Top Gear 3000

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Top Gear 3000 - by KIman

Introduction:

The third installment of the series, and probably the best. Kemco took all the great ideas of the first two and added some new ones. Going for a totally different approach, which worked pretty well, the developers decided to make a futuristic racing game. No longer gas powered, all the cars are electric. They recharge and repair by driving over color-coded strips on the road, just like F-Zero. You can upgrade engines, transmissions, tires, etc., like Top Gear 2. The greatest feature however, is the four player mode (using the multi-tap).

Gameplay [8/10]:

One thing that became less and less after the original Top Gear was the difficulty. The steering isn't that touchy and you can easily upgrade your tires. Braking helps when boosting around turns, and later on in the game you can buy accessories. The jump item allows you to jump straight over cars, which is very handy. The warp item allows to teleport for a second right past other racers, or if you drive over a yellow diamond on the road you will automatically teleport. The least helpful item is the Attractor, it allows you to draft behind other cars. Tires will help the most.

Graphics [8/10]:

The graphics are a step above the previous two. The game has a custom DSP to speed up processing, after all it's four player compatible. The cars can be shown at any angle, so when you hit an obstacle, it spins out (not in 4 player mode). The tracks have nice detail, they have a sense of 3D to them, and the weather can change. There's smog, fog, snow, night, ice, and day. The backgrounds give you an idea of what terrain you're on. Some arrow signs hover on the side of the road. In three or four player mode there is no slow down, since there's only four cars on screen. There's definitely a sense of speed.

Music and Sound [9/10]:

The sound in Top Gear 3000 is very good. The music in the beginning is cool, and gives the futuristic feel to the game. Electric cars probably don't sound like these do, but it's no too far off. Boosts don't sound like nitros, which is the way it's supposed to be. The music during the races can't be turned off, but I don't think that's a problem.

Challenge and Replay [10/10]:

There are 42 races altogether, with 3 difficulty settings, so you'll be busy for a while. Each track varies in difficulty, and your opponent (CPU or player) is constantly upgrading along with you. The further you get into the game, the less recharge strips there will be. You can race full screen, or with another racer. If you really want a challenge, play split screen.

Conclusion/Overall [9/10]:

A near perfect racer, and the only one with a four player mode. The only disappointment is that you can't upgrade in multiplayer mode.

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