Rage Racer

Rage Racer[lower-alpha 1] is the third title in the Ridge Racer series of racing games on the PlayStation. Developed and published by Namco, it was released in Japan on 3 December 1996, with releases in the U.S. and Europe following in April and June 1997, respectively. It was the first game in the series to feature a CGI animated introduction, and introduced a new "mascot," Reiko Nagase.[1]

Rage Racer
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)
  • WW: Namco
  • EU: SCEE
Composer(s)Tetsukazu Nakanishi
Hiroshi Okubo
SeriesRidge Racer
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • JP: December 3, 1996
  • NA: April 30, 1997
  • EU: June 1997
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player

Though the game sold well, with praise from reviewers for its graphics and gameplay, it received criticism for its crash mechanics, relatively drab visual style and shortage of tracks. Overall Rage Racer was considered too similar to its predecessors, and as such its impact was limited.

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot (Yokohama Rubber Company billboard can be seen)

Visually the game takes graphical cues from Rave Racer, Ridge Racer's arcade successor, with a more realistic and darker color scheme. The game utilises a credits system, the first in the series, whereby the player tries to earn credits by winning races, which can be used to buy and upgrade cars.[2]

Cars from four manufacturers can be purchased, each favoring a different attribute (e.g., handling, acceleration, speed). All manufacturers offer a 'standard' car and a 'secret' car, which is locked until the top racing class has been reached. Rage Racer also offers a truck as an unlockable vehicle. All of the 'standard' cars can be upgraded, in several stages of increasing cost.

The racing is separated into five numbered classes, named 'Class 1' through to 'Class 5'. The player has three attempts to place in the top three of each class's events, before progressing to the next class. When the player has completed the five 'Normal GP' events, the 'Extra GP' is unlocked.[2] This allows the player to race the same classes on reversed courses. As well as unlocking the Extra GP, the player receives 999,999,999 e.g. in Normal GP - more than enough to purchase all of the cars and upgrade them to Grade 5.

Development

In an interview with the Namco development team, Nobuhisa Mikoda (Rage Racer game designer and project director) admitted that the game was "somewhat off series and aimed to pursue enjoyment in shift controlling".[3] Rage Racer's introduction introduced "mascot girl" Reiko Nagase.[1] Composed by Tetsukazu Nakanishi and Hiroshi Okubo, it marked the beginning of Namco's new primary sound team after their former members began working with other companies doing production on games such as Street Fighter EX (1996) and Driving Emotion Type-S (2000). The former had previously worked on Ridge Racer Revolution.

The game was unveiled at the August 1996 Tokyo Game Show, at which point it had yet to be titled.[4]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings84%[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM9/10[6]
GameRevolutionB[7]
GameSpot7.6/10[8]
IGN7/10[9]
Next Generation[10]
OPM (UK)9/10[11]

Reviews for Rage Racer were positive, though generally mild. Critics widely approved of the use of more photo-realistic visuals than the previous games in the series,[6][8][9][10] though some complained that they were comparatively drab and lacking in color.[8][12] Comments on the game varied widely, but criticisms tended to focus on a lack of improvement over the previous games in what the reviewers saw as key areas. For example, a Next Generation critic summed up, "Ridge Racer games have never been deficient in gameplay or graphics, and Rage Racer is the best of the lot, but this third incarnation still lacks the depth and replay value that can only be satisfied by finally knuckling down and giving players more tracks."[10] IGN concluded, "It's not a bad game, we've just seen it all before (and before that even)".[9] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot criticized it for failing to improve upon the unrealistic crashes seen in previous installments, though he nonetheless described it as "an outstanding sequel".[8]

Next Generation re-reviewed the game three months later, again rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Rage Racer has all the classic elements of Namco's series - the pounding techno music, cheesy but encouraging vocal soundbites, slick power slides - but it ultimately leaves you with the uneasy feeling of déjà vu. Sure, it's a good series, but let's see something new next time."[13]

Kraig Kujawa and Dean Hager of Electronic Gaming Monthly both described Rage Racer as a dramatic improvement over the original Ridge Racer.[6] Major Mike of GamePro concluded that "Once you get over the game's initial lull, you will have plenty to rage about with this cool new Racer."[12] The Official PlayStation Magazine said that Namco had succeeded in developing their game even further, and praised the track and car count, before concluding "The pick-up-and-play experience of the original remains, only now there is more longevity because of the incentive to progress through the classes and upgrade to the fastest cars". The game reached number 5 in the UK sales chart.[14]

Notes
  1. Japanese: レイジレーサー Hepburn: Reiji Rēsā
gollark: Tweaks are ongoing.
gollark: Um, I think you're on the previous line, or I broke things.
gollark: FEAR it.
gollark: Your uptime will reach 100%, assuming no implosions, in a week.
gollark: To keep out very poorly designed spambots? Anyway, I fixed it.

References
  1. Mielke, James (2006-09-14). "Reiko Nagase Feature". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  2. "Rage Racer: Namco's Long-awaited Sequel is Raging Along the Right Track". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 92. Ziff Davis. March 1997. p. 108.
  3. "Ridge Racer V: the definitive interview". Computer And Video Games. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  4. "Tokyo Game Show '96: Japan Shows Off". Next Generation. No. 24. Imagine Media. December 1996. p. 16.
  5. Game Rankings staff. "Rage Racer Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  6. "Team EGM Sports: Rage Racer". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 94. Ziff Davis. May 1997. p. 116.
  7. "Rage Racer - PS". Game Revolution. 2004-04-06. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  8. Gerstmann, Jeff (1997-05-20). "Rage Racer Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  9. "IGN: Rage Racer Review". IGN. 1997-05-19. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  10. "Finals: Rage Racer". Next Generation. No. 29. Imagine Media. May 1997. p. 148.
  11. Rage Racer review, Official UK PlayStation Magazine, Future Publishing, July 1997, issue 21, page 99
  12. Major Mike (April 1997). "PlayStation ProReview: Rage Racer". GamePro. No. 103. IDG. p. 78.
  13. "Finals". Next Generation. No. 32. Imagine Media. August 1997. pp. 116–7.
  14. Official UK PlayStation Magazine, issue 23
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