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GTC Africa... Tearing up third world countries in expensive cars!
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Tim
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Posted by: Tim at 11:00 PM EST on 7/4/2002
File Under: Games -> PlayStation 2 -> Quickview
Well, well, well... What have we here? It looks as though the PR people for Majesco still have me on their mailing list to receive reviewable games even though Gaming Infinity has been shut down for the past few months. Oh well, I'm not complaining! It's nice to have a new game unexpectedly show up in the mail... This time, I was treated to the surprisingly fun GTC Africa for the PlayStation 2. In fact, I knew absolutely nothing about this game before it showed up. I didn't even know it existed! I think that's a good thing, though, because it seems like, as I'm becoming more and more jaded with the game industry, it's the games that I go into with zero expectations that I end up liking the most.
GTC Africa is an interesting Rally romp across the entire continent of Africa. You race on a myriad of courses around landmarks from Cape Town in South Africa to the pyramids in Egypt. The gameplay, for the most part, is typical rally racing, but in a Touring Car inspired difference, there's a full grid of opponents to race to the finish line. This makes for a much more intense experience than the usually clock-oriented rally race as you jockey for position and try to outrace your opponents.
This game features a unique championship mode that has you advancing in the usual way by accumulating points depending on your finishing position in each race, but with an extra twist. You're also expected to stay in good standing with your chosen team. By winning races and avoiding damaging your car, you gain team points and stay in good standing. If you fare poorly and do a lot of damage to your car, your standing in the team will drop. As a result, you'll have less time to finish each race. If you fall far enough, your team will not-so-kindly ask you to stop racing for them.
In addition to the championship mode and the three circuits there-in, the game also has the typical single race and practice modes. A cool extra that is included (and more racing games should have) is a challenge mode where you're presented with specialized tasks to complete, such as starting far behind another vehicle and given a set amount of time to catch up. I haven't explored this mode too much, but I suspect that it will provide some nice variety when I'm in the mood for something a little different than simply racing around a loop.
Anyway, I like what I see in GTC Africa so far, and the game keeps growing on me the more I play it. After completing the first championship circuit and unlocking the first 10 of 19 tracks, I expect to be even more satisfied with the game the more I play it. Look for a full review when I have more time to dig into the rest of the tracks and the challenge mode.
Initial Vibe: Positive. I fully expect to be able to recommend this game once I've had a chance to explore everything it has to offer. Stay tuned for my final review.
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