It's taken four attempts, but Namco has finally made a great game out of their Ridge Racer series. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 has been improved in just about every area that kept the series from being truly classic.  However, the big question is, "Does it beat the current racing game champion, Gran Turismo?"

First of all, R4 looks amazing.  Every year, the graphics bar keeps getting raised higher and higher, but after playing this game, it doesn't look like it has anywhere left to go.  The tracks fly past you without glitches or visible seams. The background scenery is all there - and then there's the lighting.  It's some of the best yet seen on the PlayStation.  It truly has to be seen to be appreciated.

Namco didn't just make the game prettier either.  The Grand Prix mode is slightly different this time around.  Instead of earning money to buy new cars, as in Rage Racer, you sign on with a manufacturer, and then cars are supplied.  First you pick a team, which is basically the difficulty level, and then you select which car manufacturer you want to drive for.  These include Assoluto, Lizard, Terrazi, and Age Solo - the first two being drift cars, and the second two being grip cars.  The Grand Prix consists of eight races, and you get a new car after the second, forth, and seventh race.  After you finish a Grand Prix, you can compete in the corresponding extra trial to get a special car.  Altogether there are a whopping 320 cars!  

You'd think designing 320 different cars would be quite difficult.  Well, they've done a pretty good job.  Some of the cars look like normal racing cars, but there are others which just look and drive awesome.  There are actually only 80 different designs, and 4 variations of each car, but still an impressive line-up.  The number of tracks has also been increased from the previous games to eight.  There are some which branch off each other, but there are also stand alone tracks, such as the high-speed track, which is like the Extreme Oval in Rage Racer.  It's on this track that you can get some serious speed.  While playing R4 you will notice a much better sense of speed than is present in most of today's racing games.

Instead of having all 320 cars to choose from every time you want to race, they have put in a garage system.  You can only hold 8 cars in your garage at a time, which can get irritating when you are trying to see how all your cars handle.   Initially, you start with eight preset cars and as soon as you finish a grand prix, you gain access to the cars you used to complete the circuit.  Also, as in Rage Racer, you can change the paint color of your cars or design your own logo for them.

One of the best things Namco has added to R4 is the multi-player mode.  Finally, it's possible to play a friend in a Ridge Racer game.  You can race one-on-one via a split screen, or you can go for four players if you have two consoles and a link cable - an idea which hasn't been used in enough games.  The multi-player racing is nice and smooth.  If any players have a save game, they can use the cars in their garage. Otherwise, you're stuck with the preset cars.

Controlling the cars is less difficult than it was in previous games.  When you hit a car, you no longer grind to a stop while the other car flies ahead.  And, while the cars don't get damaged, the crashing seems a little more realistic.  Drifting is much more easily accomplished, and taking your foot off the gas as you make a turn no longer send you swerving across the road.  Unfortunately, you cannot use Sony's Dual Analog joysticks.   You can, however, use either the digital d-pad, the NeGcon (or compatible steering device) or Namco's new JogCon.  R4 is the first to support this new controller.  Look for a review of this controller in the coming months.

From the small, slower cars to the really fast whistling cars, the engines all sound spectacular, as does every other sound effect in this game.  There is one exception, however -- the announcer.  It's actually a different announcer than the previous games, but annoying nonetheless.  Why do they keep including these announcers?  All I know is that they must be stopped.  The in-game music is just the standard techno heard throughout this series.  It's nothing extraordinary, but it does seem like it fits right in there.  The theme song, however, is the catchiest tune since PaRappa The Rapper.  You'll be singing it for days. I know I was.

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is definitely one of the best racers seen to date, but the question remains: Does it beat Gran Turismo?  In this reviewer's opinion, it does -- hands down.  But it's really a matter of which type of racing game you'd like to play - a realistic simulation, or a fast-paced arcade title. Both GT and R4 are #1 in these categories, respectively.

Addendum:  After finally getting my hands on a copy of the U.S. version of R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, I’d have to say it still remains atop the PlayStation racing realm. The gameplay, tracks, and cars are all the same as the Japanese version of the game. In fact, the only real difference was the dual analog support which was left out of the Japanese version, and, of course, the text translation. For anybody who has imported this game, there’s no real reason to get the US version, and if you still haven’t given this game a spin, I strongly suggest you do.