Namco is putting its considerable weight behind the Xbox 360 with two big titles this Winter. Ridge Racer 6 will launch with the system, with Frame City set to follow shortly after. While it was known that both games would feature network components, Namco today revealed the specifics.
Ridge Racer 6 will feature Xbox Live races supporting over 10 racers simultaneously (Namco is working hard to get the maximum number of simultaneous players in time for launch, so it's not ready to give a final upper limit yet). You'll be able to use all courses for Online races and chat with rivals via voice chat.
Two primary modes of play will make up the Ridge Racer 6 Online experience. In Rank Match, clearing a race earns you so-called WRP points, with the number of points earned corresponding to your position. Using these points, you'll be able to determine the speed of other players. Player Match, meanwhile, ditches the WRP points and is meant for those wanting a simple quick race. You can set up rules prior to the race, activating unlimited nitros or doing away with nitros entirely, for instance.
Namco is also working on a more basic form of Online competition for Ridge Racer 6. The game will include a Global Time Attack mode which uses Xbox Live to post your race times in a worldwide ranking. The ranking board will include 150 categories, one for each combination of the game's thirty courses and five machine classes. You'll be able to download and upload ghost and replay data, allowing you to see how the pros race.
Moving on to Frame City, we currently know of just one pseudo-Online mode of play for the game. As part of this mode, you play a mini game called Criminal Killer, where you attempt to defeat the greatest number of enemies in a set time limit. You'll be able to download new maps for this mode every week. Your score is posted in a ranking as part of a tournament. Rising through the ranks of this earns you coins that can be used to purchase in-game capsules containing figures of the game's characters.
Namco hasn't revealed any plans of yet for a true network mode in Frame City, but at least Ridge Racer 6 isn't slouching in this area with its 10+ player count. We'll get a full sampling of Namco's brand of Online gaming when Ridge Racer 6 sees release at the Japanese launch of the Xbox 360 on 12/10. The US version should also make it out close to the US launch.
