2,000 Pennies or Less: Ridge Racer 6

RIDGE RACER 6
Platform: Xbox 360
Price: $20 new/$17 used

PGR3 and Need for Speed Most Wanted may have lapped Ridge Racer 6 in terms of visibility and popularity during the fi rst few months after the Xbox 360’s launch, but Namco’s roadrunner gets the honor of being the fi rst 360 retail title to cross the $20-or-less line.

RR6 isn’t fast enough to outrun its own traditions, though. Powerslide your shiny, indestructible speedster through the tricky hairpin turns on closed courses and you’ll earn boost; fi guring out how and when to use that boost becomes the game’s key strategic element. The gameplay is tried-and-true or tired-and-true, depending on your enjoyment of just about any earlier Ridge Racer title. The game does get a nod as the fi rst Ridge Racer to offer online play, and you’ll still fi nd a competitive crew of gamers going bumper-tobumper in 14-player races on Xbox Live.

True, we gave RR6 a 6.5 back in our January 2006 issue, but since then, over 80 pieces of downloadable content have appeared on Xbox Live Marketplace — and, duh, the game’s no longer $60. Most online retailers had depleted their new stock at press time, but ToysRUs.com was still listing the game at $19.99, while EBGames.com showed used copies for a few bucks less — and we spotted a handful of eBay auctions with even lower prices. Gentlemen, start your haggling.