GT Advance 2: Rally Racing
- August 28, 2002 00:00 AM PST
The GBA's original GT racer goes off-road. Tack on the mudflaps and find yourself a sufficiently strung-out British navigator.
It would appear that developer MTO has taken the old adage about not fixing things if they ain't broke a little too literally. Despite the switch in scenery from Japanese GT racing to international rally championships, GT Advance 2: Rally Racing looks and plays almost exactly like the original GT Advance�not a problem if you liked powersliding around the first game, but disappointing if you were expecting fifty dozen cars and pages of intricate tuning options.The single-player season mode is divided into 14 stages, each with three tracks to navigate in order. As before, you unlock new tracks and cars by beating the 11 computer opponents racing against you. The game runs at a very fast clip, and with a little practice it's easy (and fun) to whip your way past other cars and around oddly constructed hairpin turns. After each course, you get a little replay of your run shot from outside your car, a cute little extra that can thankfully be skipped once you get sick of it. Although the game engine is solidly built and feels right during play, hardcore race fans will go into shock at some of the liberties taken with the art of rally driving. (Colin McRae may be an incredibly talented racer, but I don't think even he can turn his car around in midair.)
If you're expecting Gran Turismo on the GBA, forget it. GT Advance 2 actually has fewer cars than the original (this being a rally game, besides), and inspired gamers can place first on all 14 stages in an afternoon if they try hard enough. Tuning is mostly limited to setting your tires to one of four configurations based on the terrain you're navigating (mud, tarmac, snow, and so on). Even this is mostly optional, as you can win every race with any car and any tire setting once you get the basics of driving down.
Still, while not innovative or amazing, GT Advance 2 is too fun to dismiss as derivative. The graphics are the standard 2D cars on top of a flat 3D road, and this hurts sometimes when you try to go through fences that you don't realize are fences, but they get the job done and are varied enough to never fall into the "dull" department. The music is well made if a little forgettable, and you can't help but grow attached to the invisible co-pilot who shouts out "Hard right!" or "Medium left!" as you navigate each course. Most importantly, though, the driving is a ton of fun while it lasts, something that's regrettably rare among portable racing games. If you've played the first GT Advance, feel free to take a full point off the final score; if not, give it a shot the next time you're hunting for something quick 'n easy on the GBA.
