PlanetDreamcast | Games | Reviews | Sega GT

Sega GT Sega's answer to Gran Turismo delivers - Review By Missionyrd Page 2/2 Blue, blue skies, I see, blue blue... wait. Crap. All of the cars are rendered in 3D to look like exact replicas of their real-life counterparts. From the Audi TT to the Nissan Skyline, all of the cars featured look as the car enthusiast would expect them to. Those who are familiar with cars should have no problems naming the cars based off of looks alone. Special effects help add to the realism of each vehicle through the use of lens flares, motion blur, and smoke effects. The lens flares help add some distinctiveness to the headlights, while the motion blur on the rear lights looks quite convincing on the dark city courses. The environments and scenery in the game are equally as stunning as the cars themselves. From the city skylines, to the desert town, to the snow-filled mountain, all of the environments and scenery in Sega GT look fantastic. Each course takes on its very own unique look and feel, a look and feel that could only be accomplished through superb graphics and attention to detail. Fog effects further add enhancement to the courses, being used only when the effects are appropriate. Unlike many other gaming titles, the fog is not used to limit the distance seen ahead but instead used simply for aesthetics and realism. The Bad Like any title, Sega GT still has its own share of problems and things that could have been improved. For one, the learning curve in Sega GT is quite steep. Those who are big fans of racing titles and play them often will grasp the controlling of cars after a little practice and effort. However, those players who are not experienced video game racers will find controlling some of the faster vehicles a challenge, especially on courses with many sharp turns and few straight-aways. Nonetheless the controls are far from impossible to get the hand of, they just take substantially more time for the beginner to perfect. A nice frosty morning. One of the larger problems with the title is its menu system/interface. Jumping from the garage, to the store, and buying parts requires too many menus and hops from one section of the game to another. This is most evident when trying to sell off cars won in races. In order to sell a car one must find the car in his or her garage, get into it, go to the car dealer lot, enter the user car section, and then sell the car. Repeat this step for ten cars and you've spent five minutes just selling cars you do not want or already have. Placing a sell car option in the garage would have relieved a lot of these steps and saved a lot of time. It is this hopping back and forth from one set of menus to another that weakens the overall feel of such a well put together title. The interface simply felt like it was rushed. Sega GT features most of the big name Japanese cars with a couple of American makes, such as the Dodge Viper and Ford Mustang Cobra. While manufacturers such as Audi, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota are featured, where are other popular automotive manufactures such as Porsche/RUF, BMW, Mercedes, among others? Licensing may have come into play but a game will always take a small hit if household makes are not adequately represented. Even for those manufacturers included, some cars were inevitably left out. Toyota's latest Supra is featured in the game, but what if I want to race an older 1992 Supra with the previous-generation body style? While the choice of vehicles in Sega GT is quite strong there is still room for improvement. Like the cars, the more tracks the merrier with racing fans. One of the more disappointing aspects of Sega GT is its reliance on the use of many of the same tracks over and over again. There are really only a few different locations where races occur in Sega GT, with the differences being in the sections of track opened up and whether it is raced in reverse or the originally intended direction. A larger variety of new and unique courses would have been a huge plus. The Final Word Sega GT is currently the game to get for all Dreamcast owners looking to get a realistic and enjoyable racing experience on their console. Sega GT is to the Dreamcast what Gran Turismo was to the PlayStation. Currently the number one general racing title for the Dreamcast, console racing fans and car enthusiasts looking for something new should snatch this one up. Those looking to get into the racing genre should certainly give this one a shot, borrow or rent it. Be sure to play this game at least once and give it a couple of hours to get used to the controls. The graphics and depth are sure to please even the most critical racing fan. Developer: Sega Publisher: Sega Genre: Racing Highs: Good physics and handling, excellent graphics, detailed car customization. Lows: Poorly designed menu system, lack of track variety. Other: 1-2 players, VMU compatible, Jump Pack Compatible. Media: Intro (MPEG) - Intro. Lots of replay-like car drive-bys. [Big (9.6M)] - [Med (5.2M)] - [Small (1.1M)] Gameplay 1 (MPEG) - Those bastard CPU cars kicked my ass... -BenT [Big (13.6M)] - [Med (7.3M)] - [Small (1.3M)] Gameplay 2 (MPEG) - Ah, this is more like it. Nice, snowy course. [Big (14.5M)] - [Med (7.8M)] - [Small (1.7M)] Final Score: (out of a possible 10) Visit this Game's Dreamcast Database Entry Previous Reviews Comments on this review? Mail Feedback.