Great racer? Great graphics? Great off road action? This game has it all.
User Rating: 8.5 | Top Gear Rally SP GBA
Top Gear rally for the GBA was picked up by Nintendo for a reason: It shows off what the GBA can do, and does it in a fun way. I'm a big fan of racing games, and even though the GBA has tons of them....most arent any good. I picked up Konami Crazy Racers at launch, and then followed through with Mario kart (both of which are great fun) but I was looking for a more realistic racer, annd hopefully one with great graphics. That's when Top gear Rally caught my eye. I caught a few previews online, and was amazed with the screens. Surely something would go wrong....would it run at 5FPS with popup? The answer is no. Top Gear Rally brings through rolling hills, jumps, 3D cars (that can even flip over) with few graphical sacrifices, or shortcuts. However, these dont affect gameply. TGR offers a great 1st person camera view option, but when the car turns more then 45 degress, youll revert back to the overhead view (in other words, the game doesn't draw the track you passed). You can also only see 4 cars on screen at a time. That doesnt mean however that any cheating is going on. This also doesnt come into play that often because of all the turns in the game. One negative is that initially, the 3D view might cause a bit of eye strain, as the camera is moving around on such a small screen. Youll get used to it however. As for the actual racing: its solid. TGR focuses on rally racing of course, and so the cars drift like they should, and bounce like in real races. While most games will have you racing against other cars (unlike real Rally where its against the clock), I have no complaints because it makes the game more competative and fun. Racing locales are varied, including the beach and snow, and the courses are well designed. Only one mountain course seems to not have been designed with the graphics engine in mind, and although youll get a challenge, the drawin is distracting. Soundwise, the game isnt bad. You get your engine noises, and an anouncer (Hard left!) as youd expect from any rally game. Basically, if you want a good racing game foir the GBA, Top Gear Rally is an excellent choice. Varied tracks, pleanty of cars, and solid graphics to keep it all together. Obviously, the upcoming DS and PSP racers will blow this away, but not everybody is planning on upgraded to the next gen consolesn, and so TGR should occupy a void in the GBAs lineup. 
