<s>
is	O
a	O
2006	O
racing	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Namco	O
Bandai	O
Games	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
seventh	O
mainline	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
series	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
launch	O
title	O
for	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
around	O
40	O
cars	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
return	O
from	O
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
6	I-Application
and	O
the	B-Application
PSP	I-Application
incarnations	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
game	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
features	O
Dolby	O
Digital	O
5.1	O
surround	O
sound	O
and	O
free	O
online	O
gameplay	O
via	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Network	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
many	O
other	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
it	O
features	O
a	O
full	B-Application
motion	I-Application
video	I-Application
opening	O
that	O
stars	O
Reiko	O
Nagase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
patch	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
October	O
2010	O
titled	O
"	O
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
7	I-Application
3D	B-Application
License	O
Version	O
"	O
that	O
enables	O
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
7	I-Application
to	O
be	O
played	O
in	O
3D	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
in	O
previous	O
games	O
within	O
the	O
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
series	O
,	O
the	O
gameplay	O
centers	O
on	O
high	O
speed	O
circuit	O
racing	O
featuring	O
"	O
drift	O
"	O
handling	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
slides	O
the	O
car	O
around	O
turns	O
without	O
great	O
loss	O
of	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
7	I-Application
also	O
actively	O
encourages	O
players	O
to	O
slipstream	O
other	O
cars	O
,	O
whereas	O
previous	O
iterations	O
did	O
not	O
mention	O
that	O
this	O
technique	O
increases	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
game	O
sees	O
the	O
"	O
unlimited	O
restarts	O
"	O
return	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
since	O
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
Revolution	I-Application
in	O
1996	O
,	O
which	O
means	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
restart	O
during	O
the	O
race	O
(	O
including	O
the	O
regular	O
races	O
and	O
the	O
duel	O
races	O
)	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Extreme	O
Battle	O
-	O
boss	O
battles	B-Application
with	O
a	O
much	O
higher	O
difficulty	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
win	O
normal	O
or	O
special	O
cars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Namco	O
released	O
downloadable	O
extras	O
and	O
content	O
for	O
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
7	I-Application
through	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Network	I-Device
in	O
March	O
22	O
,	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
patch	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
October	O
2010	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
game	O
playable	O
in	O
3D	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
classic	O
arcade	O
game	O
Xevious	B-Application
is	O
unlockable	O
in	O
this	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
"	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
"	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ridge	B-Application
Racer	I-Application
7	I-Application
received	O
the	O
IGN	O
Award	O
for	O
Best	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
Racing	O
Game	O
of	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
