Ridge Racer V

The replay value isn't as high as it could be, but no doubt, Ridge Racer V is a fantastic game that sports excellent graphics and has some very fun racing action.

If you're after a simulation and you like collecting and upgrading your cars, you might want to wait for "GT 3," but if you're after an adrenaline fix and a fun racing game, then look no further.

Falls victim to the same fate as Namco's "Tekken Tag Tournament," it offers nothing new except a prettier prom dress.

The graphics are great, the music is awesome, and the control I surprisingly found, not as annoying as the previous RR titles.

There's one disappointment - the lack of animation. You may see two or three birds way out flying, but closer surrounding area are completely static; trees leaves do not move, glowing electronic billboards don't animate, ocean water is stiff as stone, and there is no detectable change in weather condition....Still the overall package is very sweet.

The graphics in Ridge Racer V are definitely the game's strong point--most notably, the frame rate. The game runs at a blinding 60 frames per second, which is near TV quality.

While I'd rather be playing "Gran Turismo," there's no denying that Ridge Racer V is a fantastic game and easily one of the best the series has ever seen, if not the very best.

An excellent arcade racing game marred by the lack of anti-aliasing. It seems to suffer from this much more than other games with the same problem.

Overall, the game feels a little rushed with its easy-way-out track design.

I would have liked to have seem damaged panels and broken glass everywhere after you rammed your opponent; no such luck, however.

The game is fun for a limited amount of time, but due to its lack of depth and lackluster at best multi-player mode, you will probably not find yourself playing this game whole a helluva lot once that initial excitement wears off.

For fast, mental-as-anything racing goes, you're better off with a copy of "SSX" and a few mates. Roll on Ridge VI...

Players expecting next-generation gameplay to accompany the update in the graphics may find themselves a bit disappointed. But if mind-numbing powerslides pulled off in polygonal heaven is your thing, then RRV does indeed fire on all cylinders.

Innovation is a word not in the minds of Namco developers, since they're too busy keeping the races fast, competitive and fun for gamers of all age.

The game engine underneath is still strong, but somehow it lacks the same charm and fun as before.

The graphics are excellent (minus the very noticeable anti-aliasing issues) but the gameplay is analogous to driving a tank with broken treads.

Once you finally get underway, however, it becomes evident that the graphics suffer from the anti-aliasing problems that plagued the Japanese PS2 launch.

Ridge Racer V is liable to give players flashbacks to the Commodore 64 days when you could start the game loading, go off and eat lunch, and then return to play the game.