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Horse racing on PlayStation 2. Gallop Racer is a rather tough game to review (and not only because it is my first). On one hand, the game’s core gameplay will surely please any and all fans of the genre. On the other hand, it doesn’t do much to try to expand the aforementioned fans. Chances are that you’ll either have to pick this game up or avoid it insistently.
In Gallop Racer 2004 you begin a jockey hopeful. You’ll need to convince trainers to let you borrow their horses for a race, since you don’t own any yourself. At first, you’ll only have access to horses no one else wants but as you progress, you’ll be able to get much better horses. If you do really well, you can even be given a horse by a trainer if you continue to perform well. This allows you to build a whole stable of horses. To do well, you’ll need to perform specific challenges for the trainers which are usually something like placing in a position higher than you were expected to.
The actual gameplay of Gallop Racer 2004 is far less “exciting” (in typical terms) than you would expect. You aren’t actually racing the horse all the way as you’ll only need to dictate it to something every so often. This includes strategic button presses that you’ll need to do at exactly the right time to do well. You’ll also need to whip the horse to get it go faster and position yourself properly to maintain your stamina. Once you get used to the game’s nooks and crannies, you’ll be able to unleash special abilities for each of the horses.
Gallop Racer 2004 also features tournament-based multiplayer. While multiplayer is a nice addition, it really pays to have friends who actually enjoy the game’s delicacies. Otherwise, they’ll likely be turned off by the whole thing.
The game’s visuals aren’t particularly overwhelmingly great but to a decent job at portraying the races. The horse and character models are respectable but nothing too excellent, and the same could be said about the environments. A bit more detail, in particular better textures would have better suited the game.
The audio portion of the game is equally respectable. The soundtrack is fitting and cheerful, and the sound effects (made up of the horses as they gallop) is equally appropriate. The announcer isn’t so great, but nothing distracting.
As I mentioned above, Gallop Racer 2004 isn’t likely to win over new fans to the genre. I suspect that most PGNx Media readers fall into this category, hence this short but sweet review. However, fans of the genre should have a rather fun time since Gallop Racer 2004 is a adequate entry to the franchise.
-- Edited by: Jose Liz -- Jake Wilson, PGNx Media
---- Sep 7, 2004
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