Can There Be One?

Back in the hey-day of the 16 bit systems, racing games flourished almost as much as fighting games. It was strange, as little technique was required (except for those darned Mode-7 racers), just great reflexes, and that's the way it always was. Flash forward to now, the GBC has two racing games (with more on the horizon), Top Gear Pocket and V-Rally. Can they do justice to a legacy of great racing games? Who am I kidding?

A Lean, Mean...ahh forget it.

V-Rally, hugely popular over in Europe, has only been lukewarm over here. The big 32-64-bit ports suffered from a crazy physics engine, somewhat lackluster courses, but has nice graphics...really nice. When Infogrames decided to port this over to the GBC, I thought: "How can they replicate the excitement of the big boys on a system 8 times as weak?" Simple, go for a straight port.

Options Galore...No, not really

One thing a 2-D racer needs to succeed is options, something V-Rally lacks. There's a language options and the requisite difficulty, speedometer, and even the ability to display signs. But that's it. Everything here is limited, something that kills V-Rally's replay. Sure, it may have worked on the big horses up in 32 and 64-bit land, but down here, a game needs more than gameplay to satify...it needs varied gameplay.

Cars and Tracks...All You Need.

Infogrames did go out on a limb to secure 4 licences for the game. Players can select from a Subaru Impreza, Peugot Maxi, the Mitsubishi Lancer and the ultimate Ford Escort Vrally. Each car has it's own share of characteristics that are noticable, but not realistic, but c'mon we know an Impreza ain't that sorry.

Like its older brothers, players go from country to country racing on various terrain, be it pavement, dirt, snow or even in the rain. This game packs quite a lot of tracks, like it's older brethen. Too bad these tracks lack interest. Each race clocks in at about 2-4 minutes, good, if this was R4...but looking at the same hypnotic tracks for that length of time can cause eye problems, and is a real good way to induce boredom.

Sonic Brilliance

Perhaps a racing game lacking on options can get by, if the soundtrack is up to par...alas, V-Rally falls short on this respect too. The menu music is hardly memorable, and having only the sound of cars to occupy you during the race is so boring. The tunes are repetitive, and lacks a certain flavor 8-bit games are so well known for, so maybe no in game music is a good thing.

Visual Basics

One thing this game does right...and that's deliverling fairly convincing racing graphics, but even then...while impressive, they get boring real quick. The same repetitive landmarks, while staples of 2-D racing just are far too much here. No tunnels, no nightime excitement. But the graphics are large enough to recognize what some of the cars look like.

Final Straw

Maybe I was expecting way too much with this game. But 16-bit games (and we're talking Genesis here folks), such as Top Gear 2 was a envision of 2-D racing...maybe I'm spoiled by the fancy graphics of R4. But, graphics aren't everything...unfortunately the game lack of options really makes this one a glancer, or even a renter. If you still need racing on the go...this game is merely adequate, but still might your best bet. Otherwise, if you crave 2-D racers, stick to the 16-Bit consoles, or the NES.