"R4 really does the series a ton of justice as the tracks are great fun and collecting all of the cars can be very enthralling."

Platform: Playstation

Genre: Racing

Publisher: Namco

Developer: Namco

ESRB: E (Everyone)

Released: Q2 1999

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R4: Ridge Racer Type 4

There's something about the way the cars handle that is so endearing. A lot of other games have had arcade-like handling, but the Ridge Racer series has always been at the forefront of this with their zany, wild, speedy, slidie driving antics. Ridge Racer Type 4 is now different as it provides more of this action along with some great tracks, while giving players the chance to collect a huge stable of cars. It's more good fun from the gang at Namco.

The game sports two different categories of cars, first there's the drift cars which are far more capable of the Ridge Racer power-slide while taking corners and are generally faster vehicles, then there are the grip cars that provide far more traction when take corners as they, well, grip the road more. While the grip cars handle magnificently, it's the drift cars that are by far the most fun to drive. It's great taking a sharp corner by allowing the backend of the car to swing out and power-slide around the turn like something out of an old car chase movie. It's even more fun if you pass an opponent while your at it.

The centerpiece of the game is its Grand Prix mode where players can join one of four teams from Japan, America, France, and Japan. From there each team has a little story to add some drama to the racing. Besides the four teams there are four car manufacturers in the game as well. Between them there are over 300 cars to be had in the game. While they aren't real life, licensed cars they're still fun to drive and some of the designs are really out there (just check out the screen shot to the right and you'll see what I mean).

The graphics in this game are superb. The environments are well detailed, the cars are well modeled, and the effects are fabulous. However there are flaws, the most prevalent being that cars ahead of you can occasionally be seen through the walls, the other problems being trivial nitpicking. On the audio side the sound effects are very good, and the soundtrack takes a more laidback approach. The music is by far some of my favorite that I've ever heard in a game.

The one major nuisance in the game is that very few of the cars in the pack provide much of a challenge. Only the cars in second and first place put up much of a fight, while the rest behave like placeholders. Even more annoying is how cheap the lead car can be in order to maintain its position as it will try and ram the player off the road if necessary.

There are quite a few arcade-styled racing games on the market, but the Ridge Racer series has been a favorite to many. R4 really does the series a ton of justice as the tracks are great fun and collecting all of the cars can be very enthralling. R4 is great fun.

- Mr. Nash