Every time I think of Rave Racer, I'm reminded of the games it, and the Ridge Racer series in general, has had an influence on. One such game in particular, is Trackmania 2, which is slated for release later on this year. It is rumored the game's car handling will be very drifty and that the car will be able to initiate a slide similar to the way it's done in Ridge Racer. This news has me extremely excited about the game. Nadeo, the developers, have even stated Rave Racer as having an influence on them and on Trackmania. The guys at Criterion too, have cited the RR series as having an influence, and it is apparent in their Burnout games as well as the recent NFS Hot Pursuit.
The thing that absolutely boggles a lot of people's minds however, is the recent decision by Namco to farm this beloved franchise out to a western dev, and to add insult to injury, turn it into a FlatOut/Burnout clone. I mean seriously...what tool at Namco is responsible for making this decision and thinking a destruction derby type game is what Ridge Racer fans want? I'm just shaking my head at the moment. It's even more bittersweet for me personally, because I have always wanted Namco to announce a Ridge Racer game for the PC. So they FINALLY do it and what do we get? A burnout ripoff. Unbelievable.
With that having been said however, I have just recently seen a video which has footage of Namco and their western counterpart, Bugbear, talking about their philosophy behind the new direction this Ridge Racer Unbounded game will be taking. I came away slightly optimistic and even dare I say, somewhat excited. So I guess we'll have to wait and see. For those of you interested in seeing the video, it is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcTbcNi-22U
In the meantime, I will remain eternally grateful to the author of VivaNonno, as well as the MAME devs, for being able to play Rave Racer on my display at home. Once time passes and the MAME Devs improves mame to where Rave Racer runs absolutely perfectly, I will be in heaven
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