Gallop Racer

"This is game is real"

From the first time I ever played this game I thought it was a very thoughtful and well designed game. Gallop Racer brings you into the stable, you are the Owner, the Jockey, the Trainer, and the Breeder. It takes you from the Betting Window to the Breeders Cup just like that.

Game Play: 10/10
If you learn how to play Gallop Racer you will realize this is a never ending Theme Park of fun. Racing is the most difficult thing to get use to, but once you do it is like Nascar meets The Cotton Club. You need the same concentration and skill as you would if you were racing cars, but these little fillies allow you to make split decisions, break away wins, and even allows you to split 2 competitors like butter. Let's see you do that on a Nascar game!

Graphics: 8/10
It's true, the graphics could have been better, but they do all right by themselves. Sometimes it seems as if you aren't even running, but floating across the ground. Other times you look like you have a hole on the radar and on screen, but for some odd reason you can't make the move to that place and seldom it causes a favorite to finish 2nd through 5th. Still, this game makes up for it with realism in the way that any horse can win...even at 100:1 odds.

Controls: 10/10
The horse basically does what it is told by the buttons. You move left, he goes left, you move right, he goes right and so on and so forth.

Background Sound: 7 1/2 / 10
The music is redundant until you hit the BIG races. The music takes a giant leap when you get farther into the game and into the International Races and World, Dream, and Diamond Cups. It goes from cheesy elevator music to R&B chords to all out crazy sound effects, it gets better and better the farther you go..... but that's the same with every game.

Fun Scale: 9/10
A 9 out of 10 is only because they stray away from the gambling aspect of Horse Racing, what other aspect is there, and turn it into a full blown race game. Instead of using CASH$$$ they use a point system that you use to buy horses and maintain your stable with, but all in all it's racing at it's best, but not every horse is created equal!
Should you buy it: Find it used, I did for $16, but now it may cost between $25 and $30 used and between $30 and $50 new, but it's well worth it... in a side note Funcoland screwed up and sold me a new copy for $16 not used.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/02, Updated 05/09/02