"R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is the fourth game in the Ridge Racer series on the PlayStation. Unlike some of the other titles in the series, this game is made only for a home console, and does not have an arcade machine version. It is the final Ridge Racer series game released in the PlayStation console before Ridge Racer V released exclusively on PlayStation 2. There are 8 tracks and 321 vehicles, all of which are fictional. This iteration was one of the first games on the PlayStation to feature gouraud shading on the polygons, giving the game a visual depth that was previously missing. It was also the first Ridge Racer game on the Sony system to feature a two-player split screen mode, and featured two different driving models.
The main mode of the game is "Grand Prix", where players take on the role of a racing driver new to the game's fictional "Real Racing Roots '99" Grand Prix. The Grand Prix is split into 4 stages - 2 qualifying races, 2 quarter-final races, 3 semi-finals and one Final race on New Year's Eve 1999 - between which the player receives either a new car or an upgrade to their current one, based on their performance in the stage. In order to unlock every one of the cars, the player must race with every racing team and every manufacturer, in every qualifying position possible, hence enhancing the longevity of the game.
R4 featured two models of handling; drift handling was the classic Ridge Racer handling where the player oversteers into the turn to slide the car around the corner, whereas grip handling is more realistic, employing the brake more and not utilising powerslides at all."
Source: Wikipedia, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 , available under the CC-BY-SA License.
