Review #829: R - Racing Evolution

 Oh, it's the weird one...

 R: Racing Evolution was... definitely not what I was expecting. After a successful string of very Arcadey racers Namco decided to do something completely different and churn out a racing sim out of the Ridge Racer series. The sexy female mascot and the brilliant techno music are here, but gone is its trademark drifting style, in we have a lot of stats, like suspension and shock resistance, as well  as more mundane racing mechanics and even a few rally tracks.

 If there's something you won't be left wanting for here is content. Let's start with modes: Racing Life, a 14-chapter story mode in which you follow Rena's career, from driving a hospital van to professional racer. It has voiced cutscenes, which is incredible. You can also play Event Challenges, in which you can use your amassed RPs to purchase cars, upgrade cars and/or purchase multiple race events to partake in. And there are a TON of events. There's also Arcade(Think of it as VS CPU), VS Player and Time attack. To top that off, we get 11 tracks plus reverse versions of a few of those, and do keep in mind that not all tracks are for racing, some are for rally driving. I find it so hilarious that the first time we get a more than decent amount of content... is for the game that plays like Ridge Racer the least! I mean, the story mode is very cheesy, it even has a behind-the-scenes evil racing group conspiracy, but it's still a welcome addition, and there are so many events you can participate that it's not even funny.

 Namco knew that such a stark genre shift could throw fans a curve, so the game adds an optional Break Assist feature to help you with your curves, which now must be taken at slower speeds rather than using the series trademark drifting mechanics. The game also has three difficulty setting, and as the world's worst racing game player I had no trouble beating the story mode on the easiest setting. That said, while I had a brief stint with Gran Turismo 2 when I was younger, simulators were never my thing and the game failed to interest me as much as the previous Ridge Racers. The story mode has an interesting idea with the pressure mechanic, basically, drive near an opponent, swerving left to right, to fill their pressure gauge, once full they'll 'break' and drive off-road on the next curve, allowing you to easily pass them by. It's an interesting idea, but not enough to entrance me as much as getting the drifting right in previous games.

 I'm glad that this game exists. I love the fact that Namco tried something different with their formula, but... I'm sure I'm not the only Ridge Racer fan that it failed to convert. I had more fun with Le Mann's 24 hours way back when than with this one. Still, it IS a quality game, and I'm sure that people that enjoy Ridge Racer and racing simulators might get a kick out of it, but as far as I'm concerned... I'd rather get back into the real Ridge Racer.
 6.0 out of 10