Ridge Racers 2 on PSP – first details

PSP must-have racer to get sequel

Posted by Staff
Japanese gaming bible Famitsu has reported on the first details of the follow up to the must-have PSP version of Namco's Ridge Racers.

Ridge Racers on PSP, over a whole year old, is still SPOnG's handheld racer of choice for Sony's shiny thief-attracting device, so it's heartwarming news indeed to hear we'll soon be playing the sequel, entitled, imaginatively, Ridge Racers 2.

"Ridge Racers 2 continues where the PSP launch title left off, complete with a return of the nitro system, as well as all the drift-based racing that makes the series what it is," according to IGN's translation of Famitsu. SPOnG wouldn't expect anything less.

So what's new though? Firstly we'll see new modes, in addition to the World Tours, Time Attack and Wireless Battle the sequel will boast Arcade, Duel and Survival modes.

Perhaps most excitingly for fans of the series, Ridge Racers PSP will include the highest number of courses yet seen in a Ridge Racer game - a whopping 18 courses all taken from previous RR games, spanning Ridge Racer to R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 and all new to the PSP.

Car wise, there are to be six machine classes, each with three cars to begin with, plus a load of secret cars, as well as two special classes.

The game is being directed by Hironori Iriuchi, with game design by Mao Onaka. It's currently around 70% complete and Bandai Namco has it scheduled for a September release in Japan.

Watch this space for news on the US/European release.
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Comments

Joji 29 Jun 2006 18:34
1/3
Excellent news,for a an excellent game. I recently bagged a second hand PSP and I'll be honest and say Ridge Racers is damn addictive stuff.

Only other games I play more are Virtua Tennis and Burnout.

Now what's needed is a sweet Soul Calibur game for PSP. Only a matter of time.
tyrion 30 Jun 2006 07:37
2/3
Joji wrote:
Only other games I play more are Virtua Tennis and Burnout.

You owe it to yourself to try LocoRoco now you have a PSP. I tried the demo we got in MCV about the time of E3 and was instantly hooked. So were three other members of the office, one of who was seriously considering buying a PSP just to play it.

Needless to say, I bought it last Friday and have been playing it most of the time since.
Joji 30 Jun 2006 09:00
3/3
Okay I'll check out Loco Roco. My most recent buys have been Monster Hunter Freedom and a jap import Initial D. Both are good are fairly tricky too.

I hope Namco can learn something from Criterion and Burnout, namely a essence of speed. Perhaps its the japanese drift angle that stops games like Ridge Racer and other japanese racing games from being faster.

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