Corvette Review

The racing genre is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Three of my favorite games during the N64 era were at least racing related; Cruisin’ USA, Wave Race, and Mario Kart 64. This generation, racing games like Gran Turismo 3, R: Racing Evolution, Ford Racing 2, and now, Corvette, have broadened the appeal of racing titles.

Before we get into the gameplay elements, let’s talk about the controls. Acceleration is done with up on the right analog stick or X. The option to use the analog stick as more or less the pedal of your car is something new and somewhat exciting. Brakes are done with the square button or down on the right analog stick. Steering is done with the left and right buttons on the control pad or the left analog stick. Circle is the handbrake and triangle is reverse. Changing views is done with R1 and rear view with L1. If your car flips, press select to “rescue� it. While controls are a bit touchy, especially when hitting another car, they feel natural, except for the reverse button.

The steering is well executed, but when turning corners, you must slow down almost completely. On several occasions, I have completely wiped out, because I was speeding around large turns. Speeding around a turn, spinning out, and then being slammed by a computer player is frustrating.

The game options menu allows you to change the difficulty setting, speed display, transmission, player name, and driver. The controller options allow you to choose between the five controller layouts.

First, allow me to comment on the career mode. In career, you unlock new vehicle colors, tracks, and upgrades for vehicles. Career mode has 23 races on amateur and 16 on professional, of which only one race starts off unlocked. You must beat each race in order, placing a certain rank, whether first or third, to unlock new races in career mode. I believe, but am not certain, since I’ve placed first nearly every race, that if you place third in some races, you can continue in career, but the track that you played on will not be available in multi-player mode until you place first. I might be mistaken about this, but I believe that this is the case. At the end of each class, you must race one person and beat them to move on. In these races, there are police and other vehicles on the track.

As stated in the above paragraph, there is an arcade mode, along with a quick race and split-screen multi-player with up to two players. The only other game mode is the “special modes�. These are unlocked by completing career class races. Had online gameplay been instituted, this game would be a complete package. As is, the game is still fun, but when friends aren’t around, playing the computer gets drab after a few hours. Computer players allow you to catch up if you are too far behind or they will catch up to you in the case of you being far ahead of them.

Bargain bin gaming doesn’t get much better than this, aside from Ford Racing 2, which is also published by Global Star. The graphics and sound aren’t cutting edge, but get the job done, which is their overall purpose. The loading screens are longer than an average game, but then again, so were Ford Racing 2’s, and I loved that game. All in all, Corvette is a solid racing game that doesn’t push the limits, but is fun through and through.