When you think of a racing game, the first thing that pops into your head will likely be of a game that's designed for car nuts - something like Gran Turismo. Made by petrol heads, for petrol heads, many racing games tend to be more about tweaking differentials and admiring alloys than, you know, actually having fun.
Ridge Racer 3D, on the other hand, is a little bit different. There are no licensed cars in here. There's no option to tweak your suspension. You can't choose different tyres for different road surfaces, nor can you customise your car beyond choosing a paint job. Ridge Racer 3D is a game that's all about picking a car, plonking you on a track, and letting you delve straight into the fun bits.
Yes, you can race through a shark tunnel. How cool is that??
From the second you boot up the game, and hear a guy rapping about 3D Stereoscopy over the intro, it's obvious that this is a game the refuses to take itself seriously. Even the courses are a bit crazy - whether you're racing across sun-kissed beaches, up cliffs, in between a passage that's the grand canyon in all but name, or even whizzing around an airport, underneath taxiing planes, before shooting off down a shark tunnel that just happens to have a road pass through it, the tracks are almost as interesting as the races themselves, and there's always something to admire. Whether its the ticker tape that lands on your screen when you finish a lap, or a helicopter that flies towards you, there's plenty to keep your eyes occupied when you've got a brief moment out in front.
If you try and drive your car in Ridge Racer as you do in real life, you'll find yourself getting nowhere fast. Even if you try and drive it like a normal racing driver would, you'll still likely find yourself coming last, as Ridge Racer asks for a different style of driving. Its tracks are packed with hairpin bends, curves, and corners that you'd never manage to take in a real car, and you certainly won't be able to manage at the 200+ mph that you're so often doing. The answer, instead, is drifting - and this is the key to Ridge Racer's, er, races.
Ease off the accelerator, and reap the rewards.
To drift, all you need to do is move the Circle Pad in the direction you want to steer, take your foot off the accelerator, and put it back on. Do that, and the back end of your car will fly out, and all of a sudden, you'll be pulling off a drift like a pro. It's simple, effective, and seems to apply some sort of magic to your car, as it makes it corner as if it were doing a tenth of the speed. Suddenly, hairpin bends are no longer a nightmare - they're something you can speed around with ease - and look good doing it.
Each car is channelled into a category of drifting styles, which tell you how easy it's going to be to control on the track. Some cars are harder to make drift than others, but have the benefit of being easier to get back to driving in a straight line. At the other end of the scale are the Dynamic cars, which are easier to get into a drift, but somewhat reluctant to come out of them, and can often see you facing backwards or simply spinning down the track as you struggle to regain control.
But although drifting's essential to get your car around the track in one piece, it does have some other benefits you can take advantage of. The more you drift, and the faster you drift round the tightest of corners, the more you'll fill your Nitrous gauge. With three bars ready to be filled, all you'll need to do is drift - and then, when the bars are pulsing at you, push either the R Button, L Button, or both at the same time, depending on how many bars you want to use, to receive an incredible boost of Nitro that'll see you shooting past (or into) the competition.
In terms of difficulty, Ridge Racer's pretty easy to get into. The main part of the game comes in the Grand Prix mode, where groups of courses are bundled together into cups, which you have to complete to make your way through the Grand Prix. The difficulty level here's been pretty well done, with the first levels being easy enough that even the most novice of players shouldn't have too many problems, and it only gradually gets harder after that. After finishing each cup, you'll be given a handy tip as well, which initially explains how to drift (why it doesn't tell you that before you've started racing is anyone's guess), before going into the intricacies of getting the most from your boost.
Now would be a good time to boost.
The more cups you play, the more tracks and cars you'll unlock as you gradually make your way through the game. There are a lot of cups here, and even if most of them are just making you race around the same tracks you've already done, it helps add a surprisingly long, and structured single player to the game. Which is a good thing, as the multiplayer's something of a disappointment. Only allowing for multi-card play (meaning everyone has to have a 3DS, and a copy of the game), the lack of single-card download play is a glaring omission, and something which makes us very sad indeed. We won't buy two copies of a game to play in multiplayer, but many people might be more tempted to buy a game if it allows for single-card download play. Think about it, developers.
Overall, Ridge Racer 3D is a well put together, fun, over the top racing game that stands out amongst the 3DS launch titles. While it does get samey, and taming the Dynamic drifting cars may take some time, it keeps the attention longer than other racing games thanks to its crazy tracks, and fun, accessible gameplay. While it's no SEGA All Stars Racing, if you're looking for a racing game to go with your 3DS, this is easily the best choice. It's definitely better than Asphalt 3D.
Format Reviewed: Nintendo 3DS
