Xbox 360

Ridge Racer 6 (est. price £10 - £20)

It’s an all encompassing dancehall, that of the modern day racing genre. The space has been rented by a massive audience and the top acts are from a variety of backgrounds and schools. In one sweeping glance you’ll catch a stern ballroom routine from Gran Turismo in the centre of the floor. A little to the left: Project Gotham, - a red necktie instead of the jet-black bow SCE has pinned to its flagship. Nearer the drinks table is Criterion’s baby, Burnout, spinning on its head in a renegade break-dance and if you’re lucky you might catch Wipeout doing a cold calculated robot in the corner.

What you mightn’t spot, or what you may choose to ignore, is the silhouetted figure in the background. An eastern representative who looks slightly out of place amongst all the ego flexing and bold characterisations. Ridge Racer 6 isn’t out to impress with looks, style or even a blazoned gameplay gimmick. Ridge Racer 6 wants to be loved by the beholder, not the joy rider.

Taking the core drift mechanic of its forbears and the silk-smooth tracks to match, Ridge 6 doesn’t have much to draw in the newcomer. And it’s better for it. With no shock reinvention and no compromised approach to its winning formula, Ridge 6 is like a shot of mature bourbon in a brand new shot glass.

The central conceit is the drift/powerslide and rather than any fluffy/fully licensed cars, Ridge draws up its own sketches of concept cars with which you’re to slip and slide around the well-designed – and silk smooth – tracks. It’s the halfway point in the lengthy singleplayer campaign that finds the title in its gracious stride. Anything up to that point would elsewhere be labelled a “learning curve” but Namco – and its audience – are a little above all that. The first half of the campaign is a scenic tour of the locale. A brochure of your destination for you to flick through and plan your visit by and trust V – you’ll want to know the tracks for later, because later you’re going to be driving some wonderful beasts against some quite intuitive competition with a soundtrack pumping that Miziguchi-san would be proud of.

The Miziguchi reference is apt as Ridge 6, once fully into its groove, is closest in spirit to a rythmn action title. With the tracks memorised and the engines humming steadily against the pulsing beats, the user will find themselves drawn into a trance-like state of racing, drifting bliss. The new hub in aesthetic reaffirms the basic-is-beautiful approach and in its unlock design reinforces the title’s unique approach to old tactics.

Ridge Racer 6 won’t be for everyone and may well alienate more than it wins over, but with such a solid, simple core for a two-step and a muscular set of calves keeping the pace you’d be a fool to overlook the potential dance-partner who’s been here all along.

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