The formula of the game

30% of the Ridge Racer series

30% energy

20% NFS: The Run

20% drive

The Ridge Racer series, which has in its baggage, as many as seventeen games, fraternally separated between consoles and slot machines, finally came to PC. Domestic players Ridge Racer Unbounded , I must say, they expected with great impatience, despite the small popularity of the series in Russia. And there is nothing to be surprised here.

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Our life is a highway, a highway long

Firstly, there are very few races now, and there are even less good: Black Rock Studio studio, which created Split/Second, I sunk into oblivion, the NFS series will not “shoot” a masterpiece, but Flatout 3 from Team6, and at all turned out to be a loud zilch.

Secondly, the studio was developed by unbounded Bagbear – Creators of the first two Flatout. And a lot of people were expected from them on a racing nonsense: at least – a reckless attraction with destruction, at a maximum – to bring the races to survival to a qualitatively new level.

► The picture almost falls into the text of the famous song: "… I have a thing of your business, default of your office …"

Of course, the majority hoped for the maximum, so the expectations bar was initially somewhat overstated. But although the miracle did not happen and did not become a masterpiece of Unbounded, it has two most important things that distinguish a good game from mediocre: crazy drive and their own style. And this style has been developed and improved for many years, having received a number of special signs like sexy masters around the start and neglect of physical laws during drift.

We drive, go, go to distant lands

There is no plot in Unbounded, which is generally not fatal to the genre ( Driver not count) and is unlikely to surprise anyone. But the changed interface will be a curiosity for many. The speedometer became the numbers in the corner of the screen, the statistics of receiving points settled opposite it, and information about the number of circles and lags from the leader moved directly to the urban development – now it flaunts along the edges of the roadway, on the signs of movement on the corner. Find, interesting, but discouraging from the habit. And the most important thing – with the advent of the “Personnel” platforms in the list, cars and routes have acquired destruction. Not a trifle. Nice.

► There is something so familiar, “underground”: night, street, lantern, street raising ..

To top it off – unforgettable Ridge City, the location of all (!) the past parts of the Ridge Racer, replaced by the new Shutter Bay, where, apparently, they have already heard about rolling drivers. Fans of traveling around the city in free mode are not welcome here: there are certain conditions for unlocking areas. Want to try out fresh routes and turns as soon as possible – be kind to complete the assignment.

And it is always the same: to dial a certain number of traveled races. The process of opening new tracks cannot be called boring – but the eye of the surrounding world is the eye: interspersed with ascetic offices and chic skyscrapers of the business area with containers and warehouses in the docks. In the same Test Drive Unlimited The world around was an order of magnitude more interesting.

The editor of the tracks becomes an alternative: in it we collect the route from the blocks to our taste, using the details that open as we pass. It is easy to master and does not require special skills and knowledge in the field of architecture. The more details are open, the more entertaining the tracks can be created, adding springboard, unusual forks, alternating wide straight sections and narrow streets.

► sorry that such routes, like races for a while, are very rare.

Leading effect on the steering wheel

There are five types of races in RRU: Race-Race, Drift-Race, Roso Race, Destruction and Racing for a while. Most of the regimes have long received the default status and differ from the already known, say, from Road Rage (destroying machines for a while) from Burnout Paradise, Only the name. There is only a special attention, the race for a time made in the style Trackmania: The track is an incredible design of the car with a pre -laid route on which bonuses that froze the stopwatch are scattered. And the race-country, in which the player will get acquainted with the main feature of the game-the use of energy.

► Bacchanalia on the track – a constant and even familiar phenomenon.

Energy is a nitro acceleration with the possibility of a “fatal attack”: while it acts, the car with a light impetus explodes the enemy’s cars and destroys specially allocated objects on the track. It accumulates ordinary: with drift, flights above the roadway, clashes, etc.D. True, the mechanism sometimes fails, and for some reason the accelerated car only rubs against the opponent’s car, instead of sending it to revive.

This is important: The destroyed machine does not become garbage, which you can pass through – sometimes a particularly “successful” player drags a broken body along the highway a couple of tens of meters.

Cars in RRU are not licensed, but now at least they are similar to real prototypes and are easily recognized by almost unexplored emblems. This brings additional joy from fatal clashes – it is much more pleasant to grate in the trash of Lamborghini or, at worst, Aston Martin than the faceless and nameless car of an unknown manufacturer.

► redness in the lower right corner of the screen indicates the approach of the opponent’s car – a light reference to the mechanics of the shooters.

An accident with deaths are decorated is very worthy: the screen becomes black and white, unsuccessful cars make the latest sly in Slo-Mo mode, bouncing off the ground and crashing about residential buildings with a roar. But immediately the graphics shows its inconsistency, and the same explosions and cat-scenes are too often repeated.

Note: Music in the game – for an amateur. As a rule, riding at Ridge Racer was accompanied by electronic motifs, but in the Unbounded Skrillex and others like it sounds uninterrupted in the audio system. Another thing is that Dubstep and DNB go well with what is happening on the screen and only add oils to the fire of general madness.

RRU gravitates to contrasts: the lighting is very colorful, almost bewitching, but for some reason the light falls on the most inexpressive details. Cars are licked to shine, but their damage (not destruction, namely damage) looks like the housings are made of cardboard, which is crushed by clumsy baby hands.

► Fire is not terrible, but simply terrible: the barrels in doom 3 burned like that.

The novelty of the gameplay is clearly not enough – you will not be fed with one energy. Gathering glasses for victories and prizes, racing only forward, destroying roadside cafes, police sections, parking, shops in his path, the player is steadily moving towards disappointment: everything is too monotonous.

The multiplayer (already tested in Ridge Racer 6) is brought by some freshness – largely because in it the races pass on the tracks created by the players using the editor. In them, the constantly visible and updated leader of the track is particularly motivated by the exploits – that is, riding, you try not only to defeat current rivals, but also to break the absolute record set by the same rider as you.

Pleased

Sharped

• Nitroenergy and related destruction

• A lot of achievements: for damage to the city and crazy tricks
• Homemade maps in network mode
• The appearance of "steel monsters"

• You can’t ride a new city freely!

• Ordinary tracks are terribly similar to each other
• I don't want to play the game again

The main ratings

8/10

Gameplay

7/10

Graphics

8/10

Interface and management

8/10

Sound and music

"Achivka editors"

Completed Kamikadze

Blow up five cars and crash into the wall during the action of the only "nitrobust".

Special ratings

8/10

Drift

The drift mechanism was completely redesigned and became more vital. The railess of the previous parts left, where during the skidding the car stubbornly dragged in a straight line.

6/10

Step in modernity

Several interesting ideas were added to recognized developments. But, alas, little.

Verdict

Site assessment

7.5

Fine

The impudent reboot of the Ridge Racer series, which has not changed until now. Unbounded is a cross between Split/Second and Burnout: Paradise City, in which everything new fits in half an hour of playing time, and then there is a repeat behind https://coral-gb-casino.co.uk/ repeat.