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[kanugo]

What's that? A couple more reviews?

GamesTM - 6/10

Ultimately, it’s a quick thrill – a little bit of fiery eye-candy and raw destruction to pass the time – but as its explosions grow more tiring, there’s little else to see among the streets of Shatter Bay, and its focus is clearly muddled. While Unbounded is no doubt a step in the right direction for the franchise, perhaps it was a little early to leave the safety of Ridge City behind.

Meristation - 7,3/10 [Bueno!]

 

[The Elite]

Why do GamesTM and NowGamer say the exact same thing in their quote?

Edit: They are the exact same review with a different score. That's strange. Either way, it's a single reviewer who didn't like the game all that much, not two separate reviews.

 

[kanugo]

Why do GamesTM and NowGamer say the exact same thing in their quote?

Wow, didn't noticed that. Well, they're from the same publishing group: Imagine Publishing.

 

[kanugo]

Eurogamer.net review - 8/10

As I said at the outset though, this is a cautionary tale: nowhere in Unbounded does it tell you that you have to hold down the drift button the whole way through a corner, going against instincts built up by every other arcade racer ever, in order to have fun. When you do hold it down, though, Ridge Racer Unbounded is brilliant.

 

[Nirolak]

Thanks, updating.

 

[The Elite]

Eurogamer.net review - 8/10

This is a big deal. The game really doesn't hold your hand. I wasn't sure whether or not I was supposed to be holding the drift button down. Now I know. Hopefully that makes the experience a little better.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Tomorrow!

What time do games appear on steam?

 

[Jubbly]

Eurogamer.net review - 8/10

As I said at the outset though, this is a cautionary tale: nowhere in Unbounded does it tell you that you have to hold down the drift button the whole way through a corner, going against instincts built up by every other arcade racer ever, in order to have fun. When you do hold it down, though, Ridge Racer Unbounded is brilliant.

This is a big deal. The game really doesn't hold your hand. I wasn't sure whether or not I was supposed to be holding the drift button down. Now I know. Hopefully that makes the experience a little better.

Those of us on the Namco PR list got this email yesterday:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Ridge Racer Unbounded Review Tips
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:51:17 +0000
From: O, P <op@namcobandaipartners.com>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Hi everyone,

This may be slightly belated but I want to bring something to everyone&#8217;s attention regarding Ridge Racer Unbounded.

The X or Square button (depending on your format) is not be used as a handbrake. It is the &#8216;drift&#8217; button to be used in conjunction with the brake (either R2 or Right Trigger). Hitting the X button alone will not get your round corners more easily, you must use the brake at the same time to master cornering.

It&#8217;s come to our attention that this may not be properly explained in game and given how close we are to the title, we perhaps haven&#8217;t communicated this function effectively. For that, I apologise. If you are yet to publish your review and are having problems with the handling, please take this into account.

 

[The Elite]

Those of us on the Namco PR list got this email yesterday:

That's confusing considering the drift button is "B" on the 360 by default and the brake is the obvious "left trigger".

I'll still try and use brake with drifting more to see if I can get a good feel for it.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

I wonder how many of the not-so-positive reviews come from reviewers who didn't work this out for themselves... to be fair, it seems odd to have a dedicated drift button that you must use in conjunction with the brake.

 

[kanugo]

Eurogamer posted a video -- Ridge Racer Unbounded Drift Attack gameplay capture.

Hope it helps.

EDIT: I know the video is on the review page, but if any of you don't want to read the review, you can view the video separately.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

I love the way this game makes the notifications such as lap or points a part of the scenery, that is pretty slick.

 

[1-D_FTW]

I wonder how many of the not-so-positive reviews come from reviewers who didn't work this out for themselves... to be fair, it seems odd to have a dedicated drift button that you must use in conjunction with the brake.

Yeah. Kind of a big omission there, Namco. Nice job.

Between that and sites like CVG complaining about the limited track editor (which we know is tied to playtime and unlocking), I'm definitely putting more stock into gaf impressions than reviews.

I really hope they have a demo when it goes live on Steam, though.

 

[Superfrog]

Those of us on the Namco PR list got this email yesterday:

"It&#8217;s come to our attention that this may not be properly explained in game"

Fail. I mean, if it's something that even experienced players can't figure out by themselves - how can you not implement an explanation on this (especially when every little piece of crap gets explained and hinted at during the loading times of today's games)?

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

I really hope they have a demo when it goes live on Steam, though.

Speaking of which, having never bought a Steam game at launch before, would that be midnight or morning local time, do you know?

 

[BruiserBear]

Eurogamer posted a video -- Ridge Racer Unbounded Drift Attack gameplay capture.

What the fuck is that?


It's certainly not Ridge Racer. :/

 

[kanugo]

What the fuck is that?


It's certainly not Ridge Racer. :/

The hell, man. I thought I posted the wrong link.

 

[Arucardo]

Arrived today

Also, Holy shit this "eco-box" is flimsy, I put my phone on top of it and it caved in D: .

 

[Jubbly]

Arrived today

Steamworks?

 

[1-D_FTW]

Speaking of which, having never bought a Steam game at launch before, would that be midnight or morning local time, do you know?

There's no set rules. And since we don't even have an official time, it could be anytime really.

 

[BigDug13]

And a new one:

NowGamer - 6.6

How the fuck do they give longevity a 6.6 with a freaking track editor and the ability to DL other people's creations?!?!? Multiplayer N/A? Seems like a stupid review.

 

[BruiserBear]

Eurogamer has another gameplay clip of a "demolition" race. Based on the trailers I suspect this is the main race mode.


http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/ridge-racer-unbounded-demolition-race-gameplay-capture


Looks like a poor Burnout/Split-Second knockoff, and I didn't even like Split/Second all that much.

How the fuck do they give longevity a 6.6 with a freaking track editor and the ability to DL other people's creations?!?!? Multiplayer N/A? Seems like a stupid review.

Longevity should also tie into how fun and engaging the game is. If it's not fun it's not likely to have much longevity. You can have one million user created tracks, but if they're not that fun, who cares?

 

[BigDug13]

Maybe they should patch in a "drift tutorial".

Also, I'm betting these "review copies" were as expected as the sudden release of this title. I wouldnt be surprised if many of these reviews were under the gun based on not expecting this title yet.

Edit. On second thought. I bet most of these reviewers didn't even get a copy of the game and they had to go buy it in order to provide a review. Which could garner some "hate".

 

[The Elite]

Eurogamer has another gameplay clip of, of a "demolition" race. Based on the trailers I suspect this is the main race mode.


http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/ridge-racer-unbounded-demolition-race-gameplay-capture


Looks like a poor Burnout/Split-Second knockoff, and I didn't even like Split/Second all that much.




Longevity should also tie into how fun and engaging the game is. If it's not fun it's not likely to have much longevity. You can have one million user created tracks, but if they're not that fun, who cares?

But when you see Multiplayer listed as N/A you know something is up. If they could not review the complete package effectively they should have waited to post the review.

 

[Arucardo]

Steamworks?

yup

 

[The Elite]

yup

Does it let you load the game up from Steam even though it isn't actually released on Steam yet?

 

[BruiserBear]

But when you see Multiplayer listed as N/A you know something is up. If they could not review the complete package effectively they should have waited to post the review.

Come on man. I love arcade racers as much as the next guy. From what I've seen of this game, I'm not the least bit surprised the game is getting 6/7 review scores.

 

[Arucardo]

Does it let you load the game up from Steam even though it isn't actually released on Steam yet?

Haven't tried since I don't have a pc here that can run it, will have to wait until tomorrow to play this.

I'll try and see what happens when I install it :f

 

[The Elite]

Come on man. I love arcade racers as much as the next guy. From what I've seen of this game, I'm not the least bit surprised the game is getting 6/7 review scores.

It's also received a 9 from Edge and an 8 from Eurogamer.

As someone who owns it I feel it's fun and packed with a lot of content. Its tough as nails though which may skew the fun factor for some.

 

[BruiserBear]

It's also received a 9 from Edge and an 8 from Eurogamer.

As someone go owns it I feel it's fun and packed with a lot of content. Its tough as nails though which may skew the fun factor for some.

I've seen so many instances of those two sites overrating Euro made games, I no longer see them as credible when it comes to games made in that part of the world.

I suspect a month from now those will be the highest scores the game gets.

 

[Arucardo]

wat, the install size is only 1,8gb.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

It's also received a 9 from Edge and an 8 from Eurogamer.

As someone go owns it I feel it's fun and packed with a lot of content. Its tough as nails though which may skew the fun factor for some.

I'm almost sure this is the case for some. They wanted some leisurely stroll shit with drifting and destruction. I'm glad that from reports here, it's hard but fair. That is all I ask for.

wat, the install size is only 1,8gb.

Reuse of textures, I'm guess very little voice acting if any.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Wish I knew about the drift button being the way it was before spending a couple hours losing horribly. I like no tutorials and no excessive nagging, but not explaining the drift thing is a motherfucking stupid omission. Off to see if I can hang with the drifting now.

 

[kanugo]

And another site gave it a 8.0/10.

GameSpot review.

The Good

Well designed tracks that reward destruction
Satisfying takedown system
Jumping your car out of exploding buildings
Community-led online modes that reward creativity.

The Bad

Unintuitive track creator
Cinematic replays come at expense of gameplay.

 

[I'm an expert]

If games only still came with instruction manuals..

 

[robot]

And another site gave it a 8.0/10.

GameSpot review.

I agree with the replay, but do they know it can be disabled? That's one of the first things I did.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

I've seen so many instances of those two sites overrating Euro made games, I no longer see them as credible when it comes to games made in that part of the world.

I suspect a month from now those will be the highest scores the game gets.

Burnout, Blur, Split Second and of course Flatout were all made in Europe, the first 3 in the UK. Just thought that was interesting.

 

[soultron]

It's a shame that the game/PR/review guides sent to the press aren't doing a great job of explaining the game. It seems to be getting slammed for those simple oversights...

Looks like a fun cross between Flatout, RR, and BO.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

If games only still came with instruction manuals..

What's funny is that for as thin and uninformative as game manuals are now, Unbounded's manual still included the never-used 'notes' section, this one being a deluxe two-page spot. And, nope, it didn't have even a sentence to explain the drift button at all, either.

 

[Xav]

I personally never really understood the hate for this game, sure it's not your typical Ridge Racer but you have 7 of those on console, 2 great PSP versions, a solid N64 version and a decent 3DS game. There's enough classic Ridge Racer out there to get your fix, hell Ridge Racer 7 runs at 1080p 60FPS so just how much better did you think the "classic" style Ridge Racer games was going to get this generation?
Anyway it's Ridge Racer Unbounded not Ridge Racer 8 so it makes sense that this game would be different. The game is developed by Bugbear Entertainment who did the first 2 FlatOut games which from I saw were very respectable racing games so I wasn't exactly shitting myself about the game being in bad hands.
The reviews are starting to come in and it's looking pretty solid as I expected, this game seems to have a Burnout and Split/Second vibe thing going on so I'm certainly interested. When it's all said and done this game will probably end up being one of the better games in the series alongside Ridge Racer Type 4 & Ridge Racer 2 on PSP.

 

[kanugo]

And probably the last one: IGN review - 8.5/10

Closing Comments
Bugbear has traditionally developed cult hits, so it's great to see the studio given the opportunity to work with a major franchise. Unbounded may not have much to do with the things that defined Ridge Racer, but if you can get over that, you'll discover an energetic, entertaining racer, with gratifyingly destructive environments, challenging gameplay and interesting online. Ridge Racer was due for a reboot, and here it is.