Review
Played on: PlayStation 3
Released: 2006
Released: 2006
While naming this as a new, numbered entry could be a bit generous, it could easily just have been a RR6 Deluxe, let's take a closer look at some of the differences to RR6. On the surface they really aren’t that different from each other. But look further into them, and they have a few differences to their layout and presentation.
Visually, straight off the bat, the picture is brighter but blander in variation. Back when this generation of games was new, more vibrant colours weren’t so much the trend. RR7 is at least brighter and less muted, with heavy contrast, like RR6 was, but on the other hand it lacks variation in it's colour and lighting spectrum. The overall higher brightness and less varied time of day sunsets in RR7 make a lot of road and environment detail blend into each other and look less pronounced from one race to the other.
I guess the flip side of playing RR6 and RR7, side by side, back in the day was that it looked brighter and a step away from the darker style of colouring that was popular back then. Yet, in these modern times I played RR6 with the Xbox Series X’s ability to Auto HDR the picture, which resulting in far better colour depth, plus the variation in sunsets and time of day is much more pronounced in RR6.
I gave RR7 a spin on a PC monitor however, and forced on a sort HDR look alike option, and it kind of helped the game look less bland and more colour strong, even though it wasn’t technically doing what the R6 benefited of with Auto HDR. Regardless though, they both visually do their own thing, you'll have to decide what you prefer.
Aside from its colour scheme though, RR7 looks nice, even featuring some upgraded detail in its roadside animations and environments. The bump from 810p to 1080p helps the game look a tad sharper than RR6 too and is very impressive for such an early, seventh gen, title. The impressive 1080p comes at a slight cost though, remember 1080p was real rarity in this gen, let alone being 60fps, it features zero anti-aliasing with a lot of jaggy edges everywhere and some framerate drops do sadly occur.
Aside from its colour scheme though, RR7 looks nice, even featuring some upgraded detail in its roadside animations and environments. The bump from 810p to 1080p helps the game look a tad sharper than RR6 too and is very impressive for such an early, seventh gen, title. The impressive 1080p comes at a slight cost though, remember 1080p was real rarity in this gen, let alone being 60fps, it features zero anti-aliasing with a lot of jaggy edges everywhere and some framerate drops do sadly occur.
At the end of the day I think I preferred RR6 visually, even though it might not have been so back when they released in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Somehow RR7 ends up looking a little more dated with the less pronounced and iconic segments, like the distinct tunnels lit in red or green from RR6.
Feature wise we have much of the same tracks and cars, a let-down I’m sure for people lucky enough to own both consoles back in the day and wanted a brand-new RR game. RR7 neatly expands the experience though, with a few extra courses in a tropical styled environment, complete with a tunnel sporting an impressive, reflective wet road surface effect behind a massive river fall. Reflective surfaces come back in other race circuits too, adding a welcome extra visual flair alongside more confetti, leaves or sparks compared to RR6.
Car list is basically the same, but RR7 expands by letting you upgrade them too, a neat touch nodding all the way back to the RR classics Rage Racer and Ridge Racer V. Where RR6 featured the simplistic and stylish hexagonal grid system to unlock races, just like the two RR games on the PSP, RR7 goes for a full race team managed styled campaign.
Feature wise we have much of the same tracks and cars, a let-down I’m sure for people lucky enough to own both consoles back in the day and wanted a brand-new RR game. RR7 neatly expands the experience though, with a few extra courses in a tropical styled environment, complete with a tunnel sporting an impressive, reflective wet road surface effect behind a massive river fall. Reflective surfaces come back in other race circuits too, adding a welcome extra visual flair alongside more confetti, leaves or sparks compared to RR6.
Car list is basically the same, but RR7 expands by letting you upgrade them too, a neat touch nodding all the way back to the RR classics Rage Racer and Ridge Racer V. Where RR6 featured the simplistic and stylish hexagonal grid system to unlock races, just like the two RR games on the PSP, RR7 goes for a full race team managed styled campaign.
RR7 begins with making the player take a manufacture trail to access their first car and from there on you have access to buy the other car models that manufacture offers. RR7 is centred around winning money from races and expanding the game by buying parts, cars and designs, rather than unlocking hexagons to new races in RR6.
I felt the money and unlocking was a little too slow though, both RR6 and RR7 feel a little like a grind in general to get through them. This problem derives from the more simplistic nature of modern RR games, lacking the gameplay depth of the old series that ended with RRV. As such I found the tour and management focus of RR7 to be slightly out of place, compared to the straight to the races style of RR6 and the PSP games.
I was sad to realise RR7 was missing a CGI intro with Reiko Nagase, RRs famous mascot girl, it just changes to a generic title screen. The actual layout of the main campaign presents itself more cluttered and less intuitive than RR6's minimalist approach, although RR7 has far more depth to it's campaign. I found the music lacks some of the cool upbeat flair of RR6's most original songs of it’s soundtrack, and car engine sounds have been swapped out for a generic buzzing like sound which is just horrible.
All in all, I was hoping the main sell point for this game over RR6 was a jump to 1080p, brighter visual style and more campaign depth, resulting in something for the better, but I was left a little divided. Sure, the actual racing is identical and gives you the same entertainment value either way. But there are a lot of plus and minus points going for both games. RR7 has a deeper campaign to dig into for sure, but is that really what you are looking for in this type of game? The more dramatic colouring and dark contrast of RR6’s slightly lower resolution is exchanged for a sharper and brighter 1080p but less is less varied and blander as a result.
I was sad to realise RR7 was missing a CGI intro with Reiko Nagase, RRs famous mascot girl, it just changes to a generic title screen. The actual layout of the main campaign presents itself more cluttered and less intuitive than RR6's minimalist approach, although RR7 has far more depth to it's campaign. I found the music lacks some of the cool upbeat flair of RR6's most original songs of it’s soundtrack, and car engine sounds have been swapped out for a generic buzzing like sound which is just horrible.
All in all, I was hoping the main sell point for this game over RR6 was a jump to 1080p, brighter visual style and more campaign depth, resulting in something for the better, but I was left a little divided. Sure, the actual racing is identical and gives you the same entertainment value either way. But there are a lot of plus and minus points going for both games. RR7 has a deeper campaign to dig into for sure, but is that really what you are looking for in this type of game? The more dramatic colouring and dark contrast of RR6’s slightly lower resolution is exchanged for a sharper and brighter 1080p but less is less varied and blander as a result.
Regardless of which one you end up with, they're both great examples of the second generation of RR games. If not also for a insight in how arcade racers were back in this time period, when the late 90's and early 2000s style on Japanese games still shone through.
If you’re curious to how the PSP styled RR games made it to the big and powerful systems of their era, then RR6 and RR7 are a great ways to experience that.
