POST-MILLENNIUM RACING. type 4 is for your worldly mensch, the racing connoisseurs and aficionados. the final legs of real racing roots '99 ushered in the new millennium on new year's eve, signalling celebration of what came before and eager anticipation of what was to come. the future arrived in V, a title with sensibilities that cut deeper than expression.

competitive sports (and more particularly mixed martial arts/combat sports) over the past few decades have long reckoned with and compulsively obsessed over the perfect distillation of instinct and science; they have subsequently raced toward achieving idealized equilibriums of the two to sharpen emerging talent, and in no ridge racer is this competitive element more clearly expressed than in V. V is for the drifting junkies, the highway savants, the people who communicate in shifting gears. ridge racer's humble offerings have long skewed towards quality over quantity, and V remains no exception with only seven tracks, but they're by far the best tracks in the entire franchise - the perfect intersection between high-octane enjoyment and intense opportunity for replayability and mastery. even at normal difficulty this is a significant degree more demanding than any ridge racer prior to it. not only is the general tempo of a racing bout faster, but success (and lack thereof) can be determined in the first lap depending on whether or not you have demonstrated the prerequisite driving IQ. without a consummate level of control and without the ability to read flow, you're going to be almost immediately outclassed by the enemy AI which has now been retooled to be far more aggressive than in prior entries. at a minimum, you'll need to configure every single corner and stretch of the track into an equation to be solved and make an effort to intimately understand their nuances, which is compounded by the handling of the default six cars feeling more distinct than ever before. no two vehicles are ever going to approach a situation the exact same way anymore, with routes on a map feeling tailored to each of their advantages and disadvantages. one vehicle might be able to get away with gripping asphalt til their rubber is chafed and raw; another might find that shifting gears down temporarily is the only option for success. it was the first time in the franchise i felt like all the minutiae of a match really mattered and if i wasnt countersteering appropriately, looking for opportunities to shunt out trailing cars behind me, and committing terrain to memory i'd be done for. the relentless difficulty coalesced into probably the most intense racing game i have ever played, but it felt alien at first; more than ever, drifting, seemingly built on new physics, appears to factor in gear, weight, speed, acceleration undertaken during the drift, countersteering input, proximity to other vehicles, and terrain, so it almost evokes ace combat's core appeal of a constant set of calculations to be undertaken. aesthetically it's really impressive for one of the first games launched on the PS2: muted winter-blue skies, sunsets on the hills of ridge city, darkened city apartment blocks as if to suggest no life exists outside of the competition on the streets. strong art direction has really allowed it to stand the test of time in a similar capacity to type 4. drifting into the warm and heightened glow of the sun at dusk is everything in this game. once again the soundtrack just does not miss a beat, this time incorporating more diversity in the tracks that really perfectly encapsulate the game's identity as an early aughts project. fogbound serving as the game's lo-fi grungy breakbeat anthem is just perfect for immersing you into the hyper-vigilance required for a race and euphoria is pretty much one of the all-time great VGM tracks. really didn't expect this but i think i have to give V the edge over type 4, with its gorgeous menus and evocative soundtrack it genuinely goes blow for blow with type 4's accomplished aesthetic while simultaneously offering the in-depth and transformative qualities i tend to look for in racing games. i think there's something to be said for type 4's aesthetic idealization for driving versus V's gesturings at reality that games of its generation would later become obsessed with, expressed through an air of practicality that emphasizes function over form, a less flashy yet sleek UI combined with more in-depth mechanics. to put it a different way: never did the characteristic racing game lean in type 4, did it unconsciously in almost every race in V. gonna be playing this one for a looong time. the only real problem i have here is that going for a grip class vehicle with automatic transmission is unquestionably the easiest way to play which is unfortunate for people like me who prefer the exact opposite

also ai fukami is a much hotter race queen than reiko nagase is, it's insane. earnestly upset she never came back because people thought she wasnt as iconic as reiko. once again tenure has sabotaged the prospects of a promising young lady and all you fools have deprived her of a JOB! sorry your 3D waifish mascot lady who only appears in pre-rendered CG to fawn over you and your big [engine] can't compare to the brazen edge of realtime animated ai fukami!!!! as if to say 'show me what you're made of, first!' well, i pledge this grand prix to you, fukami! drift-class danver toreador, manual transmission, i know what im about

i don't really enjoy cars, i don't think i understand them. i don't get the excitement, i don't get the aesthetics, i can find beauty in a car design, but i don't get a rush out of it. simply put, i'm not a part of its culture

i am, however, gonna dig any car that has "DRUAGA" written in big bold letters on top of it's paint an immense amount. i'm sure this game is better for people who actually do like these machines, but i was genuinely content playing it. listen, Namco was king once. way before Atlus could start to even concede it's proven true red and black combo. this here is elegant, provocative and powerful, masterclass in design, really, in every way. nothing else was doing it like videogames were and much less like Namco was.

i honestly love how this game controls, i love how there's only two (three technically) different locations with tons of variations on how they're raced, i love the soundtrack, i love picking colors for my car, love the duel system, love the obnoxious DJ, i especially love driving at night it feels like everything to me. winning feels good, this game will make you tense and it will also make you relaxed because believe it or not there is enough time to appreciate the scenery.

i don't like cars but maybe if i had ridge racer v during my formative years i would have played racing games other than mario kart. or at the very least more ridge racer

been thinking a lot about the death of le third places and how any and all third places are now virtual unless ur like a supremely wealthy person or other rare exceptions. thinking about like why I connected so heavily to red dead redemption when I was like 13 wasn’t because it was a violent and fun video game but bc it allowed me to connect w a part of america that I was seeing vanish before my eyes in real time growing up, gentrification or whatever etc. seeing a true untouched (well obv colonization or whatever but u understand what I mean, as untouched as possible) area of america that was long gone before my parents were even born was v special. I enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny and collecting flowers more than I ever did progressing the story. that’s how I feel w this,, it’s smth incredibly special to me and I love how this blends reality + fantasy + the past into a very real and very alive virtual third place. idgaf about the story mode or the online community,, all I care about is being able to experience things I’ll never be able to irl,, things that have been long gone or experiences that are locked out for me as someone who is uhhh poor lol. every night for the past week my life has looked like this for me and my bf https://youtu.be/nB7MdrLWZOc?si=oOECS8-oHP8GjrSv

maybe ur all haters idk !!!!

really cute! humor was a little less prevalent and less funny than i expected due to the game playing a whole lot of its scenarios kinda straight, but it was still pretty chill and comfy overall. loved the characters and their designs!

really like the idea of platforming games that have towns and hubs and shops so i enjoyed this aspect a lot. wish the characters were a bit faster and that the protag wouldn't be able to do basically everything by himself by the end because the idea of switching characters up was pretty fun at early-mid game. not super hard due to recovery items but some bosses have pretty difficult patterns.

overall comfy game i could have probably picked up unknowingly at a flea market when i was young and getting obsessed with it even if it was in japanese

hitman revela com discreto e sofisticado humor segredos sobre a logística delicada entre as crucialidades responsáveis pela coreografia do acaso

há uma reação em cadeia a ser interrompida, o resultado uma vez iminente está cada vez mais te convidando a corrompê-lo

pra lá com o efeito borboleta, a moeda que cai no corredor atrás da lavanderia só pode derrubar um lustre no saguão se tiver alguém disposto a decorar o caminho mais rápido e discreto entre os dois e percorrê-lo em tempo cravado

o triunfo do livre arbítrio sobre o cosmos duro, frio e determinista acontece pelas mãos do faxineiro agachado atrás do balcão pronto pra enforcar o mordomo e tomar seu lugar

e sem regresso no tempo (só piedosos save points, se quiser uma experiência mais fria): pra fazer certo de primeira precisa estudar a Caligrafia em que o Evento foi Escrito pra poder reproduzir a caneta, selando essa dança numa partitura

Ninth bar.
"My, my, my", you say as you take a sip from your 300$ cup of Dom Pérignon, "what a misstep from a professional violinist that is..."
Little did you know that only a couple of minutes later you will get blown off orbit by Alfred Schnittke, inevitably staining your way-too-expansive-for-the-average-joe-huh costume.

For a (broad) genre that is so commonly associated with elitism and bourgeoisie, using atonality in classical music has always been a hell of a thing as it directly challenges orthodox forms of Western music but also goes against the conservatism way of seeing everything under the veil of """beauty""".

Most of the droning conversations surrounding Drakengard are about its janky (to say the least) gameplay and whether or not this was Yoko Taro's intent (as if meaning slipping away from the artist's hands would undermine all artistic value).
There's little to no room for discussion about these ear-scorching violins, making a soundtrack exclusively out of unapologetically aggressive sound collages in a world of grand melodramatic orchestras and nice subtle ambient tracks is a hell of a feast from Nobuyoshi Sano and Takayuki Aihara.

Heck, I'd even argue that it doesn't even serve as a mere companion piece for Drakengard, this is as much of an incredible exploration of the cycle of violence as the whole design use of detachment from death games usually provide, and both the soundtrack and the core game are much more effective at doing so than most works wearing their "so subversive" title up their sleeves I've experienced yet.

I want more abrasive and nightmarish soundscapes to drown in, this is pure hell through and through, I am crying, I am curled up in a ball, I feel like shit, I am gasping for air, I need more.

Sentado a beira de um velho pé de Jatobá, Noite de lua minguante, o vento grita histórias as folhas das arvores. Em algum vilarejo, o povo anda por ali. Seus passos são lentos, arrastados. As casas de madeira, com suas janelas estreitas e portas baixas, parecem ter emergido da terra, como cogumelos na merda após a chuva.

O velho Joaquim, de mãos enrugadas e olhos cansados, senta-se à soleira de sua casa. Ele acende um cachimbo de barro, o fumo dançando em espirais ao redor de sua cabeça. Seu olhar se perde no horizonte, como se buscasse respostas no mato.

O jovem Ronaldo, com um boné batido e pés descalços, caminha pela estrada de terra barrenta. Ele carrega consigo um saco de grãos, sua contribuição para o celeiro comunitário. Seus passos são firmes, como se ele fosse o guardião de uma tradição ancestral.

À noite, quando as estrelas sobem aos céus, os habitantes da aldeia se reúnem na praça central. O fogo crepita na fogueira, e os rostos com reações diversas se acendem pelo fogo. Eles contam histórias de heróis esquecidos, de batalhas épicas, tragédias malditas e de amores proibidos. E assim, a aldeia vive em seu próprio tempo, alheia às pressas do mundo exterior.