PS2

R: Racing Evolution

R: Racing Evolution, released as R: Racing in PAL territories, is a 2003 sim racing video game developed and published by Namco. It was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

RacingSimulator

Time to beat: about 3.5 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

R: Racing Evolution, released as R: Racing in PAL territories, is a 2003 sim racing video game developed and published by Namco. It was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is a spin-off of the Ridge Racer series, released over three years after Ridge Racer V; unlike the main series, R: Racing Evolution is a simulator or simcade, and uses licensed racecars rather than fictional vehicles. The game centers around the character Rena Hayami in her career as a professional racing driver, and her rivalry with veteran driver Gina Cavalli, in a cinematic and story-driven plot. It received generally mixed reviews from critics.

R: Racing Evolution is a racing game featuring over 33 licensed cars from various motorsports series (such as the JGTC, WRC, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans), and in-depth configuration options such as adjusting the brakes, front-wheel stabilizers, and car weight. Other features concerning gameplay include drifts, Nitro adjustments, and individual classes and attributes for every car. The game also features a system referred to as the pressure meter, a gauge that is displayed above every car which fills up as the player gets closer to a rival car; the higher the meter, the greater the likelihood that the AI will make a critical mistake.

Rena Hayami is introduced as a Japanese ambulance driver. On one afternoon, she responds to an accident at Twin Ring Motegi. Pressed for time, Rena pushes her driving skills to the limit in order to deliver the injured racer to the hospital. Along for the ride with his injured team member, the former racing engineer and now team manager Stephan Garnier is impressed enough to offer Rena a chance to become a racing driver herself. She accepts and joins Stephan's team, oblivious to the fact that the team is sponsored by a shadowy corporation called GVI, which determines the placing of the racers in the race, as shown in one of the chapters, when Rena (the player) is forced to place second, not first.

The soundtrack of the game was composed by Yuu Miyake, Hiroshi Okubo, and Akitaka Tohyama, with additional contributions by Koji Nakagawa, Satoru Kosaki, and Keiki Kobayashi. Almost 11 years after the game's initial release, it was released as R: Racing Evolution Direct Audio by SuperSweep Records on 19 September 2014.

Each territory received slightly different cover art that changed the car depicted to tailor it for each market. The Japanese release features a De Tomaso Pantera GT5. The North American release features a Dodge Viper. The European release features a McLaren F1 GTR.

The game received "average" reviews on all platforms as reported by the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights on each platform for a total of 32 out of 40.