Tag Archives: Ridge Racer Unbounded

Ridge Racer Unbounded Launch & Environment Trailers: Bugbear’s Worked It Hard So You Can, Too!

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Looking super sharp and like a ton of fun in these videos, Namco Bandai’s not quite reboot but re-versioning of its classic arcade racing game should be in stores (and hopefully, in your hot little hands) as you read this. Will Bugbear’s expertise at racing games where stuff wrecks up quite well be accepted by the masses, or will even the awesome-looking City Editor fail to capture the attention of the jaded RR maniacs who ONLY want ONE type of game in their libraries? Suspense!

(But I’m guessing the former will win out amongst those with half a head full of common sense)…

 

Ridge Racer Unbounded’s City Editor Should Settle The Rumbles On The Street Down A Tad…

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Hmmm. Here in the US, Namco Bandai seems to be tiptoeing on eggshells when it comes to hyping Bugbear’s upcoming game and that’s too bad. I’m gathering the jaded types that have been slamming them since the game was announced is flummoxing their PR team here as they try and get the good word out over the drone of haters who want nothing but the same old Ridge Racer with very few changes (or more of the same with a few modern tweaks).  I see it like this: when you have a developer that’s already done some excellent racing games working on a spin-off of a world famous franchise, you should be more than confident that the game coming is going to be worthy of the name. That said, this City Editor trailer from the UK should go a long way in quelling the stream of leaky gas fumes coming from some out there who just seem to have nothing good to say about a game they haven’t even played yet.  As I’ve said before, at the end of the day, it’s all about respect (and actually spending quality time with what you’re criticizing so much)…

The Ghoster, The Immortal & The Road Wolf Star In Ridge Racer Unbounded Update

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Hmmm. That trio of names above sound like a bunch of Mad Max drivers (they must be personal friends of The Toecutter and Humongous). OK, I’m guilty of missing posting this trailer from about two weeks ago, but that’s because I was buried in Toy Fair stuff, so there (nyah!). Anyway, Bugbear’s hard work is paying off in my book, as the game is looking better each time I see it. Sure, it may not be the most original arcade-style racer out there. But if the parts that work as well as they’re supposed to all click into place, Namco Bandai is going to have quite a sleeper here…

Ridge Racer Unbounded Update: Behind the Game #1: “Deal With It!”

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Namco Bandai rolls out the first in a series of “making of” videos about their upcoming racer set for a March release on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Hey, I didn’t name the trailer, although that’s exactly what I’d call it as there are still a bunch of overly vocal folks out there who’ve been ticked off about this one ever since it was announced. Anyway, It’s been pretty quiet on the RRU front since I played the very promising demo last year, so it’s great to see what’s been going on since. Check out what the  hard-working team at Bugbear has been up to and if you’re one of those die-hard classic RR fans still frothing at the mouth over the new game, you’ll also see that it’s not replacing your nostalgically sideways sliding fantasies at all…

Ridge Racer Unbounded Hands-On

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Bugbear Entertainment has been hard at work on a much different Ridge Racer, but it’s clear than this new game isn’t being made to completely take the place of the more familiar franchise that’s been a key title for nearly every console it’s appeared on. Rather, Unbounded is a high-impact spin-off that takes the drift-crazy gameplay and fictional vehicles the series in famous for, adds in destructible elements and the ability to create your own courses and hits the ground running. I took a demo build for a spin at a Namco Bandai event about two weeks back and liked what I played quite a lot. There’s definitely a nod to Criterion Studios’ last few Burnout games (as well as Burnout-inspired titles such as Split Second) as well as Bugbear’s own FlatOut series. As Burnout has morphed into a top-down family fun arcade game with disco tunes blasting during crashes and FlatOut has been retired (for the time being), it looks as RRU will be the go-to game for crash fans when it’s released next year. Continue reading →

Gamescom 2011: Ridge Racer Unbounded Gallery/Gameplay Footage (Bugbear Redeemed, Part Deux)

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Bugbear's take on Namco's seminal racing series definitely has a Burnout thing going for it visually, but given that Criterion has changed their popular crash-fest into a top-down retro-looking family-friendly download only arcade affair (say that three times fast!) with Kinect support over XBLA (it's actually a lot of fun), it looks like gamers who want polygons pushed around into assorted scrap metal might be looking at a new contender for the crown. As a HUGE FlatOut fan, I like what I see quite a lot and can't wait to take this one for a spin. Screens below the jump.Read more »

Ridge Racer Unbounded Gamescom Trailer: Bugbear Redeemed!

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Hmmmm. Now that the game has a neat track editor, a lot of the misplaced heat has dissipated from the haters. Excellent. Bugbear certainly knows how to make a solid racer, so it’ll be interesting to see how well their City Creator works in terms of ease of use and what sort of online/offline functionality it has. Color me even more thrilled – way to go, BBE! Now find someone to fund a Glimmerati update for consoles and handhelds and I’ll be even happier!

Ridge Racer Unbounded Trailer: Let Bugbear Be!

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And here we go again. Last year, when EA unveiled SSX: Deadly Descents, the Internet descended on them in a rather deadly decent into all sorts of nasty name-calling and threats based on the trailer that showed the new installment was headed in a more action flick direction, something many die-hard SSX fans didn't want at all. Now, Namco Bandai is facing the same sort of crankiness based on a trailer that also doesn't even show any gameplay at all. Worse, some of the comments directed toward the game's dev team are at best, ignorant and at worst, more than a tiny bit racist.

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Namco Bandai’s Big Game Announcements Continue (Ridge Racer Fans Burning Out On Forums Worldwide…)

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This weeks winner and new champion of cool game announcements (at least for a day or so more), Namco Bandai, continues to shake things up with even more new (and slightly surprising) game announcements. In addition to the one-two punch of Dark Souls and Armored Core V, expect to see Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions on the 3DS, two all-new separate titles on one 3DS cart. The company is also set to produce a totally new current-gen Ridge Racer that’s already been a huge source of controversy amongst some hardcore fans of the franchise. (More on that in a separate posting).

In other 3DS news, the oddly (yet precisely) titled DualPenSports looks to train players in dual stylus wielding in a series of mini-games and sports-based challenges that offer, according to the press release, “a stimulating mental workout and improved hand eye coordination”. Sound like a mix of the DS games Brain Training, Left Brain/Right Brain and one of the company’s Active Life titles on the Wii, so it should be fun for all.

Namco Bandai has also acquired the rights to publish Power Rangers titles in North America for consoles and handhelds, which means we’ll be seeing those characters start popping up on a regular basis in a bunch of slickly produced Power Rangers Samurai games. Given Bandai’s long pedigree of generally high quality Mobile Suit Gundam, Naruto, InuYasha and many more franchise titles geared toward younger gamers, I’d say the Power Rangers are in pretty good hands.

Speaking of Gundam… two words: Omega Force. Two more words: Tecmo Koei. Yup, that means we’ll also be seeing Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 (Gundam Musou 3) hit the PS3 and Xbox 360. While some folks hate the Musou franchise for its seemingly simple hack & slash combat, I’m a longtime fan and happy about this news. I’ll be running updated info, trailers and screens on these new games as they come in.