I made another sig of Sophitia from Soul Calibur 4. Gotta keep the ol’ blood boiling no? Enjoy!
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Review Type : Nostalgia Feeling

It’s really easy to perform outstanding “Fujiwara Takumi” drifting, especially when you are playing Ridge Racer. All you have to do is go at high speed, jam the brakes, turn and voila … instant easy powerslide to get through those corners. First timers probably need 5 to 10 minutes to get the hang of it and after that, you just need to get used to the track to maximize the full potential of powerslides.

This is probably the 4th Ridge Racer game I played. I started off with 1, 2, jumped to 7 on the PS3 and finally this portable version. I can’t really say I fully played 7 because I only ran through a few laps on quick race. But that was enough to get me acquainted back with series.

Getting back to the game, Ridge Racer looks good on the PSP, especially the game runs at ultra smooth framerate with no slowdowns. However I do have to say that the buildings look like cardboxes on some tracks, making it feel like as if I’m playing Ridge Racer on the PS1.

I was hoping for an online play but sadly, there’s none. Ridge Racer 2 seems to be missing the very same feature as well. Guess I will be skipping the second game.

I’m not really a huge fan of Ridge Racer and I merely picked this copy up just for nostalgia sake (other than the fact that it’s a second hand). Although the series don’t offer much gameplay compared to other racing games, I do have to admit that it gives you a great sense of speed and power. This is one game where the “need for speed” is needed more than anything else.

I finally completed my first round of Ace Combat X and I have to say its pretty satisfying. Overall storyline is linear compared to the previous ace combat but its interesting in its own way. Sadly there is no sudden twist in the plot unlike 5 and Zero. Somehow The Demon of Razgriz and Ghost of Razgriz (AC5) still have a nice sound to it.

Most PSP owners would understand the problem present on the analog stick. That problem make things even worse when playing Ace Combat X during the first few hours (for me that is). I tend to overturn a lot and it makes my reaction messed up when I’m avoiding missiles. Instead of moving to the left or right, I’m making a 360 degree spin and ended up being hit. But that doesn’t mean its overall impossible. Play the game for a few hours and it will feel better. I’m just glad I don’t have to chase missiles like in AC2 and 3. That would be hell with the current control.

One time play through wouldn’t be enough as there are many sub missions. After reviewing the missions, it seems like I missed out quite a lot. Now I’m replaying to unlock more aircrafts and go through the missions I left out.

Overall it is a game worthy of the Ace Combat series. With aircrafts and sub missions to unlock, it gives quite a bit of replay value. And because you have the freedom on how to complete the mission, it doesn’t feel static. You can forget the rest of the enemies and focus on the main target or you can wipe out the entire map. Wiping out the area requires a more powerful aircraft and thats where one of the replay values come in. If you enjoyed the previous Ace Combat games, be sure to pick this game up. Once you get used to the controls, you will be flying like how an Ace should be.

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