Ridge Racer 6

 Xbox 360
  • Publisher: Namco
  • Release Date: Nov 17, 2005
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 65 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 65
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 65
  3. Negative: 1 out of 65
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  1. Cheat Code Central
    92
    Due to great track design, 60 FPS, high res support and ability to go online the added benefits of RR6 cannot be ignored.
  2. Game Chronicles
    91
    It’s one of those games that relies more on instincts and experience than reflexes.
  3. GameSpy
    90
    If you want arcade style racing complete with high-speed corner bending, annoyingly foppish announcers and the most fun driving you can have without smashing the other guy off the road... then you want to pick up Ridge Racer 6.
  5. Play Magazine
    90
    Let's just call it very, very good and remind Namco that they'll need to surprise us next time. [Dec 2005, p.55]
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  6. Gamer 2.0
    90
    Quite simply, Ridge Racer 6 is loaded with soul, and comes as a very good and very welcome sign that, underneath all the hyperbole and multifunctionality, the Xbox 360 can be what it needs to be at the core; a traditional gaming console for traditional console gamers.
  7. PGNx Media
    89
    Though it isn’t the most technically advanced out of the Xbox 360 launch titles, the sense of speed is amazing, which almost makes you forget that it isn’t as pretty as it could be.
  8. BonusStage
    87
    The graphics really make the high speed races seem incredibly fast and besides the few hiccups I ran across, they even hold up in online mode as well.
  9. 1UP
    85
    It's the best Ridge Racer yet... If all you're looking for is a fast, fun, and highly replayable racer, you're getting a solid, full-featured package in Ridge Racer 6. But if you're looking for slightly more meat on the bone, "Project Gotham Racing 3" is a bit more filling.
  10. Planet Xbox 360
    84
    Fans of the Ridge Racer series will love 6, and those who abandoned the series after 4 should try again with 6. Racing purists will hate it, but if you’re looking for fun over realism, and can see past the fake licenses and niggles, hours of fun are waiting to be had.
  11. VGPub
    84
    Given the fact that single-player will take you 30+ hours to complete, with plenty of unlockable achievements and cars, there’s a lot of fun to be had playing RR6. I strongly suggest fans of the series pick it up.
  12. Gamer's Hell
    83
    The same enjoyable arcade racing has entered the next generation of gaming, and despite the lack of major gameplay innovations, it’s still a great title to pop in and play for any amount of time.
  13. Gaming Age
    83
    While not really bringing anything too revolutionary to the table, the Ridge Racer 6 package is very close to being flawless.
  14. eToychest
    83
    Realistically, very little of the series’ gameplay dynamics were changed for Ridge Racer 6. The nitrous system is an evolved form of the one found in the PSP version, but beyond that, it is still a good old-fashioned Ridge Racer at heart.
  15. Xbox Solution
    82
    The new courses, the chance to race online and the new cars make this one a must for any fan of the old Ridge Racing series.
  16. GameSpot
    81
    The drift-crazy driving action is intact, as fast as ever, and comes along with a robust online ranking and racing system that breathes new life into the long-running franchise.
  17. Edge Magazine
    80
    Despite its unreserved nature, and being about as tightly tethered to reality as the Burnout series, Ridge Racer 6 hasn’t floated away from its roots. It’s content to sink into its well-established furrow of soaring slides and skids, and it still feels crisply satisfying with it. [Jan 2005, p.82]
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  18. Eurogamer
    80
    There's more excellent-game here than there is tedious-game, but even when you get past the opening stages it still takes a little while to settle down.
  19. MS Xbox World
    80
    If you were to rent RR6 then you would barely have enough time to scratch the surface of what the game has to offer so I would recommend a purchase if you are a racing fan looking for new horizons and new challenges.
  20. Boomtown
    80
    Ridge Racer 6's major irritant is the world's most annoying DJ. He'll make you want to smash the game to bits within a few minutes with his insane banter while you're racing.
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  21. AceGamez
    80
    Quite possibly the most pure arcade racer I've ever played - nothing hearkens back to the simplistic racing fun of arcade machines like this does.
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  22. GamesRadar+
    80
    One thing about that online mode: it features a nasty bug that can completely ruin the experience, but is incredibly easy to fix.
  23. GamerFeed
    80
    A very solid racing game for the Xbox 360 launch. However, long load times and visuals that could have been better (although not too bad) do detract a bit from the title.
  24. GameZone
    80
    Its visuals aren’t even as breathtaking as those found in "Project Gotham Racing 3" but if it’s wild racing action you seek then this one won’t let you down.
  25. Play.tm
    79
    While not as significant as many of the other games in the series, Ridge Racer 6 does a supreme job of being the arcade racer many have known and loved for years.
  26. Kombo
    78
    Graphically impressive and a lot of fun to play, but has stiff competition from the system’s more glorified racers like "Project Gotham Racing 3" and "Need for Speed: Most Wanted." Basically, Ridge Racer 6 comes in third place.
  27. Games Radar
    78
    We expected more from Ridge's first super-powered 360 outing. Disappointing. [GamesMaster]
  28. AtomicGamer
    78
    It's got functional online play and an interesting way to go about delivering a career's worth of single player races, but when it comes down to it, the racing gets old fast.
  29. Next Level Gaming
    76
    It's mostly as an online game, which I have been enjoying quite a bit. Unfortunately, in order to unlock cars and tracks, I have to run through a somewhat boring single player game. I say boring because it's too easy.
  30. PALGN
    75
    Although times have changed and the series isn’t the high profile name it used to be, if you want an old school, arcade style sliding, high speed racing game you need not look any further.
  31. Xbox Evolved
    75
    It just doesn’t feel like the huge leap it could have been, but it is still a pretty good experience while it last.
  32. Game Informer
    75
    My guess is that the graphical tweaks and subtle AI improvements are going to be enough for the series' mjaor fans to be happy with their purchase. [Jan 2006, p.148]
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2005
17
#17 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2005
12
#12 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2005

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 35 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 35
  3. Negative: 6 out of 35
  1. MegWhiteley
    Mar 20, 2012
    10
    Amazing title, this sequel of Ridge Racer is really amazing, the cars, graphics, all are amazing, the control, music, wow. Ridge Racer 6 isAmazing title, this sequel of Ridge Racer is really amazing, the cars, graphics, all are amazing, the control, music, wow. Ridge Racer 6 is one of the most incredible racing titles ever.… Full Review »
  2. squarewindow
    Jan 7, 2015
    10
    Six years after the release of its underwhelming predecessor, six months before Kaz Hirai unjustly left the series' reputation in tattersSix years after the release of its underwhelming predecessor, six months before Kaz Hirai unjustly left the series' reputation in tatters forever and six years prior to the franchise dying a painful death at the hands of Bugbear Entertainment, there was Ridge Racer 6. Namco's Xbox 360 launch title was my welcome to the current generation of HD-enabled consoles. It was the game that convinced me that online multiplayer was something I should care about. It was the first non-RPG I lost hundreds of hours to. And my god, it was, and remains, just the most perfect racing game ever created.

    The key to victory in RR6 is fairly straightforward. Firstly, you must learn the mechanics of drifting, something that should pose no problem to anyone who has played a previous game in the series to a reasonable degree. Next, become familiar with the nitrous/boost system and the concept of "ultimate charge" - the means by which you maximise your nitrous gauge recovery via drifting at the precise correct moment during the conclusion of a boost. Lastly, thoroughly study each circuit through practice and apply the knowledge of nitrous and ultimate charge to each one, determining the optimum points to boost in order that you make the most of your temporary speed increase and your opportunity to recharge nitrous.

    Using this as a base, the game's complexity blossoms massively due to the differences in approach required on each track depending on the speed class and/or car/drift type you're playing as. Some of the special cars later on in the game have their own totally unique ways of handling and charging nitrous, and mastering some of these deserves the greatest respect. This is to say nothing of the thirteen other cars you must carve your way through in order to get to the front of the field in most of the races. While their AI might seem, with a little observation, to be quite limited and predictable (they tend to cluster together in packs of three or four, jostling with each other for position as you struggle to barge past), this is the nature of the game and is to be accepted. The randomness of each race is perhaps diminished to some degree by this setup but it's totally intentional, a challenge laid out before you with a clear objective and a method of attaining your goal. Ridge Racer has never claimed to be an accurate representation of real-world street racing. At its heart it's a videogame you can either win or lose at, and that's why I love it.

    Everything that's crucial to success is present and correct in Ridge Racer 6. A large selection of fantastically-designed and memorable circuits which are a delight to learn and conquer. Sublime handling and depth - try bouncing off the wall on the left-hand side of the apex of the first jump in Rave City Riverfront, just after unleashing your nitrous, in order to minimise time flying through the air, which is less effective than the acceleration gained from staying in contact with the road surface during a boost. An inspired main singleplayer mode, laid out as a 2D "web" with races which feature higher class cars further to the right on the x-axis and races with more challenging AI higher on the y-axis, containing secret routes galore to discover. An immaculately-judged difficulty curve, which culminates in some potentially infuriating but, with the right strategy, perfectly winnable duel races. A hugely-enjoyable online mode which had me hooked for months; there were no circuits that got ignored, everything ended up in rotation because there are no weak links in the track lineup. The ability to upload ghosts and time trial replays. A stunning soundtrack which, at its peak, almost matched anything in Ridge Racer Type 4's electrojazz repertoire. Oh, and the original Pac-Man arcade game is featured as an unlockable. Not bad at all for a minigame.

    The PS3 follow-up, released a year or so later, was in many ways a kind of "Ridge Racer 6.5". It contained all the circuits from the sixth game in addition to a few new ones and, although these were by no means poor, it was obvious that they were the ones left on the cutting room floor when 6's selection was being finalised. Ridge Racer 7 also introduced a couple of features which didn't enhance the experience, and if anything, detracted from it. Chief among these was the addition of customisation in terms of engine parts, tyres, boost kits, etc. This just got in the way of the action and served no justifiable purpose. There was also the ability to slipstream, which I didn't feel added much, and indeed just disturbed the delicate boost, charge, boost, charge ethos of the gameplay. RR7 also didn't quite have the style, and certainly not the soundtrack, that the sixth game had.

    I spent six years striving to get the "win a race on every combination of class and circuit with no collisions" achievement (300 races without bashing into a wall or an AI car), and when I managed it I felt like a total hero. And Reiko was pleased.    … Full Review »
  3. Daniel_N
    Oct 18, 2020
    6
    Ridge Racer 6is fun, stylish, and quite challenging - but not the best racing game ever. I loved playing this game when I was younger, butRidge Racer 6is fun, stylish, and quite challenging - but not the best racing game ever. I loved playing this game when I was younger, but looking at this game now...it’s kind of bad.… Full Review »
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