Ridge Racer 6 (Xbox 360, 2005)

Ridge Racer is one of the longest running racing game franchises around and keeps going strong to this day because of it's unique style of gameplay.
Some people just don't get what this game is all about. It's not a simulation like PGR, Forza or GT. It's not about blazing through races and smashing your opponent like Burnout or Flatout. (although the speed can get about as fast) This game is all about the Drift, the fantasy cars and creative tracks.
With the addition of nitrous this year there is an added element of depth that was really needed to push the series into the next generation of Ridge Racer gaming. I wonder how I ever played RR before without it.
The faster you are going when you enter a drift the faster the boost fills up, the longer the drift the longer it fills up. This really adds some strategy to the game. Just go online and see how the best in the world have figured out how and when to use this to get the best times on all the tracks.
Overall the Graphics are Very Good and run at a smooth Frame Rate. Sure they could have been a little better but for a launch game they get the job done. The lighting, car designs, sound, music and environments are good. I have no complaints.
The tracks are well designed and there are alot of them to race on. They have nice added touches like Planes, Helicopters and Balloons flying overhead, Day, Dusk and Nightime events, Giant Video screens, Cheering crowds, Waterfalls, Detailed Grasslands with Cows and more. There's alot of challenges to complete and this will keep you racing for a long time. In the future I hope they do add some vehicle damage and more over the top effects. But I still enjoyed this game and give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Graphics: On a scale of 1-5 worse to best I'd say 2. Graphics on this game are similar in comparison to Project Gotham Racing 2 on original Xbox. Racing environments are not very detailed and not really noticeable compare to other games like again, PGR 2. The cars all look the same and are not based on real cars. However, the colours are vibrant.

Game Play: Only 2 camera options, front bumper and and a car length behind and above. You only really use three buttons; gas, brake and turbo. The first levels are quite easy but later it can be challenging. Voice acting is rather terrible to the point of causing an annoying distraction in the game with a few lines constantly repeated. No upgrading performance of the car, just the look of it. No one ever seems to be online with this game so online play is virtually impossible. On the 1-5 scale, game play is a 3. Is a great game for a beginner learning racing games.

Replayability: I'm an experienced gamer, for other experienced gamers I'd say, if you get it (rent it), play it through and put it away. If there were more people online, it might be worth keeping. 2 out of 5.

Sound Quality: Like listening to nails on a chalk board, 1 out of 5. Again with the stupid announcer who likes to say "Someone used the turbo" or "Great start, now go for first" about 60 times a minute! Like I was playing on getting 6th, you Moron! The sounds for the tires comes in two varieties, on the road and screeching on the road. Every engine for every car sounds the same, however, it is a good sound. The background music is the best thing in this category. And did I mention the stupid announcer? Also, there is no way to mute the idiot short of the Mute on your TV.

Overall: I give this game 2 out of 5. There is a fun pac-man game at the beginning. Rent it, don't buy it unless it is $5 or less, including shipping. If you are a fan of Ridge Racer, I'm sure you already own this. In conclusion, it is an original Xbox game on the 360.

Ridge Racer 6 is a slick game that has very smooth and stylish gameplay, the smooth gameplay will make you feel as though you are driving seriously fast. The graphics are alot better then previous Ridge Racer titles which was inevitable from the start due to the enormous power of the XBOX 360. The sounds in this game are made up from scratch so the cars sound completely different to actual cars, the made up sounds fit in with the made up cars which makes the sounds quite good. Nearly all of the music tracks in this game are medium tempo drum & base tracks which really fits into the style of racing of the game. The value of this game is enormous, the 1 player mode is enormous spanning over 235 races, there are a massive amount of cars to collect including 8 special cars, if all that doesn't impress you hop onto XBOX LIVE and play the world which will give you infinite replayability. Personally I think this game is a great game and almost any racing game fan will enjoy it.

The game is fun and graphics are real good. I feel that there are a lot of better games out there. I bought this game because my twin 6 year olds love it. I race with them and we have a lot of fun. Overall I would say if you like racing then buy this game.

1st...The graphics on this game are very clean nice background detail...(excellent)

2nd...The sense of speed and car movement are very good as well...( very good)

3rd... Very good options and car selection after you win some races...(very good)

4th...The Music I just love it as with all the ridge racer series...(something for everyone) Techonish music...

5th...this is an ARCADE racer for those of you who dont know so dont expect the gran turismo similation type game...

6th...YOU WILL learn how to drift in this game...

7th...The only thing i didn't like about this game is the in game commentary..you know "hey that was great cornering " things like that. Every time another car uses Nitro you hear it and it gets very annoying after a while but you can turn this off in the options screen.

8th...For the price cause its now about 6 years old its still a fun game !!