Gallop Racer 2004 – PS2 – Review

The heart and soul of the
Gallop Racer series has always been its season mode.  In this mode, you’ll
begin the game as a beginner jockey looking to make a name for his or herself
in order to achieve what all jockeys strive for, fame, money, and better
horses to ride.  From there you’ll control your jockey as he or she climbs the
ranks, eventually gaining your own horses to be responsible for. 
Responsibilities range from choosing races best suited to your horse’s
abilities to choosing when to retire your steed to breeding.  This aspect of
the game gives a great sense of ownership and accomplishment, especially if
you’re lucky enough to field a competitive horse.  The bulk of the gameplay
takes place on the back of a horse.  Contrary to the impressions of most there
is a whole lot to guiding a horse around the track, which is captured
faithfully here.  Each horse is graded in a number of statistical categories
ranging from its overall speed to how much heart the horse has to where in the
pack the horse likes to operate from.  If you have any hope of being
successful in this game, you must not only pay attention to the horse’s stats,
but you’ve also got to understand them and adhere strictly to them.  There’s a
fine line between placing in the money and bringing up the rear in the world
of horse racing and its every bit as unforgiving here.  Pull out the crop too
soon or too late, run your horse to the front when he prefers to attack from
off the pace and it’s a recipe for failure.  Which leads to the other big
factor in the gamer’s success or failure, your own jockey rating. 

When you are choosing a
horse with which to race upon, you are given goals by the trainer for this
horse.  Depending on the abilities and grade of the horse you might be asked
to win or place in a race or you might simply be asked to finish ahead of your
horse’s odds.  Achieving these goals is paramount to your success, but it’s
not the only factor in your own performance you’ve got to concern yourself
with.  You’ll also be graded on how well you handle the race, course, and your
horse’s preferences and abilities.  You are awarded points based on how well
you manage these factors.  Points lead to increasing your jockey’s level as
well as purchasing various items that help improve your performance.  The
importance of this is three fold.  First the better you grade out, the better
your horse will do.  Secondly, performing well enough and guiding your horse
to the best of its abilities opens up the possibilities of unleashing various
special abilities your horse may possess.  These abilities range from a quick
final burst to improvement in handling corners.  However, it can also have the
reverse effect.  Ride your horse poorly and you may be hamstrung by a horse
that won’t respond or quickly loses stamina.  Finally and most importantly as
you progress in level and horse quality you’ll have to compete in your
negotiations for rides.  Your stats will be measured head to head against
rival jockeys that have the same interest in a horse by the trainer.  If you
have any hope in riding the best horses and in the most prestigious races you
must have the stats and abilities to back it up.

The gameplay itself is
pretty straightforward.  Moving the D-Pad left or right positions your horse
left and right.  Tapping or holding forward will push you horse to increase
speed, while tapping or holding the D-Pad down will cause your horse to slow. 
You also use the square and circle buttons to use the riding crop.  Using the
square will put the crop in the jockey’s left hand and vice versa for the
circle.  The right analog stick controls the camera as do the shoulder
buttons, even allowing you to lock in the camera on a specific rival horse. 
It’s a simple control scheme that they’ve used since the very beginning of the
series and it works very efficiently, which is good because when your trying
to manage a race, while being ever mindful of position, your horse’s
condition, and the horse’s ratings, you don’t want to be weighed down by a
difficult control scheme.  One improvement that Tecmo has made to the game,
which will be welcomed and hailed by all fans of the series, is that the
penalties for bumping into other horses is handled much more judiciously than
in the past.  It used to be that even if another horse bumped you while you
were riding a clean race, you’d be the one to be penalized and penalized
steeply.  Now, if anyone else bumps you, your rating will not be penalized,
but you’ve still got to worry about how your horse will handle the contact. 
Beyond this very welcomed change, the gameplay remains mostly the same.

In addition to managing
your racing career and eventually your own stable of horses, you can also
place bets on the races to increase your cash flow.  A big aspect of horse
racing is the gambling side and its well represented here.  You can bet on a
single horse or you can dive into the more lucrative and more challenging bets
like the quinella, exacta, and trifecta, as well as placing “box” wagers.  For
the uninitiated, the betting side of things can be a little intimidating, but
the game does a good job of simplifying and explaining the process to the
point that you could go to your local track and place a bet with the best of
them.  The betting is not required, but it does provide a fun diversion from
the actual racing.

One warning that I’d be
remised if I did not mention for potential new fans to the series, this game
is a simulation of horse racing almost to a fault.  What these means is that
if you expect to constantly dominate races throughout your jockey’s career,
you’ll be sadly disappointed.  Just like the real world, the most successful
jockeys only finish in the money a small percentage of the time and it’s no
different here.  There are so many factors beyond your control that go into
deciding a race that can cost you success even if you achieve the perfect
ride.  It should also be mentioned that when you begin in the season mode,
prepare yourself to finish out of the money until you’ve increased your
ratings and invested some time in the game.  You must concentrate wholly on
achieving the goals laid out by the trainer which in the early going generally
amounts to simply finishing ahead of your horse’s odds.  And since at the
beginning you’ll be riding the worst horses of the field, you usually only
have to make sure your horse doesn’t finish last to be successful.  Now, don’t
get me wrong, these factors take absolutely nothing away from the enjoyment of
the game and actually help to make the game compelling and challenging long
after most of us have mastered other sports/racing games, but if you’re the
type that feels like must win every race, it could get frustrating.

In addition to the
aforementioned season mode the game also offers battle mode, which offers up
to a best of five series with another gamers or tournament style competitions
for up to four players.  The multiplayer is especially virile when you are
racing horses that you’ve invested time into.  You’ve also got the option to
race with a seemingly endless array of random horses.  The game handles
multiplayer tilts like a champ and is actually one of its best features.

Graphically, the game is
pretty simple, but functional.  The impressive roster of tracks, both dirt and
track, are pretty Spartan in appearance with lots of fog in the distance.  It
also features some pretty bland looking weather effects, while not impressive
to look at; they do have tangible effects on the racing.  The horses
themselves, of which there are seemingly millions, are a mixed bag.  When in
the paddock and the barn area, the look really good, but their animation is
very stilted and almost unnatural for these powerful and graceful animals.  On
the track their animations fare a little better simply because your
perspective is from above and behind the horse, but once you swing the camera
around to look at the horses around you, the same problems arise.  The jockeys
are also a mixed bag.  Whenever you are viewing the jockeys outside of the
actual racing they are represented by the “you can take it, or leave it”
massively headed, anime style 2-D character models, but in the races atop the
horses, they are more accurately modeled.

Unfortunately the sound
department fares the same as the graphics, very sparse and simple, but it gets
the job done.  All of the dialogue in the game is presented in “bubbles”, save
for the track announcer, who has a very small, often repeated vocabulary.  The
music is reminiscent of NES music, but it is somehow charming.  Think of it
kind of as a modern day version of the music of gaming days long since past. 
I can’t really explain why it elicits the comparison, but it does. 
Surprisingly, the game is devoid of any of the whinnying, neighing, or
grunting that you hear at the track.  Where the audio really shines is in the
thundering of the hooves as the horses burn a trail around the track,
especially if you’re hooked into a good sound system.  The bass is so deep and
so realistic; you can almost imagine horses thundering up beside you.  Very
cool.

Overall, this edition of
Gallop Racer does what it has always done and that’s capturing the world of
horse racing in a very realistic, satisfying, and fun manner.  Granted most
gamers who have no interest in the sport will pass this game up without a
second thought, but they will be passing up a very challenging and rewarding
sports simulation.  For fans of the series or newbies to the sport, you
absolutely cannot go wrong with this game, despite its substandard production
levels.  The game engine is solid and accurate, with a seemingly endless
roster of tracks, horses, and races for you to conquer.  As far as sport
simulations go, this has got to be the most involved one yet.  With its RPG
style stat building and the need to monitor and understand the various stats
involved in the game, it offers a lot of long term challenge sorely missing in
most sports/racing titles.  It may be intimidating in the beginning and you’ll
no doubt wonder if you’ll ever win a race, but anyone who invests the time and
effort required will be rewarded with a satisfying game experience. 

Gameplay: 8.8
Controlling your
steed in the midst of racing is simple enough, but the challenge comes from
understanding your beast.  There’s a mountain of information to digest, but
once you become proficient in deciphering it, you’ll appreciate the depth of
the gameplay.  Being successful in the game requires a lot of skill and a
little bit of luck, but it is surprising just how fun it can be, whether
you’re shooting to place in the money or just trying not to come in last.

Graphics: 6.0 
While I know the
graphics have improved from the original PS version of this game, it still
look like the same game.  It would be nice if for the inevitable follow-up
that they rebuilt the graphics engine and concentrated on the overwhelming
beauty and physical condition of these horses.   Spend any time around a horse
track and the main sentiment you bring away besides horse racing being more
fun than you would have ever dreamed, is just how beautiful and impressive
these horses are.  It would also help if there were more variety from track to
track

Sound: 6.0
Very little
voice, music, or sound effects.  This too is an area that needs attention for
the next iteration.  What is there works, but it’s very bare.  However, the
thundering of horse hooves is outstanding.

Difficulty: Hard
Even with some
aptitude and understanding of the various stats and factors this game is
challenging, which is what helps make the experience so rewarding over time. 
Newbies will struggle even on the easiest setting and it is a game that
demands time and using your head, but stick with it.  The sense of
accomplishment when you finally win that first race, especially if it comes on
a long shot, makes it all worth the effort.

Concept: 8.0
Lovingly and
accurately capturing a sport such as horse racing is admirable.  Tecmo should
also be commended for sticking to the nature of the sport, over the short
attention span and instant gratification-demanding crowd, by keeping the game
unpredictable throughout.  In the real world you lose far more races than you
win and the game strictly adheres to this truth.  However, also like the real
sport, the game allows you to enjoy some degree of success even when you
aren’t winning races.

Multiplayer: 8.5

The multiplayer aspect of GP 2004 is an absolute
blast.  There’s nothing like the excitement and tension of racing against a
human player when you round that final turn, neck and neck, frantically
fighting the urge to not make your move too soon, especially if your foe
begins to pull away. 

Overall: 8.3
Technical achievements aside, there’s no denying the successes of the
gameplay.  For anyone with even a passing or budding interest in the sport
will learn all they would ever need to know about horse racing, while coming
away with a great sense of appreciation for what the jockeys accomplish.  Fans
of the series will find everything they know and love, although you won’t be
able to help feeling that your looking at the same game as years past.  The
gameplay features everything we look for in our sports sims, things such as
accuracy, challenge, and most importantly fun.  You don’t necessarily need to
have an interest in the sport to find enjoyment in the game, but it will
certainly help.  With the sport growing by leaps and bounds thanks to the
Triple Crown runs of horses like Smarty Jones and Funny Cide, as well as the
popularity of Laura Hildebrand’s excellent Seabiscuit book and the movie,
expect this excellent series to continue to stick around and burst from the
confines of “fringe” gaming.