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Semi-satisfactory substitute until Gran Turismo 4 hits the shelves | | Adam from Londonderry, NH says (17/Dec/2003): | Bottom line, this game is as close to GT4 as any of us will see for sometime. Namco took a lot of time in re-creating some awesome tracks and vehicles for this R:Racing Evolution.
Anyone interested in customizing vehicle, this is not your game. Upgrades are limited to increasing horsepower and decreasing weight. Although the actual tuning of the car can be a little more intensive. Abilities to change the cars AYC, BBC, torque, and gear ratio are nice, but nowhere near as detailed as Gran Turismo 3 A-SPEC. Selection of cars is classified into categories depending on horsepower and actual performance (Meaning you won't find a Peugeot 206 rally car in the same category as a Calsonic Skyline). Number of cars in the game could have been larger, but with the release of GT4 around the corner (most racing gamers are hoping) Namco probably wouldn't want to try and dish out the money to compete with the Gran Turismo monopoly that apparently is happening.
R:Racing Evolution audio could really use some work though. Repetitive techno music makes one feel like they are back in the early 80's playing pac-man. If only we had a power pill to put the bite back into the background music. Sounds for the vehicles however, different story. You have an import vehicle, it has the import whining sound, not the beefy sound of say a Dodge Charger R/T that pushes over 800hp (yes kiddies it's in the game. You TOO can feel like Vin).
One feature that Namco has added to the world of video game driving is the good ol drag strip. You can go head to head in a drag challenge with any and EVERY car in this game. So take some bets with your friends and see who's walking out of the house with the extra slice of pizza and a $1.50 winner take all payday. Besides, this provides opportune time for the gear heads of the import generation to prove Japanese finesse will always dominate over the domestic rustbuckets of yesteryear (sorry dad).
I would have to say that the reason this game scored so low though is the overall gameplay. Having an over/under splitscreen and rather jumpy controls makes driving even the super speedway seem like a rally course (and trust me the rally courses take more practice than a fifth grader learning to play the saxophone). But in one player mode the game seems to run more smoothly, possibly due to the fact your not squinting to see what's going on in your little section of screen.
I have been playing this game enough to be sure that it really wasn't worth the money to rent it let alone buy it. BUT if you are a racing enthusiast and like to play with a Bentley prototype race car, then your going to like it. I've been playing it nonstop for a while now and realize that I need to call my work and see if I still have a job. Overall I like the game, but am waiting until GT4 comes around.
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