Top Gear Rally
Reviewed by Jonathan R.
On my recent trip to the mall, I saw Top Gear Rally on the Shelf.
I never even knew it was out, so I just went ahead and bought it because I
loved Top Gear 2. When I got it home, I wondered, "What went wrong?" This
game is nothing like the Top Gear that everyone has come to expect. The
Rumble Pak (or Tremor Pak as I use) is not utilized well. It will give you
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome the first time you play. Not to mention that when
the control setups they give you are not arranged so great. I was expecting
to use the "Z" button for gas, but it makes you use "A" and the Control
Stick. In between seasons you have to do Thumb exercises if you want to
continue playing because it hurts too bad.
TRACKS
Sure the Graphics are great, sure the tracks are designed well, but,
The only easy track is "Coastline." "Jungle" gets a little rough, and dont
get me started on the "Desert." IF you do decide to buy this game (I dont
recommend it) use "Gripped" tires on The Desert. You need that extra grip
because you are crashing and bouncing all over the place. Shortcuts add
variety to the courses, buy if you dont have a controller pak to save your
progress, it gets old quick. We never needed these controller paks before to
save the game, why cant it be like Crusin' USA (the ultimate racing game yet)
or GoldenEye? They dont need controller paks. Too many nooks and crannies
make it soooo Frustrating when you touch the Stick and you fly into a
guard rail. I also dislike the "Invisible Walls" that you fly into if you
start to jump over the guard rail or other barrier. You think you are going
to fly over the wall and fly off the cliff or into the ocean, but
unfortunately you just hit an invisible wall. Bugs are also a problem.
You will hear about that in the multi-player section.
CRASHES
The sound is typical Nintendo BGM, but the engine revs sound great,
and if you listen closely, you can hear the pebbles under the tires. Crashes
with other cars are pathetic. You get slowed but they keep truckin'. Crashes
into the other cars sound more like tapping an ink pen on a wooden door.
(sorry, its all I could think of) The sound will stay the same no matter how
fast you are going. Collisions at 140 MPH sound like a 20 MPH dent. The body
just bends a little to indicate a crash, but the after-crash is still
smoothed and looks like the car had some of the dents rendered out at the
local body shop during mid-race.
MULTIPALYER and BUGS
The multiplayer is pretty boring. You get widely spaced apart from each
other and it seems there is no advantage given to the player in last place
to help keep the two of you running together. Plus, its head to head. You
cant battle other cars along with each other, which is another reason Crusin
is better than Top Gear Rally, you are just riding along with no competition
by yourself. While racing, you get so bored you just start jumping stuff.
Banks of land are about the only fun when you start jumping them. Also, the
back of the box brags about.
"Warning: This game will drive you up a wall, off a bridge, through a
guard rail, and straight into a concrete abutment."
Yeah right. Off a bridge until the "Invisible wall" gets ahold of you.
Through a guard rail. My dad found this one out. He got stuck in the
guard rail. I had to ram him about 20 times before he finally popped out.
It also talks about super-real effects. It says...
"the highly sophisticated software physics engine in TOP GEAR RALLY
simulates a real-world driving experience.."
Sure it does. That explains why I spun on the nose of my car about 20 times
before being dropped into the middle of the road by their little invisible
tow truck. And I flipped end over end 10 times at about 20 feet in the air.
MY ADVICE
Save your money. Unless you have a lot of money burning a hole in your
pocket, wait for some better games. I'm going to take it back and wait for
some football games.