I have never been much of a Ridge Racer fan... that is, until now. Something about the whole Ridge Racer V package, I just really like. The graphics are great, the music is awesome, and the control I surprisingly found, not as annoying as the previous RR titles.

Being both the first Playtation 2 racing title, and the latest Ridge Racer title, many people had high hopes for the game. Visually, the game is among the best looking driving games available today, though it has a few blemishes that non-casual gamers may not even notice. There are jagged edges here and there, and the display just looks kind of rough in spots. The framrate, and polygon counts are both sky high however, and the lighting/effects are excellent, so those little blemishes don't really destroy the game's look. Cleaner visuals, and a little anti-aliasing would have done wonders, but maybe that will happen next time. The GUI is very well done, with plently of fancy transitions and animations. The music, as always, is really good. Namco put together a comfortable mix of techno and rock, and all of it is of high quality, and very appropriate.

Ridge Racer V has plenty of modes to keep most racing game fans happy, and just enough courses (or variations). Namco included the usual assortment of play modes, such as Free Run, Time Attack, Gran Prix and Vs., and each main mode contains quite a few sub-modes and options. As you play through the various RRV game modes, you earn "miles", which then will unlock various races, cars, modes, etc. So there certainly is plenty to do. I am a big fan of any racing game that contains a 2-player VS. mode and allows you to still race against a pack of enemy cars. The draw distance is somewhat close, although the framerate always maintains a solid 60fps, even with all the cars on both screens. A good tradeoff if you ask me. Exclusively racing against a single person on an empty track just doesn't compare.

Usually you either love the control in the Ridge Racer titles or hate it, though that isn't really the case for RRV. It is both easy to pick up for beginners, and deep enough for veterans, and doesn't really require you learn to powerslide perfectly, to compete and have fun. Of course, some hardcore RR fans may frown on that, but I believe it was a good choice on Namco's part. The "bumper car" effect, when hitting walls and other cars has been toned down as well, thankfully.

Even though we have all been playing Ridge Racer V since the day it was released with the Japanese PlayStation 2, it is still probably the best racing title the system has to offer. Although not quite up to the visually flawless level we originally expected from PlayStation 2 games, Namco did an amazing job with RRV, all around.