| Introduction
I've been a fan of portable racing games ever since
I bought my GameBoy Color, and after seeing the screen
shots of this Kemco racer on the net, I've been itching
to try it out - not only because it's a racing game,
but also because I was curious to see if racing games
would look, play or handle better with the GBA's 32
bit
processing power and enhanced graphic capabilities. Well,
I know now that the GBA can handle racing games pretty
well, and Kemco's GT is certainly one of them!
GamePlay
From the start, GT seems very much like the usual
sort of car racing games you'd find on the market. The
kind which gives you a choice of cars and tracks and
allows you to race in either the Quick Race mode or
Championship mode.
Thankfully, however, that's where the similarities
end and where GT shines, thanks to the variety
of options and features in GT, options which include
fine tuning your car or even creating your own track.
In GT's Quick Race mode, you can choose whether to
run single or with your friends via link cable or phone
using the Mobile GB system, which unfortunately is currently
available only in Japan. After your run, you can save
your best lap results in the form of a "Ghost Car",
which you can race against or upload with the Mobile
GB to Kemco's GT racing world-wide ranking web site
where other players can download your "Ghost Car"
to race against.
The last option in the Quick Race mode is the most
innovative, as it allows you to design, save, and trade
your tracks with other people, thus adding loads
of replay value.
As for racing the Championship, it's just what you'd
expect, except for the fact that penalties are imposed
for the winner and not the looser. Yes, that right,
race winners will get their cars handicapped with added
weight, making the next win a bit more difficult. Players
making a career of being first all the time aren't going
to have it easy when that final race of the season rolls
around, since they will need to exert a lot more skill
and technique to handle a much heavier car.
GT only offers six cars to choose from in the game
(I don't know yet if there are any hidden or locked
cars, sorry!). While that doesn't seem like much, you
are allowed a considerable amount of options to fine-tune
your machine, such as steering adjustment, aerodynamics,
tire type, and so on.
You should know that these options aren't just bells
and whistles the programmers chucked in to make themselves
look clever. Every modification you make has a direct
effect on how well or badly your car performs on the
track. For example, on slippery tracks, you'd do well
to use tyres that have better traction and grabbing
power, or end up slip-sliding all over the place and
loosing to boot.
That brings us to another nice thing about GT's Championship
mode, which is the option to make a free run on the
track before an actual race to see if any adjustments
are needed for your car. Once you've done all the fine-tuning
and parts changing, you're allowed a qualifying run
to determine what position you'll start in.
There is only six stock tracks in the game, but with
the track edit option, the number is practically infinite.
The final notable option would be the weather option
for the tracks, where you can choose to run in either
rain or sunshine.
Controls
The controls in GT has a slightly higher learning
curve than other portable racers, but its easy to learn
and very responsive. You should remember that the GBA
is horizontally shaped, so don't be surprised if you
find it all a little disorientating at first - especially
for fast racing games like GT. Luckily, GT allows three
different button control schemes, so if you're not comfortable
with using the shoulder L and R buttons to shift gears,
you can change it to up and down on the Direction pad.
Graphics
First-time players are treated to a nice introduction
sequence showing off the colourful power of the GBA.
The option screens are also very well done, but once
you've raced a few tracks, you start noticing a trend
i.e. all the on-track graphics look the same and all
the tracks are paved. This is a minor complaint, especially
if you're just playing to race, though it would have
been especially nice if Kemco had added some dirt tracks
as well, just to break the monotony.
But don't get me wrong, there's nothing monotonous
when it comes to GT's speed and frame rate. I'm glad
to say that GT makes full use of the GBA's scaling and
rotation powers, and everything is fast and smooth with
zero slowdown. However, you can only race in one direction
on the track, so forget about pulling a 180 to play
chicken with the other cars.
Sound & Music
The sound effects are your standard racing fare,
nothing to write home about. The music itself is a fairly
large and commendable mix of well-written guitar tunes
that show off the GBA's sound capabilities (yes, guitars
actually sound like... guitars!).
However, and this is my biggest complaint with GT,
there are no in-game music! All the cool tunes have
been assigned to the option screens. Why Kemco didn't
offer music in-game, even as an option, is beyond me.
Final Comments
If your idea of a fun racer is Mario Kart, then Kemco's
GT isn't for you. Fans of GBC Top Gear and V-Rally,
though, are in for a treat. While GT isn't everything
I wanted it to be, it still is a solid racing simulation
with good entertainment and replay value.
|
Hardware
Reviews 
Reader's Review are game reviews that are contributed
by the readers of EAGB.
Game
Title
GT (All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship)
