Auto Modellista

"The Cel-Shaded GT!"

When you think of Auto Modellista, you probably think of cel-shading. Cel-shading is what makes this game stand out from all the other racers on the PS2. Until Auto Modellista, which is Capcom's first racer, cel-shading was never used in racing games. It was used in platformers and the like. With the graphics, this game seems like the result of putting GT3 and Initial D into a bowl and mixing them toghether.

Now, that's the intro, now onto the review itself.

As mentioned earlier, the game uses cel-shading. This gives the game an anime look. It may not look super-realistic, but it gives a look which is both different and nice to look at. The graphics side of the game gets a thumbs up from me then.

Now onto sound. Well, to start off, the engine sounds are quite realistic is good for me. On the music side, you get roughly a dozen tracks, some of which are decent, while some are a bit on the crap side. The announcer is also on the crap side too. Some of you may have heard this goy somewhere else already. If their was ever an award for most annoying announcer, he'd certainly win it with no competition whatsoever.

Up to 2 players can play this game in arcade mode or you can play against computer opponents or against yourself in time trial mode. As well as arcade more, you get Garage life, which is a career mode. You enter races to earn prizes such as cars, garage decorations and car parts. There is no money system, so at the start, you can select any car you like, so the first races will be too easy but there's nothing to stop you grabbing a lower grade car if you prefer a bit of a challenge. Talking about cars, there's a wide range of Japanese cars such as the AE86, S2000, 350Z and Supra. Almost all the cars can have new bodywork parts ranging from bodykits to spoilers, allowing you to turn your granny shopper into a sweet looking monster. You can also add stickers and even create your own. You can then tune your car's engine to make it go as fast as that bodykit makes it look. You can also reduce it's weight and upgrade tyres and such.

In the races, the AI is better than that in Gran Turismo 3. This lot, instead of simply driving as though they're cruising along the track with you, they actually want to beat you to that finish line. The handling of the car is good enough but is nothing to celebrate about. It's quite unrealistic compared to GT. It's a bit more arcadey, so you won't be spinning out every 3 seconds.

Sadly, the Garage Life mode is quite short. You'll probably have it finished in a few days, possibly even quicker depending on how long you play every day but this game is more 'pick up and play' that the GT series.

The NTSC version comes with online play, which is heavily discussed on the AM message board. I cannot try this out, as I have the PAL version, which doesn't have this feature.

Now onto the question of whether you should buy it, rent it or just not bother at all. I'd say yes to a buy for a racing game fan (and an even bigger yes if you can play online). Otherwise, It might be wise to rent it first.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/21/03, Updated 04/21/03