Are private servers for currently-running massive multiplayer games illegal? It depends a lot on your interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Blizzard has won battles in court against "emulated servers", but it seems that other publishers have no problem with fans running their own private servers as long as they are for free.

The game that has one of the larger followings of private servers is Lineage II. It has had decent success here in the US, but it's much more popular in the developers' native country of South Korea and in other countries in Asia. With an anime style and a brutal levelling curve (where months of play, even at eight hours per day, won't even put you close to the maximum attainable level), it satisfies both the tastes and need for challenge that Korean players have. But in the US, many players found the game's incredibly long "grind" just way too much to swallow - and those who love PvP aren't happy with the fact that even PvP deaths in Lineage II result in a considerable XP loss (even if someone much higher level than you kills you in a single hit).

In this ever evolving world of hyper-realism and high-definition hoo-hah, you can always rely on Ridge Racer to take things back to basics. Flying in the face of Gran Turismo's beneath-the-bonnet tinkering and the over-the-top mud bath that is MotorStorm, this latest installment of Namco's arcade racing series is high-speed rubber-burning at its purest and most simple. In fact, cosmetic details aside, playing it is more like stepping back in time rather than embracing the next generation and there isn't a great deal to separate Ridge Racer 7 from the original game that ushered in the PlayStation back in 1995.
Thing is, Ridge purists wouldn't want it any other way and, after playing ever-more complex racers swamped with unnecessary options and modes, playing something that's so straightforward, so - dare we say it - old school, actually makes for a refreshing change.
That's not to say Ridge Racer 7 doesn't offer anything new. Take the Ridge State Grand Prix for example. It's a fleshed-out career mode that serves as the main event in the game, a sprawling racing season where players start out with… well, nothing, not even a car. Before you can make a name for yourself out on the circuit you have to earn the right to compete with the best, by driving in a trial race. Win - which, to be honest, is a complete breeze - and you're awarded a car and are free to steer your racing career in any direction you wish.