In this review, we race to the goal in the Game Boy Advance game GT Advance 2: Rally Racing. We find out how well this racing game plays.
This game was released in 2002.
This game is a sequel to the game GT Advance: Championship Racing. That game got a pretty solid score, so we thought that we’d try this game to see what else this franchise has to offer.
There’s no real storyline. You are basically driving in a rally races around the world. You visit countries like New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, France, the UK, and a host of other countries.
The main mode is the championship mode. In this mode, there are 14 rounds. Each round has three legs. The ultimate goal of the first two legs is to get yourself in as good of a position as possible in order to take first in the final leg.
There are 12 opponents in each round. In the first leg, you’ll want to obtain a placement anywhere between 6-9. Higher is even better, but it’s extremely hard to get 5th place on this first leg. By the end of the second leg, you’ll want to be somewhere between 2-4. Obviously, you’ll want to pass the finish line in first on the third and final leg.
You’ll have a few cars unlocked right off the bat. One of the problems in the previous game is the fact that you basically have the best car in the whole game unlocked right away. It more or less defeated the point of unlocking other cars. This game is no exception. You can easily just pick the Subaru Impreza GC8. A few of the other starting cars might be close to being as good. Late in the game, you’ll unlock the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, but this car generally sacrifices some handling for a small amount of extra speed. So, even then, it’s strictly a player style choice. For me, given the fact that this is rally racing, good handling winds up taking priority over a little extra speed.
You can do some minor tweaking of the cars performance, but this is more for if you have an idea of how to adjust the performance of the car to more specifically suit your driving style.
What has been removed are car part upgrades. This element is part of the previous game as a reward for good performance. Now, it’s more or less gone completely. So, all you really unlock is a few extra cars you’ll probably never drive.
The races themselves do feature some improvements. Unlike the previous game, this game features hills. At times, you’ll be able to get some air time as well. Think of this game as getting a small amount of influence from the Super Nintendo game Super Off Road: The Baja, only with less linear racing.
Complete all 14 rounds and you’ll beat the game.
The game also features a few different modes like Time Trial, practice, and a single race. New to the game is a license mode where you try and nail specific turns within a tight time limit. Probably the hardest race in the whole game is the S driver license thanks in part to the prohibition of driving off course. You don’t really unlock new courses with this as this is more about getting a better feel for vehicle handling of different cars.
A big problem with this game is the length. You could spend a day just playing this game from beginning to end. You’ll have a few extra features you could play through, but why bother? The main game is complete at that point. While 14 rounds is a lot of legs, a lot of the rounds can last all of about 4-7 minutes each. These are definitely not long tracks.
Another problem is that this track is a step back in that parts are now gone and you are left with just unlocking cars you’ll never drive. While I can appreciate the simulation of hills, this is pretty much everything new and exciting this handheld game features.
Difficulty curve is decent enough and the racing is pretty decent. Unfortunately, with the short length, it’s difficult to really justify this game being a recommended one.
Overall, this game is a bit disappointing. With such a strong start to the series from the previous game, this game is a let down in that features are being removed rather than improved on. No ability to earn new parts to tune your car means this game is made even simpler and more shallow. Unlockable cars are available, but there’s nothing much exciting this game relinquishes later on in the game. While the hills are a nice novel new addition to the game, that doesn’t make up for the games really short gameplay. So, a pretty average game on that front.
The graphics are decent enough. There’s not a whole lot of improvement from the previous game, but there is the new environment of snow. Also, the addition of rain and differing daylight does add a small amount of variety to the overall racing experience. So, on this front, the game is pretty solid.
Audio is still a bit dated. While the menu music is actually half decent, in-racing music is still relegated to the chip-tune style of music from the previous handheld generation. Engine sounds, meanwhile, are quite decent, but this game still feels a bit dated.
Overall, this game represents a small step forward and a few steps back. The addition of hills is a nice change to this series. The style of racing is also a nice change as well. Unfortunately, the games length and stripped down features means other games can easily break out ahead of this one. Graphics are pretty solid with the addition of new environments. Unfortunately, the audio still has a dated feel, though the engine sounds are pretty decent. Overall, this is a decent game with some big setbacks. In the end, it’s an OK game, but nothing to get overly excited over
Overall
Furthest point in game: Beat the game. Got all gold for the first 13 rounds and got a silver on the 14th round.
General gameplay: 16/25
Replay value: 6/10
Graphics: 7/10
Audio: 2/5
Overall rating: 62%
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
