Ridge Racer 2 (2006 video game)

Ridge Racer 2
Developer(s)	Namco Bandai Games
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai Games
Distributor(s)	EU: SCEE
Series	Ridge Racer
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	JP: 14 September 2006 EU: 13 October 2006 AUS: 19 October 2006
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Ridge Racer 2, released in Japan as Ridge Racers 2 (リッジレーサーズ2), is an arcade-style racing game developed by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation Portable hand-held console, marking the 14th release in the acclaimed Ridge Racer series and also the sequel to the PSP launch title Ridge Racer. It saw release in Japan on 14 September 2006, followed by its 13 October European launch and 19 October release in Australia. Unlike its predecessor a North American release for the title was absent.

Gameplay

The core aspect of the entire Ridge Racer series is drift racing, that is traditional lap racing against opponents with the added twist of intentionally oversteering and sliding the car through sharp corners and turns, known as "drifting", which earns the player several bonuses during a race. In most respects Ridge Racer 2 can be considered more of an update than a true sequel to the original PSP title - it shares the same game play engine, user interface and game design as the previous title, and includes almost all of the elements, cars, and tracks of its predecessor.

Featuring three times as much game play time as its predecessor however, the differences lie in the addition of a total of 42 new racing tracks (of which 21 are unique tracks, with a reversed sequence counting as a separate track), while 18 are taken from previous titles in the Ridge Racer series. Two tracks are from the original Ridge Racer, three tracks are from Ridge Racer Revolution, four tracks are from Rave Racer, eight tracks are from R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, and four tracks are from Rage Racer. Every track from every PlayStation Ridge Racer game released is included as part of this package. Numerous new game play modes are included to supplement the originals of the previous title such as: Arcade, Duel and Survival modes. As with the previous title, the Wireless Battle mode is still included, which supports up to 8 player multiplayer over the PSP's ad hoc, Wi-Fi network capability (see PSP Wireless Networking for further information).

In-game screenshot of a custom race, taking place on the track "Shuttleloop Highway". The featured car is a Kamata, 'Shootaway Fiera' Type-S.

The game also features a total of 62 fictional cars (referred to as "machines" throughout the game) from seven fictional manufacturers (Kamata, Age, Danver, Gnade, Assoluto, Himmel, and Soldat) that are staple throughout the Ridge Racer series. The full complement of cars is available to the player after completing four tours (consisting of 16 races each) of increasing difficulty levels (Basic, Pro, EX and Max) and several various mini-games. In addition to newer cars, Ridge Racer 2 features "prizes" that are unlocked after the completion of a tour, such as opening movies of previous Ridge Racer titles and E3 demo presentations.

The Special Class cars from Ridge Racer (PSP) have been modified for this release and categorised into two tiered categories with four cars each. Special Class 1 denotes cars embodying more traditional supercar designs and appearances, while Special Class 2 is made up of radical or novelty designs that boast the highest top speeds attainable in the game. Specifically, the 'Kamata Angelus' (Special Class 1) is now a more traditional supercar design, similar in appearance to the Angel car from Ridge Racer Revolution, and no longer powered by jet engines. The 'Soldat Crinale' (Special Class 1) appears similar to its previous incarnation; while the Pac-Man car (Special Class 2) now resembles a miniature aircraft in design (with Pac-Man himself depicted as piloting it), and is no longer powered by propellers. The New Rally-X car has been removed entirely and replaced by the 'Danver DigDug Hijack' (Special Class 1); a large, super-charged Pickup truck. The 'Yamasa Raggio' (Special Class 2), which appeared in the 2006 Tokyo Auto Salon as a heavily modified Honda NSX, is unique to Ridge Racer 2 and also appears in a "prize" movie that is unlocked after completion of the game's "EX tour". The car was later made into a Tomica die-cast toy car for limited release. The three other special class cars are the Age Angelus Kid (Special Class 2), Age Crinale Kid (Special Class 2), and the Terrazi Drangonsaber Wild Gang (Special Class 1).

The game also features a Full Motion Video opening, that shows series mascot Reiko Nagase.

Nitrous

Notable also is the "nitrous boost" system from the previous game, which works in the same manner as before. The player has a Nitrous Gauge made up of three nitrous tanks, which at the start of a race are either completely depleted or only partially full. As the player drifts through the corners (especially at very high Slip angles) during the race, their nitrous gauge fills up. When the player fills up one of the three nitrous tanks, it can be activated to achieve a temporary speed boost. The nitrous tanks cannot be recharged while any tank is in use though, but the residual speed increase when the nitrous boost expires can be used just before entering corners to recharge the player's nitrous tanks at a faster rate than normal. (Ultimate Charge)

Courses

The game contains all of the courses found in the first Ridge Racer game for the PSP and a few additional ones (these are marked with an asterisk).

Ridge Racer

• Seaside Route 765
• Ridge City Highway

Ridge Racer Revolution

• Sunset Drive
• Crystal Coast Highway
• EX Revolution Road*

Rage Racer

• Mythical Coast*
• Union Hill District
• Lakeside Parkway
• Extreme Oval*

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4

• Hurricane Skyway*
• Diablo Canyon Road
• Edgestone Expressway*
• Ocean Bay*
• Phantom Mile*
• Britenight Cruiseway*
• Crimsonrock Pass
• Shuttleloop Highway*

Rave Racer

• Midtown Expressway
• Greenpeak Highlands
• Silvercreek Dam
• Downtown Rave City

Music

All the music tracks from the previous game are also included in this game. In addition, there were some changes in the discs track lists, including new additions Remix Disc 2 and Classic Disc 3.

King Records released a music album of the game called Ridge Racers 2: Direct Audio (titled as RIDGE RACERS 2: DIRECT AUDIO). It was released in Japan in October 2006. The track list is below, and all these tracks are new to Ridge Racer 2.

Track List

1. "Scream"
2. "Departure Lounge 2"
3. "Rage Racer" remix
4. "Rotten7" remix
5. "Kamikaze" remix
6. "Heart of Hearts" remix
7. "Heat Floor" remix
8. "Paris" remix
9. "Pearl Blue Soul"
10. "Burning Rubber"
11. "Quiet Curves"
12. "The Objective"
13. "EXH*NOTES"
14. "Euphoria" [Ridge Racer V]
15. "Mellow Curves"

Reception

Whilst Ridge Racer 2 was still praised for the same points as the previous title, reviewers were disappointed that Ridge Racer 2 is little different from it. The game runs on the same graphical engine and the visuals look almost exactly the same, with the most notable changes being additional courses. IGN questioned its differences by titling its preview "A sequel or a simple upgrade?".^[1] GameFAQs said "It's the same as Ridge Racer - same graphics, mostly same music, same physics etc. It's basically a rehash of the first game with some more content thrown in." FutureGamez.net wrote "it loses points for being so similar to the first Ridge Racer on PSP."

The game has an aggregate score of 69.86% on GameRankings from 14 reviews.^[2]

References