Ridge Racer Unbounded Review

Let's get it out of the way at the top of the show. Ridge Racer Unbounded is Ridge Racer in name only. This game has about as much in common with Ridge Racer as Forza 4, or Hot Pursuit, or any other racer you'd care to name. As such, you can forget about ludicrously over-the-top powerslide mechanics. You can also forget about gleaming cities, winding mountain paths and beachside runs under an azure sky. About the only thing you can depend on is a suitably ravey soundtrack, with a number of old Ridge Racer tracks, as well as the now obligatory dubstep.

None of this is necessarily a bad thing, however. As much as I love Ridge Racer, the series has been steadily losing its relevance and vitality, so a kick in the pants was definitely in order. It isinteresting, however, that Namco Bandai appears to have given Finnish developer Bugbear carte blanche to disregard pretty much everything that made Ridge Racer Ridge Racer. No matter, judged on its own merits this is a great racing game.

Unsurprisingly, Ridge Racer Unbounded shares a great deal of DNA with Bugbear's well-respected racing series FlatOut. The handling is similarly weighty, the courses littered with destructible elements, the racing combative and the challenge just about pitch perfect. Bugbear has taken all its greatest strengths and honed them, creating its best racer yet.

Source: IGN

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