Road Trip

"Gran Turismo It Ain't....But That Doesn't Mean It's Not Fun!"

How to describe Road Trip.....Well, for starters, it's a racing game...no...it's an adventure/quest game...no, it's BOTH!

For starters, you are a car. No, it's not that you own a car, you are the car. You play a vehicle (randomly chosen for you - you can buy a new body later.) who lives in the world you are about to explore. Along the way you will meet other cars and trucks who will talk with you, offer to become part of your team, give you quests, and allow you to play mini-games. Also, you get to race. Racing is the primary way you earn money. You need the money to buy new parts. Some parts are your typical racing game parts that effect how your car performs, like steering upgrades, new tires, new engines, and new transmissions. Other parts are just for looks, like light bars, fog lamps and signs. (Well, the signs usually help you earn cash.) Lastly, there are truly outlandish parts like water-skis, a propeller assembly, and rocket boosters. There are others, but that would spoil things if I told you about them.

This game gets major points for originality. It's probably the closes thing out there to a combination of a racing game and an RPG. Graphics are minimal at best, but it doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment factor. The car bodies, while obviously caricatured, are recognizable even though they aren't officially licensed. You have everything from the classic VW Beetle to mini-vans to the McLaren F1 represented. Something like 150 different models. The nice thing about this, though, it doesn't matter what body you have, all cars perform based on what they are equipped with, not what kind of car they are.

Gameplay overall is great. Going around visiting all the houses and talking with all the cars trying to complete all the side missions and mini-games is great fun. The physics engine leaves a little to be desired, but it's not bad enough to make the game unplayable. The races themselves aren't overly challenging and usually, if you don't win, it's because you need more upgrades. Also, the controls are typical driving controls, so it's easy to play. The only real downside is the lack of a hand-brake.

Don't let the box fool you, there are no real locations to visit in this game. It's a made-up world you get to explore. This is probably the only real disappointment the game had for me. I would have liked (and was expecting) a game where you got to drive around to different cities/towns in the real world.

The positives:
+4 points - Great gameplay overall.
+1 points - Intuitive controls.
+2 points - Lots of upgrade options.
+3 points - A very original game.
+10 points for positives.

The negatives:
-1 point - Physics engine could be better.
-0.5 points - A handbrake would be nice.
-0.5 points - Real places to visit would have been better.
-2 points for negatives.

Final Score 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/12/04