
	Platform PlayStation Genre Racing Publisher Namco Developer Namco Released 1997
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Rage Racer

After making a name for itself as an arcade racer series, Ridge Racer took a slightly different tack with Rage Racer. The controls and handling of the vehicles were the same as ever, but now players could buy and upgrade new cars, while the motif of the game went for a darker, more realistic color scheme. It was an interesting change of pace that helps the game stand out in the series.

I’ve always been partial to racers that let players buy new vehicles, and then upgrade them. It almost feels like an RPG element in the game as I tweak the things stats, and then see it perform much better on the track after. There were a decent number of vehicles to collect in the game, including a truck (the first ever in a Ridge Racer game), as well as some crazy expensive high-end cars that were more prestige vehicles one could collect at the end of the game.

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There wasn’t a huge selection of tracks to race on in the game, with a total of four that could be run in either direction, but they were quite long, with much more variety than a lot of other racers had at the time. The only short track in the game was a high speed oval course that was strangely anti-climatic after playing the

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other tracks with their exciting twists and turns. The majority of the tracks were great, though: lots of blasting through mountains, and small cities, with a layout to the seemed a lot more in-depth than previous Ridge Racers.

One of the few things that was, and still is, irksome about this game is the collision detection. In most Ridge Racer games, when a player drives into a barrier or another vehicle, there is a noticeable temporary reduction in their car’s speed. Fair enough. There needs to be some sort of penalty for poor driving. However, in Rage Racer the speed reduction is quite severe, and can a major impact on a player in a race. Namco really over did it with collisions in this game. Moreover, the detection itself is a bit out of whack. Even if it looks like you may miss an obstacle by a foot or so, you may still wind up hitting the thing, grinding to a near halt.

Nonetheless, Rage Racer is an interesting diversion for the Ridge Racer series. It managed to keep an arcade racer core in its vehicle handling, while adding some nice, long tracks, and the ability to collect and improve cars. It would have been easy for Namco to just keep on going with a proven formula, but making these changes here worked, and made for an exciting new direction for the series that really hasn’t been revisited enough since then.

Mr. Nash

September 8, 2008