Ever since Gran Turismo came out, Namco has been fighting a losing battle. Namco would offer up 10-15 invented cars, some invented tracks, and drift heavy gameplay. GT would offer up over 100 cars, real tracks, and more realistic simulation-based gameplay.
Ridge Racer would lose in nearly every category, from fan opinion to reviews and retail sales. So Namco decided that it was time to change up their strategy a little bit and take the battle to GT on its own ground: a more realistic driving game with licensed cars.
The result? GT wins again.
Story
So, GT has more licensed cars and tracks? Well, Namco has...a storyline...with two female characters that can't seem to figure out how to cover their chest area. You play as Rena Hayami, an ambulance driver who gets recruited as a race driver when she saves another driver by quickly delivering him to the emergency room.
A team manager named Stephen recruits you into his team, and you're off...driving hugely expensive cars with no real training whatsoever.
Gameplay
While the gameplay is less drift-heavy than the Ridge Racers that came before it, R: Racing Evolution still feels "loose". You can't attack a turn as hard as you would in a standard racing game because you'll spin out. So, you'll end up having to attack it a different way, either by enlisting the assistance of other drivers (ramming speed!) or by making shortcuts on sharp turns. Whichever method you choose, it's a fairly easy road to victory.
Since Namco couldn't just throw some 'tweener racing game out there, and expect people to jump after it, they added some gimmicks. One of those is the radio chatter between you, the pit crew, and the other drivers. Unfortunately, this tends to get REALLY repetitive. In Rally Mode it isn't so bad, but I think that's mainly because there are less Rally races out there, and the dialogue is slightly different from the other modes.
The other gimmick is the Pressure Meter. As you pull up to other cars you'll notice a black bar underneath their name. As you stay behind them and start gaining on them, the gauge will fill, and the opponent will do something stupid to let you by him. This fails for two reasons. First, in the GBA title, Initial D, the Tension Gauge was already introduced. Second, by the time you've filled the gauge, you're already past the other driver. I think Namco would be wise to strip this from the next version of the game.
The game also fails to convey the feeling of speed. I go hauling around the track in cars that have pretty hefty top speed bars. Even so, I find myself constantly looking at the speed gauge and not being convinced that I'm actually going anywhere near that fast.
Graphics
This is on the GameCube, a system that is supposed to be powerful than my PS2, yet when my friend brought over GT4 Prologue, it blew R: Racing Evolution out of the water in every visual aspect. The only exception is the dust in Rally Mode. I've always hated the way it's blindingly obvious that it's just a repeated cut-off texture in GT. Namco manages to do that a little bit better. But from the introduction right up to the replays and the racing...GT4 Prologue kicks R: Racing's behind. Royally.
If you're just letting the game stand on its own rights, it's pretty. It's just not that pretty. The cars are very shimmery in showroom mode, but parts of the racing and the tracks just look dull and drab.
Sound
Sound used to be one of those areas that Ridge Racer was supposed to be all about. Apparently, that's a thing of the past now, and with something like 12 audio tracks to choose from, you're bound to be disappointed. Most of the tracks just don't do it for me at all. What stands out more in my mind is the voice-over work which, while not awful, doesn't really seem to fit the characters. They're either WAY over the top or disporportionate to the age of the character. I guess that's the best you can hope for here in the US.
Gripes
First off, Namco's GOTTA get some better localization people. Some of the phrases people say on the track are awkward and stilted. They don't bother you so much at first, but after the 10th time you've heard Stephen say, "You don't want to be the reason for an accident." you start yelling back, "You mean, 'You don't want to cause an accident!', Stephen!" Stuff like that bothers me. Mainly because it's the easiest thing in the world to fix, and that good, top-notch editors and localization people are SO easy to find that it makes absolutely no sense to keep people employed who can't cut it.
Then there's the story. Namco has always put some cyber-babe into their racing games, but apparently couldn't ever find a decent way to work her in. She's really awkward in the intro of Ridge Racer IV, and apparently, Namco though it would be best to actually give the cheesecake girl a role in the plot instead. Oh yeah, and then give her a shower scene. Yup. The first racing game EVER to incorporate a shower scene. (No real nudity...no worries for the kiddies.) Oh, how far we've come.
Personally, while I DO like a racing game that starts out with a story, I'd rather have it make sense, and I'd also like for it to be customizable to my character. Give the gamers a choice of either driving as a female or a male avatar, and allow them to customize their looks. That would do a lot more for me than some out of place, gratuitous shower scene, and women who can't zip up their jackets.
Also, if you're going to talk about cars getting damaged in your game...you have to throw car damage in there. Otherwise strip out the comments about making the engineers grind their teeth, and being relieved that there's no major damage to the car. You're just calling more attention to the fact that you didn't put it in.
This game also needs some better car customization options. It might as well just have "Option Package 1", and the like, if all it allows the player to do is lighten the body and increase the horsepower. Every racing game I've played gives you more customization than this. That's just sad.
Overall
This game would smoke Tokyo Racer Extreme 01 off the line. But, Initial D, Auto Modellista, and Gran Turismo 4 Prologue are all better. If you have a GameCube and you NEED a non-cart racing game, then go ahead and get this. Anyone else...stay away. The only plus for Namco is that now, with a more realistic game, they have the ability to pick the pieces up, figure things out, and grow. Ridge Racer V's reception showed that people were tired of the series going in the same old direction, and at least Namco is willing to open up and go after something new. Hopefully, they get a real story, some more licensed cars, better physics, and more of a sense of speed in the next game.
