| VGLN.com
Gamecube >> Reviews
>> article
R: Racing Evolution
by Jolex Del Pilar
Sunday, December 28 2003
Namco's racer attempts to walk the line between arcade and sim.
 |
|
|
Title:
R: Racing Evolution
|
Platform:
Gamecube
|
Publisher:
Namco |
Developer:
Namco |
#
of Players: 1 - 2 |
Genre:
Racing
|
Origin:
Japan
|
Expected
Release:
December 2003 |
Grapevine:
It's always better to focus on a series' strength, and keep the gameplay elements that made the series successful in the first place... |
Namco's Ridge Racer series was one of those super hit, million seller types when it was released on the first PlayStation. Since then, there have been a few iterations of the series that have more or less been successful, including Ridge Racer Revolution. Namco's newest racer is called R: Racing Evolution and it's more or less a continuation of the racing series that started way back in 1994. This time however, the game features a linear storyline that may interest those who have ever enjoyed movies like Days of Thunder.
The game features an attractive, former ambulance driver named Rena Hayami. She's discovered by a race team owner while she's doing some fancy driving in an attempt to bring a patient to the hospital in time. Soon enough, Rena is recruited into this racing team and is challenging the best in the world. Along the way she'll meet her equally attractive rival (or friend?) Gina Carvalli, who also like Rena, walks around with her racing suit unzipped fairly low. The story unfolds over about a dozen chapters and is a nice touch for those who want some back story in their racing games.
Now before I begin any commentary about the actual gameplay, let me first say that I highly enjoyed games like Codemaster's Pro Race Driver which attempted to do just what R: Racing Evolution is doing; a story mode racer, with a big focus on details. Let me also say that R: Racing Evolution manages to do both competently but not spectacularly. First off, R: Racing Evolution has its roots with an arcade racer, and many of those gameplay elements are still here today, Ridge Racer lives! However, Namco decided to add sort of realistic customization mode that allows you to increase the spring of your rear shocks, or change the height of your spoiler. While this is a great addition, all my tuning and modifications didn't seem to add to much on the actual track. In fact, you might say that R: Racing Evolution features "friendly physics". Cars can manage hairpin turns at fairly high speeds as long as you mash that analog in tune with the turn. Even with Namco's efforts to "sim" RRE, it still seems on the surface that it's an arcade game. This tells me two things. First, Namco was trying to satisfy two crowds, the arcade types and the sim/purist. Secondly, it shows that it's always better to focus on a series' strength, and keep the gameplay elements that made the series successful in the first place. Now, that's not to say that RRE is a failure by any means, in fact it's a really fun game that racing fans will enjoy. However though it's not a Devil May Cry 2 type debacle, the game is probably a step behind today's best arcade racers, namely Project Gotham 2. RRE features a fun racing experience, as long as you forget about the details and just concentrate on the racing. Also, I highly suggest keeping the difficulty on hard. The easy and normal settings will be an utter joke for most serious race fans.
Rena has very cute eyes. Too bad you won't get to see them much except during the pre-rendered cut scenes.
One thing that RRE has that a lot of racers don't have (notwithstanding the aforementioned PGR2, and GTA3) is a vast array of real world cars of 4 different classes. RRE features a plethora of different cars from GT, Rally, proto-type and drag racing classes all of which come from the game's 4 gameplay types. Each of these cars is meticulously detailed down to the headlights and rims. My personal favorite was the EXP Speed 8 from Bentley. This thing literally feels and moves like a jet plane on wheels and I took great jot in setting up arcade races where I had this monster against Mini Coopers, and Acura RSX's. Take that fast and the furious! One cool thing is that after you win the race, you can watch it during a movie-camera type replay mode. It really shows off the visuals of the game, which for the most part are solid. They are not quite on PGR2's level, but they are also not far behind.
To extend the gameplay of this title, Namco decided to add a challenge mode which lets players try certain things like getting a fast time on a certain track or not hitting a wall during the course of a race. If these objectives are completed, players can unlock secrets like new cars.
R: Racing Evolution is a great title for racing fans that don't have an Xbox. For the Gamecube, this game is quite literally the best racer on the system that doesn't feature brothers who are plumbers, and karts shaped like green dinosaurs. If that wasn't enough, Namco was nice enough to include a free copy of Pac-Man VS. with each copy of R: Racing Evolution. Now wasn't that nice of them?
--- Jolex Del Pilar
|
