The latest installment of Ridge Racer breaks from the norm, but in turn rehashes a gameplay that's been done better.
Track Editor
City scenery
Number of unlockables
Cons:
"Drift" Button
Rehashed game modes
"Ridge Racer: Unbounded" for the PC is the newest installment of the Ridge Racer franchise; this game takes a detour from the familiar tone it's known for in the past. RRU stars a nameless driver who the player controls as he and his gang attempt to control the fictional city of Shatter Bay through a plethora of races on the city streets. The actual story is of little consequence, as the main focus of the game will be the different game modes.
RRU offers plenty of different game modes; the player can go through the single player mode and attempt to control all of Shatter Bay, take their driving skills online against racers across the globe, design tracks of their own creation and take it online for people to try out and race on, and not to mention the different racing modes RRU has to offer. There are five different racing modes in RRU; Domination Race, Shindo Racing, Drift Attack, Time Attack, and Frag Attack make up these modes.
Depending on the mode, RRU has two types of speed boost; if in the Shindo racing mode, then the player will make use of the pure nitro boost, if in Domination mode then the boost speed is replaced with the Power boost. The player can fill up the meter for these boosts by drifting, chasing other cars, or getting airborne just to name a few.
Frag attack is fairly straightforward; there are two modes to Frag Attack, one is when the player takes control of a big rig and much lay waste to as many police cars as they can within the given time to collect to best score. Even though the big rig is able to absorb a considerable about of damage, it's still possible to crash the vehicle. The second mode enables the player to use a street vehicle and take down the other drivers on the road in the allotted time.
The Time Attack mode pits the player against the clock; in order to gain the best time, the player must make use of the time emblems that appear on the race track. Collecting these emblems put two seconds back on the clock, allowing the player to save time and quickly race to get the next emblem.
In the Draft Attack mode, as the name implies, the player must use their drifting skills to beat the clock before the time runs out. Doing drifts in this mode earns you points, just as in the other modes, but an added element is that a number of drift points will earn the player a few more seconds on the clock, thus allowing them to earn more points before the time runs out.
Shindo Racing is the "pure" racing mode; in this mode speed is everything, as the player must make haste to reach the finish line before the other competitors. The nitro boost is solely for the purposes of increasing the vehicle's speed as opposed to wreaking havoc to the surroundings or the competition.
The Domination Mode takes the Ridge Racer franchise in a new direction. In this mode, the player makes use of the power boost to not only reach the finish line first, but to perform a number of commands. With the power boost the player is able to smash into different buildings to discover shortcuts, smash into different objects to collect points, but more importantly the power boost allows the player to plow into the other cars and wreck them or greatly damage them, allowing the player to snatch their position. Other cars have the power boost at their disposal as well, so the player has to mind their surroundings. Though there are shortcuts, a lot of the time they really do nothing to aid the player in gaining an advantage over the competition.
The entire crux of the gameplay falls on the "drift" button. The drift button allows the player to drift around the corners instead of slowing down considerably to make the turn, saving much needed speed and time. This is how the button is supposed to function more or less, but from doing extensive research and the split responses over the functionality of the button, it's clear that there are issues that need to be addressed.
Some call it the "magic" button, but "torture" button would be the better definition; the button does not function like a handbrake, but rather a magical drift button that is supposed to enable the player to drift around corners with ease. There are numerous responses on just how to use the button; some say to hold the button down during the turn, as opposed to tapping it and letting the car go into a drift, others say to just tap the button because holding it down would send the car into an over drift. After playing the game for a number of weeks, there's no clear correct way to using the button, the player will just have to have better luck than this reviewer
Now of course each car has its own ratings on its strengths, speed, handling, et cetera, and the usage of the drift button would vary from car to car, but there's no excuse for the inconsistency of the drift button and the all-around fickleness of it. In all honesty, the developers would have been better off in programing the drift button to behave like a handbrake and save everyone a lot of headache.
Not only is the drift button one of the looming negatives, but the Domination mode is nothing new to the world of racing games; instead of offering refined gameplay from the past RR games or at least putting a new spin on this type of gameplay, RRU just rehashes what's already been done before. The Burnout series has something similar to the mode, and their gameplay is far superior to RRU. Flatout is another racing series with similar gameplay, and ironically enough it was created by the same developers of RRU.
The Track Editor mode is one of the bright spots in RRU; the player is able to create their own cities and in those cities different race modes. There are three basic type of tracks; Start, straight, and curve comprises these tracks. There are different locations that the player can combine and transform into their own original creation; some of those places are the Eastside, Port, and highway to name a few. The player has nearly complete control in the Track Editor as they're also able to add different kinds of obstacles to the tracks, choose the time of day, traffic, the type of racing mode, among other options.
RRU offers a number of unlockables; as the player gain points different types of cars will be unlocked depending on the class, ranging from, such as an Ashburn '72 and Nakamura Racer '70. Different types of tracks for the Track Editor mode can also be unlocked, enabling the player to mix and match different city locations. The city and locations of RRU is quite detailed and nicely modeled, almost making it a shame in destroying half the city during a race.
Ridge Racer: Unbounded seems to be very hit or miss depending on the drifting mechanics of the game; some see the game in a whole new light once mastery of the drift button is achieved while others see no good from the use of the button. The lack of original gameplay is another shortcoming for the racing game, but the few redeeming qualities are the Track Editor and online play. Whether or not they're enough to make the game worthwhile is up to the player.