Not to shabby.
Because of that all the depth in this game relies on drifting and boosting.
It is a lot of fun to do those things but it is very easy to master these things to a point that you can beat a large portion of the game before the weekend is up.
-Graphics
As an early psp title this game as superb graphics, but by now Ridge Racer has the type of graphics you would expect from any game in the racing genre.
The cars have a slight reflection and under the right conditions so does the road. Each track seems to have at least one animated object in the scenery, this can be a jumbo jet flying above you to a an animated billboard. And overall this makes a nice effect. When boosting the scenery gets blurred and light trails appear. When drifting around a corner very fast and very close to the outside wall, this can cause the camera to clip through a wall, and although this isn't really a glitch it can distract you.
-Gameplay
Hold x, release x, turn, hold x, boost, and repeat is basically what you are going to be doing through out the game. And sure most racing games may be similar but in Ridge Racer, it really is that simple. Since this is an arcade style racer, the physics are far from realistic, and that can break this game for you if you are a Toca, Gran Turismo, or Forza player. Really the only thing you have to worry about is hitting other cars, since not only do you lose speed, they gain a boost. The game is very easy for the most part, and then out of no where it becomes seemingly impossible
-Sound
The music in this game is probably one of my favorite things about it.
There are plenty of songs and they are organized into albums which all hold similar style songs. They go from techno like, to crazy frog techno like, and then there are also some jazzy tunes. Ridge racer probably has some of the better racing music I have heard.
As for the cars they sound pretty good, nothing to amazing, but the different skidding noises that are played depending on the surface you're on are quite satisfying. Otherwise through out your racing there is an announcer who comments on everything you do, and don't worry he won't insult you... much. There is also a player that allows you to listen to the music at your leisure.
-Value
I hit the ending credit of this game within 3 days of purchasing it. And I did not play this game 24/7 for those 3 days. In saying that, there is still other things to un-lock after the ending credits so if you are looking for some extra cars and some videos of previous Ridge Racer cut scenes then there is still more game for you to play. But otherwise all tracks are un-locked as soon as you hit the ending cut scene.
There are a good number of tracks in the game, but most of these tracks are either the reverse of another track, or just a different section of another track. The tracks that share sections do feel pretty different, but since the environments aren't different it can seem a little mundane.
Overall Ridge racer is a very good racer, but you should either wait for the sequel or try some other great racer the psp has to offer