Ridge Racer 7 (リッジレーサー7) is a 2006 arcade-style racing video game developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3 as a launch title. The seventh installment in the Ridge Racer series for consoles, Ridge Racer 7 is essentially the PlayStation exclusive version of the Xbox 360 exclusive Ridge Racer 6, but with more content. The game has around 40 cars, many of which are from Ridge Racer 6 and Ridge Racer (PSP). There are also 22 courses, available in forward, reverse and mirrored. The game runs at 1080p native resolution and 60 frames per second. It also features Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and free online gameplay via the PlayStation Network. Like many other Ridge Racer games, it features a full motion video opening that stars mascot Reiko Nagase. The game received positive reviews from critics. A patch was made available in October 2010 titled Ridge Racer 7 3D License Version that enables Ridge Racer 7 to be played in 3D. Following this, Bugbear developed the drastically different Ridge Racer Unbounded, released in 2012.

Gameplay

As in previous games within the Ridge Racer series, the gameplay centers on high speed circuit racing featuring "drift" handling, where the player slides the car around turns without great loss of speed. New features in this iteration include car body and engine customization which can affect the performance, handling and nitrous boost system of the car. Ridge Racer 7 also actively encourages players to slipstream other cars, whereas previous iterations did not mention that this technique increases speed. This game sees the "unlimited restarts" return for the first time since Ridge Racer Revolution in 1996, which means the player can restart during the race (including the regular races and the duel races) at any time. The player can re-play the same race series for more points and money. A global ranking system is used to rank players. It uses a combination of FP (Fame points), CR (Credits, the game's currency) and OBP (Online Battle Points, gained in the online races) to work out an overall number of RP (Ridge Points), which are displayed on the player's Ridge State ID Card.

Game modes

Single player

Multiplayer

Development and release

The game was first unveiled at the 2006 E3 event in a teaser trailer, and the first trailer of game footage was shown at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show. It was originally released as a launch title for the PlayStation 3 in all regions in 2006 and 2007, in a similar fashion to the first Ridge Racer on PlayStation, Ridge Racer V on PlayStation 2, and Ridge Racer(s) on PlayStation Portable. It has since been re-issued under Sony's "Platinum" and "The Best" budget lines.

Extras

Namco released downloadable extras and content for Ridge Racer 7 through the PlayStation Network in March 22, 2007. This content included extra events (the UFRA Special Events) and special decals for customizing the roof of the car. Players also had the option to purchase extra background music for their game. These add-ons were added to the US PlayStation Store on 1 June. A patch for the game was released in October 2010 to make the game playable in 3D. The classic arcade game Xevious is unlockable in this game.

Reception

Critical

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four nines for a total of 36 out of 40.

Accolades

Ridge Racer 7 received the IGN Award for Best PlayStation 3 Racing Game of 2006.