Never DC

The Burnout fans are enjoying a new racing game named “Ridge Racer Unbounded”, developed by Bugbear Entertainment and published by Namco, a racing video game with the same concepts as Burnout, car racing with the goal of finishing the races in the first 3 places while fragging other cars.

This is not a Need for Speed game even though it looks like, the gameplay is different.

The player will start the game with the main goal to unlock all the cars and zones. Each zone will have stages (might sound funny, but the system works like the one from Angry Birds and other Android games).

After a race, the player will gain XP (RPG system) and will gain a new level once in a while. Gaining a new level will reward with unlocking more powerful cars or better looking ones and also will make new zones available.

Even though Ridge Racer Unbounded is an arcade game, it might be very difficult for most players.

The easiest car to play or at least start the game is the yellow old school “Gallows” (street class). Notice that the cars have five stats, Speed, Acceleration, Handling, Strength and Drifting. Strength is very important for races where the player has to frag other cars (circuit mode).

Speed and Drifting obvious for speed races. However, some races will have available just one car (depending on what level the player has).

The trick to frag other cars is knowing when to use the “Power” (same concept as NOS or Nitro Speed). With the “Power” up, to frag other racers, just run into them and enjoy the slow motion effect. The “Power” can be gained from drifts and destroying the environment.

Ridge Racer Unbounded graphic tweaks.

The game will open a small window when is started (there are no options for graphics from inside the game).

From this window, only the Anisotropic option can be adjusted. Turn it to the maximum, the game doesn’t require an advanced system. Some frame rate drops might appear in some zones but overall, the game was well optimized.

Final thoughts, Ridge Racer Unbounded is a great racing game that both NFS and Burnout fans will enjoy.