
<MAP NAME="boxmap-p6"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="1, 140, 83, 150" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x150.gif" width="120" height="150" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p6" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform Playstation 2 Genre Racing Publisher Titus Developer Team 17 ESRB E (Everyone) Released Q4 2001

- Some car customizing

- Weak AI - Track design is lacking - Unimpressive visuals and sound

Review: Ridge Racer V (Playstation 2) Review: Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec (Playstation 2) Review: Le Mans 24 Hours (Playstation 2)
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Stunt GP

Score: 6/10

What's up with all of these racing games coming out all of the time these days? It's like the 32-bit era of gaming comes along and all of a sudden racing games are breeding like bunnies, dim lights, twangy guitars, the whole nine yards. Even more amazing is that so many of these racing games are just so awful you can't help but wonder how the game even got off the ground. Stunt GP isn't quite that bad, but it isn't anything to write home about either. With all of the other quality racers out there like GT3, LeMans, and Ridge Racer, why bother with this one? The only people who will get anything out of this title are young children, other than that this game won't appeal to many.

In Stunt GP players race RC-like cars on silly little toy-like tracks, trying to pull off crazy tricks which give points which can be used to purchase parts upgrades in the championship mode of the game. Unfortunately pulling off tricks feels far more like it happens by accident than through any sort of concerted effort, never a good thing. Being able to buy parts is an ever welcome feature included in the game, getting to pick up new parts to spiff up your ride. However, this is where the fun and novelty ends.

The look of Stunt GP is very simplistic with the vehicles sitting large on the screen and not having much detail. The same goes for the environments, there just isn't much to look at here. Basic, vaguely themed courses that look little better than something you would find on the N64. Animation is reasonably smooth and there's no sign of slowdown. The simple fact of the matter is that the visuals are nothing more than utilitarian, they serve a purpose but don't even try to put on some pinnace. The sound and music don't fair any better either. It's filler music and simple whacking and revving noises.

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Track design is far from tricky here either. There are twists and turns, sure, but they are relatively gradual here, no crazy hairpins here. The only things marginally complicated to deal with are the loop-dee-loops, but that's just a bit off vehicle aligning and building up your speed and your set. What was nice to see though was that players can choose where to go after winning a race, presented with a branching path with two ways to go, not just going from one track to the next in a circuit. It brought

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back fond memories of Outrun. Don't expect much challenge from the AI when navigating the tracks either. A couple of quick nudges and bonks and you'll be at the head of the pack with little need to worry about being passed, save when making a pit stop to recharge your vehicle's battery.

At its heart Stunt GP is a stripped down racing game more intended for young gamers. It's presentation is very simple, the tracks are not overly complicated, and the challenge isn't really there. There are a few game modes to choose from, ranging from quick arcade races, to doing a circuit, the bare essentials. Most would best look to Gran Turismo 3 or Ridge Racer V for their racing needs, only the young'uns around 8 years-old roughly may get a kick out of this game.

- Mr. Nash

(December 12, 2001)