R: Racing Evolution

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It doesn’t bother me that Namco decided to take the Ridge Racer series in a new direction with Racing Evo. My biggest problem is that the company didn’t jump in with both feet—it only added a bit of realism to the game, resulting in a mish-mash of arcade racing and simulation racing that never really gets up to speed. The on-track action can only be described as skatey, as your tires never seem to grip the road. With a bit of practice, you can compensate for this, but the game just never feels right because of it. Each driver also has an intimidation meter, meaning if you follow closely for long enough, they’ll eventually spin and let you by. Sound neat? It is in concept, though it gets ridiculous pretty fast. If you need an arcade racer, check out Project Gotham or Burnout 2. If you need a simulator, Sega GT or Gran Turismo 3 will do. If you must have a story to your racing game, try Pro Race Driver In short, R: Racing Evolution is only for die-hard Ridge Racer fans.