Hardcore fans of the series may get a kick out of it,but everyone else would be better off waiting for something better.
User Rating: 8.8 | Ridge Racer V PS2
This installment plays very much like the early Ridge Racers with slightly stiffer handling and a lot of variations of tracks all in the city this time out. The fact that you’re constantly having to go on different routes through Ridge City really hurts the game, as the lack of differing locales brings a sense of redundancy to the game lickitty-split. Not even being able to race during the day, evening, and night can help this aspect. The design of the tracks, though, isn’t half-bad. There are some fiendish S-turns littered throughout the courses to keep racers on their toes. Unfortunately the challenge of the game comes more from negotiating these tracks than taking out the computer-controlled competition, who are either dumb as a post or incredibly cheap bastards. More often than not you can pass these cars if you pick your moment, but sometimes they’ll try and run you off of the road just to stay ahead. This is even more annoying when lapping a car because they’ll still ram you instead of graciously letting you pass, like in a real race.
