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Intro
Nowadays, the name Namco conjures up visions of Paul, Heihachi, and Voldo
(Tekken and Soul Calibur characters, for the uninitiated), but it
wasn't always that way. In the early days of the PlayStation 1, now-vacated mall
storefronts were once arcades, where you could often find a fantastic racing series
called Ridge Racer that combined simulation-style driving with arcade-style
play. It was great and we all loved it, as is the case with most things from "back
in the day." As the series continued to churn out new titles, the gameplay
continued to evolve, becoming more refined and enjoyable as it developed an emphasis
on drifting. But despite the series' popularity across the pond in Japan, the
games' popularity waned stateside up to and including the last installment, Ridge
Racer V, released in late 2000 for the PS2. For the newest game, Namco has
dropped the Ridge Racer moniker and also dropped the price to $30 - but
does a new name and price a game make?
Gameplay: 7/10
With quality racing titles fast becoming a dime a dozen,
new racers need something to separate themselves from the pack. New popular racing
titles have added things like style points or "kudos" for pulling off
flashy moves, while others have opted for realism or extremely customizable rides
as their schtick. Whatever the case, it seems that without a selling point, there
is nothing but doom for a racer's future. Racing Evolution is hardly the
exception. The schtick: the panic meter. Follow another racer, slide into his
slipstream, and a meter will appear above that opponent's car. The longer you
stay in the slipstream, the more the meter builds until it flashes red, which
we all know is synonymous with "bad." With the meter full (showing that
the opponent feels pressure), rest assured that the bad guys are rather nervous
and that constant pressure is sure to send them flying off the track at the next
corner, allowing you to easily pass.
However,
this gimmick is both a blessing and a curse. Because there are only six cars on
a track in a given race and because the panic meter works so effectively, the
challenge of finding an appropriate time and place to efficiently pass opponents
becomes nil. Since the player can just wait until the next car up just panics
and drives off the track, there is really no reason to learn the intricacies of
passing. The game does employ one other
feature that helps differentiate itself from the plethora of racing titles on
any game store shelf: brake assist. In an effort to remove any semblance of challenge
from a racing title, Namco has included this wonderful feature. Brake assist lets
the game handle all of the trouble of braking, allowing the player to just hammer
the gas into every corner and let the game figure out when and how hard to brake.
Oh, and by the way, the brake assist defaults to "on." So while this
is a great feature for racing newbies not yet familiar with the intricacies of
cornering, experts will find themselves very frustrated with when and how the
game decides to brake, causing this group of gamers to find the options menu with
record speed. One place where Racing
Evolution really shines is its fleshed-out mode options, the highlight of
which is called "Racing Life." Think of this as a sort of racing story
mode. You, the player, begin as Rena the ambulance driver. As it turns out, Rena
has a knack for finding shortcuts and accelerating through red lights putting
both patient and public service officials at risk. It turns out that Rena's ambulance
driving is so good that she is picked up by a racing team and set to work building
her name in the racing circle across 14 chapters. Each chapter is broken down
into between one and four individual races with each chapter focusing on a certain
racing form. While one chapter will have Rena circling the oval in prototype machines,
another may have her rallying, driving GT cars in Monaco, or even at the ol' drag
strip in a souped-up Charger. However, with only a small, finite amount of tracks,
players will find themselves racing and re-racing the same tracks over and over
and over. The story is fairly compelling and animated with full-on, high quality
Namco CG. To help Rena along are the games equivalent of "kudos." Whenever
Rena performs well, like winning a race or cornering well, she earns TP which
can be spent upgrading the individual car's horsepower and weight. These upgrades
soon add up and let Rena perform better and win more easily on the track. The
other game modes all serve as a sort of complimentary extra to racing life, allowing
players to specify the tracks and cars they wish to use. With several modes available
across several kinds of racing styles, there is a lot of diversity in Racing
Evolution. However, potential buyers should be warned that just because the
modes are present doesn't insure that they are necessarily good. Rally racing
is a genre that has ever-growing support from development studios and the great
titles to accompany that support. And after playing titles like RalliSport
Challenge and Colin McRae, the rally racing in Racing Evolution
just feels off. The cars handle unpredictably and feel floaty rather than how
the high-horsepower beasts handle in real life. Furthermore, the drag racing strategy
is comprised of two things: power braking (holding brake until the Go light) and
using Nitro (hitting Up at the halfway point), making for a very bland drag experience.
But the inclusion of cars that these modes brings with it is nice, ranging from
GT cars to expensive prototypes, from rally class to classic American dragsters
with companies like Calsonic, Honda, Subaru, Peugeot, Ford, Acura, Chevy and more
with representation. The handling in
the game is not quite as arcade-y as, say, Project Gotham Racing, nor is
it a simulation style like Gran Turismo. Instead, it walks the line between
styles and pledges allegiance to none. While cornering knowledge is required to
play and succeed at Racing Evolution, it's also possible to just power
slide through corners and retain a good speed. However, players that approach
corners with too much speed will be punished (assuming brake assist isn't on),
as will players who accelerate too quickly.
Graphics: 6/10
There's no doubt about it: this looks like a PS2 game.
The little jaggies, pop-up, and slightly less-than-ideal framerate are dead giveaways.
However, the tracks (limited though they be) all look great, as do the car models,
both of opposing cars and Rena's. However, cars don't take any damage here, a
very disappointing omission in today's age of shiny, purty video game automobile
accidents. The game's split-screen versus mode performs very well, giving both
players a great frame rate and very playable graphics. But then again, Racing
Evolution has a hard time convincing players that they are indeed going fast.
There just isn't a sense of speed in the game, making some of the upper-tier cars
feel more like a Yugo.
Sound: 7/10
In addition to the usual suspects
of high revving engines, backfiring exhausts, and tire squeals, there are also
features banter between racers and between you and your pit crew. This banter,
although repeated often, is nice to hear and helps spice up the racing life mode
as well as giving you feedback on cornering and acceleration. The engine noises,
which have proven to be quite detailed in other racers, are pretty much standard
fare here, with no signs of change after having gone through upgrades. In short,
the sound is serviceable, good even, but certainly not great.
Control:
6/10
One thing that Racing Evolution should be commended for is its
great control options. The game allows any possible combination of buttons for
any task - even down to letting the player choose between how the PS2 buttons
operate, as analog or digital. But despite the control options, the cars handle
very well. Every little input on the controller has an accompanying onscreen action,
which is exactly what one can hope for in a racing game. And while the level of
control isn't great like the reigning king Gran Turismo, it is serviceable,
and most racing fans will have nothing to complain about.
Overall:
7/10
It's true, R: Racing Evolution doesn't make any revolutionary
leaps in racing games, nor does it nail any one thing so well that it's worth
a recommendation. Instead, Racing Evolution melds many different racing
types, cars, tracks, and modes together to make the everyman's racer. With features
such as brake assist and a panic meter that simplify gameplay, a diverse amount
of varying classes of cars, an entertaining story-based racing mode, and a price
tag of $30, this could be recommended as a Gran Turismo Light - doing everything
the granddaddy of sim racers does, but not to the same degree of complexity or
quality. Instead, Racing Evolution takes aim a bit lower. For gamers looking
for a fun racing diversion that doesn't require a life's dedication, at least
give it a rental, have fun with it, and move on. [
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