 Hot pursuit and GT 3) and a general unexpected hardness in gameplay made me sorry I got this game. The cars are fake, which isn't too much of an issue but you have to make the fake cars good. If you're looking for a fun racing game with realistic cars, go for Need For Speed 2: Hot Pursuit, and if you want a good driving sim, go for Gran Turismo 3. Rent this if you must, but don't spend a lot of money for it.

One of the best ARCADE racers.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you're looking for realistic, simulation driving, go get Gran Turisimo 3 A-spec. If you want great arcade racing, get this. Loaded with power sliding, impossible physics, no car damage and limited brake use, the gameplay feels a lot more like being in a movie than in a car. Overall, it is my favorite racing game, next to GT3. Although extras are sparse, gameplay is pretty good and it's entertaining. Now with GT3, there's little reason to get RRV, but it remains a good game on the system. It was certainly one of the best at release. But it does feel good to powerslide at high speed after failing licence tests in GT3.

lame racer V

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: January 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is horribly awful. Fans of serious racing games like EA's F1 and Gran Turisimo should avoid this game at all costs. It's control is awful, the in game commentary is wretched, and the physics irritatingly impossible. The only purpose this game will serve is when other games are reviewed as "at least its not as bad as Ridge Racer V."

The truth about Ridge Racer for PS2

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game [is not very good]

I own 6 games for PS2 and this is the only game that causes the console to lock-up. Namco will not admit there's a problem. I replaced the CD with another CD and had the same problem. Namco says it's a problem with my console, but no other game has ever locked up.

I heard some developers were having problems writing games for the PS2. I'm sure Namco is one of the developers that has had problems.

I won't by another game that has the Namco name on it. Their support is useless.

Save your money... don't bother with this game.

The best game I have so far is Madden NFL 2001.

this game is awful

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

this game is awful. i brake and then my car goes into a spin. i accelerate and i'm back to 200 km/hr!! what is going on? this game is really bad and it takes FOREVER to load

Great racing Game !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After reading all the reviews I wanted to let people know that this Racing game is great. I think most people dont like this game cause its not realistic, but I dont want games to be realistic either. I hardly like any new games, but this one is a great racing game. The graphich is ok, but the gameplay is great !! the last Grand Prix is almost impossible on the hardest levell ! You take Sunny Beach ,Green Field on the hardest level.

I recommend this if u liked the other Ridge Racer Games, Personally I loved this one and dont get the awful reviews this one has gotten, very unfair.

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