Ridge Racer is a name that has become synonymous with console launches. There has been a Ridge Racer title available for every Sony console launch since the original Playstation, and Ridge Racer 6 launched alongside the Xbox 360 last year. But while Ridge Racer 6 was a brand new game, Ridge Racer 7, despite new additions, feels more like an upgrade than a full-blown sequel.

All of the familiar gameplay from the previous Ridge Racer games has returned. The main way to play is still drifting around corners and building up the nitrous meter. Namco has added a new slipstream mechanic, allowing for you to get behind cars ahead of you and catch up to them even faster, making the already fast-paced races just a bit faster. Apart from slipstreaming, however, the game is exactly like Ridge Racer 6. The nitrous system has had nothing added to it or altered in any way; you can still use single or multiple nitrous boosts just like in the previous game.

World Xplorer mode has been replaced by the new Grand Prix mode. This mode is very similar to World Xplorer, offering multiple races with each one taking place over several courses, but also expands on it by offering manufacturer trials and invitation-only race challenges, which might involving finishing a race in first place or completing a time trial. Winning races and completing manufacturer trials using a certain company's car(s) will net you favor with that company, giving you more points and access to upgrade your cars' parts or alter their appearance. When it comes to the races, however, if you already played through Ridge Racer 6, things are going to seem quite familiar. Ridge Racer 7 reuses ALL of the tracks from its predecessor, adding in only six new courses. The new courses are well-designed and look fantastic, but this will only make players wish that more new content had been added.

Online racing is also back and now displays more stats and details about the top-ranked players from around the world. Unfortunately, Ridge Racer 7 does not allow for voice chat. You can only communicate via preset text menus and icons; the game doesn't even have an onscreen keyboard! However, because the chat commands are all preset, this does mean that players can communicate with each other in any language.

Ridge Racer 6 already looked very good last year, and Ridge Racer 7 expands on this by adding in more details to the older courses. The game also has sharper image quality (you can play the game in up to 1080p) and more vibrant color in comparison to Ridge Racer 6. But while the older courses only look like a small step up from last year's game, the new courses look better and have a lot more detail. The cars themselves also look sharper, with better-looking textures.