| GT Advance Championship Racing |
|---|
| | Developer(s) | MTO | | Publisher(s) | THQ | | Designer(s) | Hiroshi Kitayama | | Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance | | Release date | JPN March 21, 2001
USA June 11, 2001
PAL June 15, 2001 | | Genre(s) | Racing | | Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer | | Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) | | Media | Cartridge |
GT Advance Championship Racing (known as Advance GTA in Japan) is a racing game developed by MTO and published by THQ. It was a launch title for the Game Boy Advance, and was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, and in Europe on June 15, 2001. The game's sequel, GT Advance 2: Rally Racing, was released on June 30, 2002 in North America. GT Advance features forty-five different licensed cars from numerous Japanese car companies and pits the player in races on thirty-two different tracks. Due to positive reaction to the game in Japan, THQ purchased publishing rights for the North American and European releases to the game after a reported bidding war, and added in a controversial password save system into the game to cut costs. The game was received with mostly positive reviews from critics that praised the game for its fun gameplay, but THQ was criticized by most reviewers for adding in the password save system into the game when the Japanese version had a normal one.
GameplayIn GT Advance Championship Racing, there is a wide variety of options to choose from, including 48 cars from 8 different car manufacturers, and 32 different courses. Some of the cars featured in the game are exclusively found in Asia, such as the Nissan Cube. The courses vary between paved and dirt roads, requiring the player to adapt their driving to meet the conditions of the course they're driving on. The game's championship mode features four different levels of play -- three different cups of varying levels, and an unlockable "kart racing mode". Upgrades earned throughout the game can be added to the player's car, and in some cases, they change the physical appearance of the car as well. The game contains multiplayer support, allowing two people to play against each other using a link cable. Controls are fairly simple, with the A and B buttons controlling the player's gas and brakes respectively. The R and L buttons shift the car up or down a gear in manual control, and the D-Pad controls the car's steering. The game requires the player to master the powerslide technique to skid around corners and shave time off their lap.
GraphicsThe roads in the game are painted on a flat plane, which allows the game to progress at a smooth rate, but makes it harder for the player to see upcoming turns in the road. The problem can be remedied by playing through a track once or twice. The cars are rendered through sprite frames, giving the impression of 3D in the game. Save SystemThe Japanese version of the game, Advance GTA, had full save support. However, THQ pulled the battery RAM out of the game, and instituted a password save system instead. The system forces players of the North American and European releases to enter a sixteen digit code consisting of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols into the game to retrieve their data. Many critics blamed THQ for what was perceived to be a cost-cutting measure, and for ruining what was a great game. It was the only major change from the Japanese version of the game.
DevelopmentMTO began development on GT Advance Championship Racing about a year before the release of the game in Japan. The game was first announced on August 18, 2000, under the name of Pocket GT Advance. With the exception of a new password save system, tweaking was kept to a minimum for the North American version of the game. The choice was made in the Japanese version to use mostly English in the game so it would be playable outside of Japan. The Japanese version of the game, Advance GTA, was praised by critics and the anticipation for the North American and European releases of the game grew. A reported bidding war between United States publishing companies to release the game stateside began after the positive feedback from the Japanese version. It was reported a month after it began that THQ had gained the publishing rights for the game's North American and European releases.
Reception| Reviews |
|---|
| Publication | Score |
|---|
| Eurogamer | 7 of 10 | | GamePro | 4 of 5 | | GameSpot | 7.3 of 10 | | IGN | 8 of 10 | | Nintendo Power | 4 of 5 | | All Game Guide | 3/5 | | Compilations of multiple reviews | | Compiler | Score | | Metacritic | 82% | | Game Rankings | 78% |
GT Advance Championship Racing garnered praise from critics for its overall gameplay, but the inclusion of a password save system by THQ into the North American and European releases of the game was heavily criticized. IGN's Craig Harris praised the high quality graphics engine and the entertaining powerslide system, but observed that with regards to the password system, "... some players (myself included) just might throw their hands up in disgust with what THQ has done to the game." GameSpot observed that, "GT Advance is, at its core, a very robust and graphically impressive racing game." Despite praising the gameplay, however, GameSpot recommended that players buy a Japanese import version of the game instead, since it was in English and included a battery save feature. Eurogamer wrote that even though GT Advance was hampered by passwords, "... you should definitely own GT Advance one way or another, as current gripe excepted; it's a sterling example of handheld racing done properly." Responding to criticisms of the password save system, THQ later re-instated the battery save feature into the two sequels of the game, GT Advance 2: Rally Racing, and GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing.
References- ^ a b GT Advance Championship Racing Tech Info. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b c d GT Advance Championship Racing. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g Harris, Craig (May 11, 2001). Interview with MTO. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ アドãƒãƒ³ã‚¹GTA (Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved on February 14.
- ^ a b Harris, Craig (April 10, 2001). THQ grabs Advance GTA. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b Shahed, Ahmed (April 11, 2001). GT Advance confirmed for the North American GBA. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b GT Advance 2: Rally Racing Tech Information. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 3, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harris, Craig (June 14, 2001). GT Advance Championship Racing Review. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b c Harris, Craig (March 30, 2001). First Impressions: Advance GTA. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ajami, Amer (June 7, 2001). GT Advance Championship Racing Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b GT Advance Championship Racing Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b GT Advance Championship Racing Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Bramwell, Tom (June 12, 2001). GT Advance Championship Racing Review. Eurogamer. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ Sato, Yukiyoshi Ike (August 18, 2000). Pocket GT for GBA Announced. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ Harris, Craig (April 11, 2001). GT Advance Championship Racing Preview. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ a b GT Advance announced. GamersHell.com. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (March 13, 2001). GTA Advance Championship Racing Preview. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ Nihei, Wes (June 12, 2001). Review: GT Advance Championship Racing. GamePro. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ GT Advance Championship Racing Reviews. GameSpot. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ GT Advance Championship Racing Overview. All Game Guide. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ Harris, Craig (June 18, 2002). GT Advance 2 Races to Shelves. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
- ^ Harris, Craig (November 26, 2002). GT Advance 3. IGN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.
External links- GT Advance Championship Racing guide at StrategyWiki
- GT Advance Championship Racing at GameFAQs
- GT Advance Championship Racing at MobyGames
|
