Ridge Racer 7

We take the PS3 online in Ridge Racer 7's multiplayer mode. It's all about the boost, baby!

Also check out our hands-on preview coverage of Namco's other upcoming PS3 launch game, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire!

With so much held secret "hush hush-y" about PS3 in the last few months, Namco-Bandai has been one of the few companies that have giving the press lots of access to its PlayStation 3 launch titles. Even before the Tokyo Game Show, we had several opportunities to take Namco's latest racer out for a spin.

Drifting is still the key mechanic in Ridge Racer 7

Drifting is still the key mechanic in Ridge Racer 7

Launching along side the PS3 on November 17th, Ridge Racer 7 continues the popular drift racing series onto Sony's new console. Ridge 6 looked great on 360, but Ridge 7 runs in gorgeous 1080p definition, one of only a handful of games to support the new high-definition standard. While many argue that the jump to 1080p isn't that substantial, on full-HD TVs over 40 inches, it makes for a nice boost.

We sat the single-player driver's seat several times, so this time was all about online. Nacmo set us up in an eight-person race, where I was pinned against some kind fellows in the Ridge Racer 7 QA department. Six of the other players were sporting matching red rides, while one player had a secret ride--I was told I can't talk about it under penalty of Chinese water torture or comparable punishment--that you'll definitely recognize.

RR7 offers split screen multiplayer, in addition to online play

RR7 offers split screen multiplayer, in addition to online play

Ridge will support 14-player online races in certain game modes, but as this one was only 8, I figured my chances were pretty good. The first race was everyone-for-themselves, followed by a team race of 4 vs. 4. Getting online is surprisingly simple, and you can pop your custom ride right into online play. The Ridge team has done a really nice job making the menu system very user-friendly, and navigating is a snap. There is also a snazzy ticker that runs on the bottom of the screen presenting real-time news from the Ridge universe, as well as user achievements and messages.

The first race ran very smooth without even a hiccup of connection problems. As usual, to succeed in Ridge you'll need to drift like mad to build up your three nitrous meters. You can fire off nitrous one meter a time, or combine two or three for enhanced boosts. Slip-streaming, sucking boost from an opponent is also a must and is new to the series. I consider myself a decent virtual racer, so I wasn't all that surprised when I took first place in race #1, though I suspected the competition might have gone a tad bit easy on me to heighten my already floating ego.

1080p really makes these car models pop

1080p really makes these car models pop

So on to race #2, a team game of 4 vs. 4. Red or blue player names hover above each car to designate what team it belongs to. Team games require teamwork, of course, and techniques like trapping and blocking will come in handy. I came in fifth in this race, but my team won, so it was obviously my defensive skills that won us the race.

Overall, Ridge 7's online mode was simple to use and performed exceptionally well. The addition of the slipstream mechanic forces players to strategize even more, especially during team races where every bit of boost is important.

We'll have our Ridge Racer 7 review ready on Nov. 17th along with the rest of PS3 lineup we're all been so "patiently" waiting for.

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