Ridge Racer (Nintendo DS)

Here's why.

Yes, Ridge Racer DS (RRDS) is nice to look at and has a marvelous soundtrack to accompany the high speeds, but it's not just the outside that counts. Inside the game is just as important, and I feel this is where RRDS falls. It doesn't feel like a Ridge Racer game. It feels solid enough, but it handles more like an early MegaDrive racer. The camera follows the car a little too perfectly, in the way that you only ever see the side of your chosen vehicle if you powerslide extremely heavily. This almost looks like the track is moving around your car as opposed to you moving.

Another huge problem is the collision deetection. At one point during a race I got a third into my opponent before the game registered that we were actually connected. This caused me to be 'bumped' out into a wall and go from a high speed to almost nothing, thus losing me the race. This seems to happen alot, especially during wireless play with a friend. I never owned the original Nintendo 64 version, but apparantly the colision was perfect. Signs of a rushed conversion maybe?

Another sore point is the touch screen steering method. It feels very sluggish, and a little untested. Stick to the directional pad.

On a lighter note, the game looks very good, with almost no draw distance whatsoever. And the music could be put onto a soundtrack CD and I imagine it'd sell very well indeed.

If you can find RRDS mega-cheap and fancy a quick, occasional burst of racing then it's worth it. Just don't expect the likes of Gran Turismo, Sega Rally or even Ridge Racer on the PSP. Think more Super Monaco GP...

Sound: 4/5
The music isn't bad, it could be better, but I don't mind it. Also, the commentary isn't constantly going on, it just informs you when you finish a lap, when someone's coming up on your tail and similar things. Not too repetative as it's not constantly going on.

Gameplay: 3/5
There are really only 3 main courses to choose from with varying difficulty and option of doing them in reverse. After you finish a Grand Prix you get the chance to race specific cars and when you win them you unlock your opponent's car for yourself. There are about 20 something cars overall.
The controls are quite good and easy to pick up. It didn't take me long to learn the jist of drifting but took me a while to learn how to do so that my car came out of a dift smoothly. No major problems with them though.
The game seriously lacks physics, this isn't too bad, it's just a bit annoying. The most annoying part of the game is a glitch when enemy cars crash into you from behind at high speeds. For some reason they just go straight through you, knocking you back and giving them a boost. It also really throws off your driving. The programmers were also a bit lazy with landscapes, instead of driving onto the grassy verge when you slip off the track, you just hit the invisible wall at the side of the road. This gets annoying after a while, especially when competitors begin ramming you into them.

Touch/Dual Screen Use: 2/5
This game uses the touch screen for menus and for one driving option. You can choose to use the steering wheel on the touch screen to drive. Nice idea, but its easier and better to just use the buttons. It would have been much better if they'd given you a rear view on the bottom screen so that you could block cars coming up from behind.

Value: 4/5
There are six main Grand Prix races and two bonus ones. You can finish the main game pretty quickly with a bit of skill. This game supports single card multiplayer which is cool, so it gets an extra point for that. Overall the main game can be finished in a week, but the multiplayer can be entertaining for ages.

Overall: 4/5
Not a bad game, if only they'd put a bit more effort into car physics and courses it would of been amazing. The multiplayer races are good and can be played with single or multiple carts with upto 6 players. I also liked the special Nintendo bits, such as the several Nintendo racing teams, including DK, Peach and Luigi. There's also a Nintendo race course, which isn't bad. I would recommend this game, especially if your looking for something to keep you going until Metroid Prime Hunters or Mario Kart get be released.