Ridge Racer 3D

Review from Cav - Tuesday, 26 April 2011 @ 7:42pm

Is that rubber burning or did you burn out the clutch?

It probably very tough being a release title for the long awaited and much publicised Nintendo 3DS. The world would be expecting you to wow them with all sorts of ‘three dimensional wonderfulness’. The pressure must be immense. But as they say ‘there’s no pleasing everyone’ and that statement rings true with Ridge Racer 3D.

She got legs... she know how to use 'em

I have never really been a big fan of racing titles. I think of all the reviews I have done for Australian Gamer, only two or three of them have been racers, so that says a lot about how I feel for the genre. With that in mind, I actually do believe that Ridge Racer 3DS is a very playable title, but it does become quiet repetitious, as I suspect most do. I couldn’t believe how many races there were in Grand Prix mode, only to complete Basic GP and then be thrust into the Advanced level with even more to do! I completed the 18 events of Basic GP (consisting of 4 races each), gaining first place in all races, but stopped there. The game registers that as being 40% complete. I believe I once said in a review that the great comedian and impressionist, Billy Burmingham, once said during a Formula One commentary sketch: “These fucking cars just keep going around and around and around, it’s just so fucking boring!” and it’s pretty much the same deal here. I just don’t get as competitive as I do with games like multiplayer First Person Shooters, but playing against real people does change things quite a bit. Look, I will certainly play the rest of it one day, but there are too many other games to try on the 3DS (not to mention those built into the console) to warrant spending too much time on one title.

Although I have painted this game with the boring/grind brush, RR3D plays really well. Performing well timed drifts gain you nitrous boosts, which can be banked up and used in single, double or triple bursts. As you would expect, all of the vehicle behave differently, forcing you to change you driving style. The new CirlcePad certainly makes playing this game (and other 3DS titles) much easier than using the D-Pad

Grindage!

There are many cars to unlock during the course of the game, some with different variants, but none of them really look that good, even in 3D. The all appear rather ‘blocky’, although a nice effort has been made to make the windows of the vehicle appear reflective. You can change the paintjob on each vehicle and there are three options to the body type as well. When playing in 3D, there is clear definition between the on screen display and environment and there are obvious attempts to utilise 3D effects, with water and leaves hitting the screen as you complete courses. It’s there, but it’s not really something that makes your jaw drop. One thing that irritates me the most is the large pictures and nametags above your opponent’s vehicles. The DS screen is small, so there’s no real need, or actual space, to fill the screen up with tags. This makes the track ahead really difficult to see. I know the real fact for this is that people just wanna see themselves in a game, but this is ridiculous. Are we all really that vein?

One thing that is a hot topic right now on the 3DS scene is StreetPass, where player information, Mii characters and game records are swapped between two consoles when people ‘pass’ each other in the street, with 3DS consoles in the possession (turned on of course). RR3D uses this technology to exchange Ghost Lap Times. I don’t know how or when I came across a time to beat as I would think that I would only be one of a handful of people in my backwoods country town to own a 3DS, if not the only one in our 3600 or whatever population. Anyway, I was set a time to beat on a certain track and did it with ease….. now to wait to pass someone else with a 3DS and this game…. chances are slim in this town. I have more chance of completing a race in this game with my eyes closed and holding the console with my toes. Not only will I have trouble finding a Ghost Lap Time, but also someone else who has this game. That element alone forbids me to give a multiplayer review, although there is a distinct lack on online racing available. This would certainly assist the lonely country kids like myself.

Blurred vision: not to be blamed on beer - blame it on the nitrous

Pros

• Lots of racing to be had
• 3D visuals are not bad
• Lots of cars to unlock
• Varied Soundtrack

Cons

• Grand Prix season drags out
• Annoying voice overs
• Need StreetPass hits for some game modes
• Cars look blocky
• No online play