Preview: Ridge Racer 7 (PS3)

Yes, that's number seven in the series with previous versions of all shapes and sizes appearing on a range of formats. The fall from grace of the Ridge Racer series is well documented, as is its revitalisation starting with the PSP edition. For this Gamestyle writer the love affair ended after the sublime Rage Racer (PSone), when series tried to take onboard the fashionable features of Gran Turismo. That proved to be a wrong turn into a one way maze (similar to Glasgow city centre) which only now is being left behind.   Crashing and burning is to be expected at some stage on the track, but as any good driver will tell you, it is all about learning from your mistakes and getting back behind the wheel as soon as possible. And this is what Namco-Bandai has done with its refusal to let the Ridge Racer series slip into history.

Come the launch of any new piece of Sony gaming hardware and you just know there will be a Ridge Racer shipping in one form or another alongside. A major criticism has been the lack of tracks and vehicles shipped with each title. This is still a persisting fad, abused by rival releases that believe quantity over quality wins the day. The classic Ridge Racer releases insisted on only a handful of tracks (including mirrored options) and a tiny village forecourt of choice.  Yet the high standard of these had you returning constantly, to take out milliseconds from your previous best lap time and overcome all odds.

RR7 will ship with 40 vehicles and over 20 courses (not including the mirrored options) in what seems a modest but reasonable total. The difference in this edition is customisation. Taking a cue from Forza and Need for Speed, RR7 will allow a huge range of options to tinker with the visuals and handling of your favourite car. With the experience of the Xbox 360 online service under its belt, downloads should be forthcoming from Namco-Bandai, and extend the life of the experience further.

Then if you tire of racing AI opponents, the online mode will allow you to race against the best from across the world. Already, Gamestyle is having nightmares about confronting the fanatical Japanese RR devotees who should prove very challenging. Needless to say they have a head start anyway, but they'll need it.

And RR7 is one of these mythical PS3 games that will do the 1080 high definition and 60 frames per second, although hopefully without the need for any onscreen borders. Everything is coming together for another blast of drifting arcade action.

Words by Jason Julier