Reviewed: August 25, 2002
Reviewed by: JoLene Lark

Publisher
THQ

Developer
MTO

Released: June 18, 2002
Genre: Racing
Players: 2
ESRB: Everyone

9
8
9
9
9.0

Supported Features:

  • GBA Link Cable

    		•
    Vroom…vroom! Get your racing gloves on. You will be needing them to play GT Advance 2: Rally Racing on your GBA system. Fun and hours of enjoyment await you with this latest racing game from THQ and MTO Co. that gives racing fans an excellent new entry to buy and play.

    It is enjoyable to play a full-fledged action filled racing game on my GBA. Racing games, although available on all platforms, seem to be better in some aspects on the GBA as you can hold and control your actions with a high precision level and without a bulky controller wheel. This game is a great stepping-stone in the series, and I can only look forward to the next installment. Check out these features:

    • Choose from 15 of the world’s top rally cars - each with different handling, grip, acceleration and maximum speed
    • An amazing 42 tracks spanning different climates and weather of the world through 14 grueling stages
    • 7 modes of play including head-to-head, 2 player racing action using the GBA link cable
    • Listen (actual voice over) to your co-driver as he helps you navigate through tough spots on the course!
    • Watch the action all over again using the replay mode!
    • Battery allows players to easily save games with no passwords!
    Fun and excitement are the two most important items in a game and this GTA2 delivers both. I imagine it can be difficult to squeeze so much detail into a GBA game but MTO has succeeded. This game is the best racing game I have played thus far on the GBA system. I imagine it took MTO a good bit of time to develop a game with so many details and the above average bells and whistles this game offers, especially in the graphics.

    There are six differing ways to play GT Advance 2: Rally Racing.

    1. World Rally: The main one-player game where you compete through many different races and countries. By playing this level you will unlock cars and obtain upgrades. 2
    2. Time Trial: Try to beat your best time on any of the available courses.
    3. Single Race: This mode lets you complete a single race. You can only chose from the cars and tracks already unlocked in World Rally mode.
    4. Practice: Use this mode to get adjusted to the controls. Very nice to complete as it helps you stop doing 360 degree burn outs while racing.
    5. License: You earn an extra car completing this mode.
    6. Co-driver: You are the navigator and call out commands to the drivers.
    Another area I wish to discuss is called the course conditions. The host country is the name of the county you are playing in as well as the course. Each course is comprised of three legs. The map/course length is shown on the game screen before a race. The leg you are going to play flashes red. Weather conditions are also found in this area as well as road type. There are also car settings you must modify at times.
    1. Gear: Select automatic or manual.
    2. Tire: Base your selection on course conditions of Tarmac/Gravel/Mud/Snow.
    3. Suspension: You can either increase or decrease this. The higher you set it the better the car’s handling is.
    4. Steering: You can either increase or decrease your Rally car’s steering. Remember the higher the steering is set for the faster you can change direction.
    5. Transmission: Adjust the gear ratio and the remember that the higher this is the quicker your car will be going off of the starting line.
    6. Brake: You will have higher braking ability if you increase this instead of decreasing.
    Once you know these basics it is time for you to pick out a car. There are numerous manufacturers and if their logo is shaded out you do not have access to them yet. Each manufacturer may have more than one available model - use the left/right buttons to see your options. Also worth noting is that this game has a battery backup that allows you to save a game and your course progress.

    Overall graphics for this game were above average. No matter how I taxed this games’ graphics it kept up with my demands. This game boasts some realistic graphics that are simply not found in most other GBA games. The actual game screen was also very pleasing graphically. The information in the HUD included the total time, leg length, stage time, etc.

    Each car type available in this game showed a lot of development as well as the courses which also showed a lot of design work in them. Each course was somewhat challenging due to the way the course and graphics were laid out. The only fault that was highly noticeable was the lack of blending the car with the racetrack. There were no other negative factors, although in future version I wish they would make your opponent’s car more realistic.

    As soon as you start this game be prepared to be revved up by the music. Besides providing background music this game provided voices, race countdowns and driving directions. These directions were rather helpful in the beginning but became somewhat annoying the longer you played, and you have to learn how to block them out. Reality is a key in this game and the sound quality is most impressive.

    Also of interest is that they have provided sound effects that made it so you know when your car was ready to shift gears. Another neat sound effect was that each terrain was given varying sound effects. It is rather rare to experience such a wide varying amount of sound effects in a GBA game. So even though the spoken directions could become annoying, overall I was highly surprised by this game’s sound scheme.

    By providing so many different game options THQ has given us a game that can be played for many hours time and time again. Multiplayer gameplay is supported via a GBA link cable. The primary multiplayer game involves playing against one another in a head-to-head race; however, an option to trade record data exists. In this mode you and your friend merge your game data together. By doing this you are able to try to beat your friends’ best times. This game provided me with hours of enjoyment and I can see myself playing the game over and over for the pure racing excitement.

    If you enjoy racing games then I recommend that you purchase GTA2. It was nice to see a racing game for the GBA that was so well developed, and this title will provide many hours of enjoyment. Rally Racing is one of those games you can go back to months later and still have fun with it, and I'll definitely be looking forward to GT Advance 3.