If you've ever felt compelled to watch a guy in a cheeseburger suit race a tiny motorcycle, this is the appropriate game. As a Mario Kart style game, this is a good substitute featuring both online and offline multiplayer. One of the interesting differences between this game and Mario Kart is that instead of collecting power-ups in the usual fashion, you instead go through gates which give you power that can be transferred into either one of several power-ups or boost at any time. This trade-off really changes the strategy from the usual Mario Kart style of play. The single player is abysmal though, as AI opponents do not even attempt to compete in non-racing modes! In fact at various points I've seen the bots racing around the course backwards, and piling up all together. Of course the flip side to the poor AI is that this turns out to be the easiest of the three BK games to get achievements with. So long as you can follow the course and get used to the control scheme, you'll be set. Unfortunately this game also seems to suffer from the most bugs as it is the most complicated. However some design choices just seem awful. Why won't Pocket Bike Racer remember which camera choice I make between races?

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.