Ridge Racer 7 (PS3) Is Really Difficult

RR7 on the PS3 has a very high difficulty very early on. I'm still in the class 4 races, but it seems I have to drive perfectly to maintain the lead, and that includes road hogging. There's a better physics engine in RR7, that unfortunately means the opponents can force you off the road. Class 4 is a miserable set of races, anyway, as they're the slowest. It seems the rubber-band AI is on during Gran Prix, but off for Manufacturer Trials.

The rubber-band AI is brutal! It usually involves the cars behind you doing triple-nitrous even though they didn't drift enough to have that much nitrous. One thing I really hate about RR6 on the Xbox360 is the opponents with unlimited Nitrous. In RR6, the opponents use Nitrous even though it is forbidden in No-Nitrous races! (they should be disqualified) I expect that will happen on RR7, too.

The problem with RR7 is its RR6 courses. You think you know them, but you don't. Geographically, they're exactly the same, but drifting is a little different in this game. Fishtailing is another hazard that the RR7 cars do a lot, regardless of drift type. I'm sure this will get better in class3, but it seems like a very slow game.

I also find myself longing for achievement points! That's pure addiction at work. A better judge of your abilities are you time and distance playing, your best times on each track, number of wins, etc. After all, the game gives you cars (and in-game elements) for achieving goals and winning races.

Still, after all that, someone who missed RR6 will really enjoy this game. It's very challenging, but good eye candy and gameplay.