rec.autos.simulators

plus more screens:

http://media.ign.com/thumb/942/942310/shinridgeracer_092104_qthigh_th...

http://watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20040921/scej12.jpg

Damn. Looks exactly like Ridge Racer V actually. Which means I won't like it
as much as Ridge Racer Type 4.

Tommy

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IGN's impressions:
http://psp.ign.com/articles/549/549982p1.html?fromint=1

September 21, 2004 - Sony Computer Entertainment and Namco unveiled to the
press today a PSP title everyone had hoped to see sooner than later: Shin
Ridge Racer. Announced back at E3 as an all-new portable entry in Namco's
classic arcade racing series, all went quiet on the game until now. Today,
we were given a chance to get our hands on the title running on an actual
PSP unit!

The version of the game on display was a recreation of the very original
Ridge Racer track, as featured in the PlayStation 2 launch title. From what
we could tell, it mimicked the PS2 version exactly, minus the shimmer that
was the trademark of many PS2 games back then. The game looks gorgeous on
the small screen, especially with the lighting and reflection effects and
the amount of geometry for buildings and trackside objects.
Best of all, the gameplay had that arcade-like Ridge Racer feel to it,
complete with massive drifts. The demo allowed for both analogue and digital
control, with acceleration handled via X button and breaking via triangle.
The track layout was exactly the same as remember, and the sense of speed
was spot on. It will be fun to compare the PSP and PS2 versions side by side
to see how the wide screen display on the PSP affects the sense of speed.

The demo was locked to the single track. We couldn't get to a menu screen,
and we couldn't finish the race no matter how many times we got through the
single lap. Still, playing through the Ridge Racer track over and over again
was tremendous fun (it was even fun without sound effects -- the game only
had a bouncy music track playing over and over again in the background).

There wasn't anything "Shin" (new) about the Shin Ridge Racer demo we got to
play today, but as Ridge Racer fanatics we're not complaining too much. Give
us a few extra tracks, some extra cars, some simple modifications, add a hot
girl for the intro, and give this sucka to us at launch, Namco! Can't break
the PlayStation tradition of launching with a Ridge Racer title, afterall.

Check out the media section for the first video footage of Shin Ridge Racer.
We filmed it off a video being projected onto a large screen. For a brief
look at the game running on actual PSP hardware, check out our PSP hardware
impressions story.

Regards,
--
Matt Costanza
Austin, Tx USA