R - Racing Evolution - Gran Turismo Beater?
Thanks to Gamepro, we have a new interview with Namco's Isao Nakamura, producer of the latest in the Ridge Racer series, R:Racing Evolution. The interview discusses how Nakamura has "..changed the power slide oriented gameplay of RR to a more realistic feel", and also mentions that there are licensed cars and off-road rally tracks in the game. This is a move sure to set up even more comparisons with the Gran Turismo series, although this is tricky so far, since Gran Turismo 4 was playable at E3, and R:Racing Evolution was only shown in rolling demo form.
Since the first Gran Turismo, and since the first Ridge Racer, these two games have been totally different, albeit both racing games. Gran Turismo is about driving skills, fine-tuning your car, mastering every track, breaking lap times, spending your credits in a smart way, etc. Ridge Racer was and still is about girls in bikinis, big flashing arrows that point out the turn ahead, waving palm trees and such more. Of course the adding of rally tracks is a step in the good direction for RR, but still, there's racing, and there's Gran Turismo racing. My point being: you can't compare these two racing games, so there's no point in asking wether RR will beat GT. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying GT is better, I'm just saying some people will hate RR and love GT, and some people will love RR and hate GT. They're too different to compare.