There are times when I write these reviews that I feel like I lived in a vacuum for about 10 years. I've never played a Nintendo 64 game. (I did have a Sega!) So, I didn't play the original Ridge Racer 64. That being said, I can't compare the ported version to the original and don't know if it lives up to the original, but then technology has come a ways since then.
The visuals for a handheld racing game are spectacular. The cars are crisp and clean, colors are on a sliding palette and subtle. The road is crisp and clear and buildings are easily distinguishable from one another. Maps are presented in a rotating 3-dimensional image - beautiful however rather useless. Seeing it rotating from the side makes it awfully difficult to tell what the track looks like.
The game is set in levels of three tracks. The first is a cityscape, the second is in the mountains and the third is in the desert. They become more difficult as you progress to the desert and then by level. To progress to the next level you need to place 1st in the previous three races. You also have timed races and races to win different cars. Each has different properties but, unfortunately, some of those properties consist of nothing more than a different color of a previously existing car - and then you have the option to change the color anyways.
Cars do handle differently, but it often doesn't make much difference. There are no physics to speak of in the game. Memorizing the track and going as fast as you can is the easiest way to win. Hitting another car doesn't run it off the road; it simply slows you down and speeds it up. It's rather frustrating to know that your skills won't affect the outcome much.
What Ridge Racer was known for on the N64 was the ability to drift around corners and this has not changed for the DS version; it's the one way you can affect the outcome. Unfortunately, it still will come down to memorizing the track and being the fastest car on the track.
Utilizing the graphic upgrades of the DS, compared to other handheld systems, seems to be the best utilized feature of this version. One of the things I've rarely liked about racing games is the volume of UI on the screen when racing. The one part of the UI that is important is the track - you've got to know when the corners are coming! Unfortunately, the track was placed on the touchpad - to view the track you've got to take your eyes off the track.
One of the more interesting attempts to utilize the touchpad I've seen was the steering options of Ridge Racer. You could steer with the D-pad, with the stylus on the touch pad or with your finger on the touchpad. Your finger is much more accurate but takes a long time to learn to use and by the time you're comfortable you'll find you need to clean the pad as it becomes less responsive. The D-pad still feels like the best way to steer.
I'm sure at the time of its original release Ridge Racer was a fabulous game. Unfortunately, technology has come far since then and even basic arcade racers are more responsive and require more skill. It's a beautiful game but shows no effort to make itself into a game for the platform.
I'm a mother of two boys, ages 7 and 10 and live in the chaos that ensues. I've a permanent disability that keeps me homebound, so books, kids, games and books are my constant companions. Oh, and books, too. *grins*
My children both play games so I often play them first, getting to know exactly how something may effect my sensitive and easily stimulated older child vs. my stoic and imperturbable younger.
I like games for games; for the pure enjoyment of them and believe that no game is wholly bad, though some are real stinkers.
I also have the dexterity of a camel in mittens so find playing FPSs difficult (and I also don't like the gore) and RTSs at times can stump me. I just can't seem to move quickly enough to keep up with them. Some of my favorite games are arcade games and I'll spend 3-5 years on the same 5-6 levels because I just never get any better. But, I have fun.
