[PSP] GTi Club Supermini Festa! Review. :D

Now, PSP is now going down, if I’m honest but there are still few games that are stuggling and hopeful to pull PSP back into the spotlight. Mind you, this system has been the same for nearly five years and it seems that the PSP is one big proof that technology is improving so quick. Nevertheless, the system is still impressive. Despite the corroding audience, there are still games that will make you happy. For instance this game GTi Club. Yes, GTI Club is one game I really like although even if the game was good, it never really clicked into the arcade world here in the country. I luckily played the very first GTi Club and to be honest, it was not a kid’s game but it was fun once you get the necessary things you need to know. It’s basically a tarmac/city rally game that uses hot hatchbacks from the past. 😀 For instance, the Mini. There also other cars in the first gen game that I don’t know but what’s nice about the first gen game is that it featured the monstrous Bugatti EB110. Imagine, a game with Minis and other hatchbacks that were used in rallying had a hidden Bugatti in the game! Nevertheless, this game was a hit for me. And now, they released one for the system I have, the PlayStation Portable.

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This is, basically, a racing game but with added insane touches. You can have the classic race with opponents but the added features were bomb tagging and time trial. Now, bomb tagging seems to be like a childish game but not so when you are using cars. …and hot hatchbacks with AI systems that are pretty clever. 😀

CARS

The cars! The new game uses hot hatchbacks in the modern world. 😀

My favorite ever since its release: Fiat 500 Abarth. 😀

Not only that you get the new cars but also the old ones which were and were not featured on the first game. And not only that, as in the first game, you have the tuned versions. Here, you can customize the car itself but you have to win the parts. 😀

MODES

Tomatoes?

In the first game, I saw only three modes: SINGLE RACE, TIME TRIAL and BOMB TAGGING. In the PSP, however, there are more modes to choose from. These are:

Traffic Jam Escape Race: the Single Race mode, with challenging obstacles, which is the city traffic

Time Attack

Bomb Tag: The player holding the bomb when time runs out, loses. 😀

Prize Grab: Same as Bomb Tag but exactly the opposite..’know what I mean? Instead of escaping for the “tag”, you have to carry it until the time runs out.

Coin Collecting: obviously, collect more coins than your opponent

Tomato Festival: pretty much like the battle mode in MarioKart but much more realistic with real cars and.. um.. tomatoes…as weapons

Car Soccer: Comes with one-on-one and two-on-two. 😀 Remember the car soccer featured in Top Gear? Yup, it’s this one. 😀

These modes are the modes that you can see in the Arcade option. When you choose the Quest option,you unlock more special upgrades as well as variations of the modes mentioned above, some even mixes two of the modes.

DRIVE

Since this is an arcade racing game, you should not expect any realistic simulation of vehicle performance even if the cars and tracks were real. It saddens me though but at the same time it makes me happy because I haven’t played any good arcade racing game since the Ridge Racer and the OutRun. But it is good, just don’t expect something like Gran Turismo handling. 😀

There’s still this Time at the top of the screen, typical arcade countdown timer. The game also features difficulty levels which means that at the very top difficulty level, all shortcuts and other routes are now available for use so you can outsmart increasing smart-*ss AI drivers. 😀 The game also has *GPS*.:D

The Happy Shortcuts

While driving, the curbs have a special feature. When you drive along them, you go faster. Which is nice because with the game’s funky, funny and humorous handling, it makes the car difficult to drive through these areas which will have you end up learning how to handle specific cars so that you can use these dash curbs similar to MarioKart’s dash floors. 😀

What’s nice about the driving part is that the computer knows that you have to use Automatic Transmission. I mean, in a typical race, you can choose between manual and auto. But when it comes to other modes, the computer knows, either you don’t really need it or it’ll just take up a lot of space for other input.

DOWNFALLS

The cars in the game are all brilliant. except that they are limited, quite literally. I mean for the Abarth, when I got it, it was running 110 Kph average and the revs are limited. I hated that part because in the first game, no limiting was implemented while here, the limiting depends on the level of your car’s performance which can be upgraded along the way.

This Abarth 69…something SS is at level 3 top speed. It is maximum at 123kph. Notice the rev dial, that’s the “limiter” of the car at that level.  It bounces around that area.

The handling would not be something preferred by something who jumps into this game from Gran Turismo. One should always think of this as a fun arcade racing game.

IMPRESSIONS

despite the drawbacks, I liked this game. It is because it’s fun. The classic arcade racing game that you should find shortcuts to outwit seemingly difficult AI’s. The game uses hatchbacks which handle and act humorously. Such as this one:

This is GTi Club: Lots of hatchback jumping. 😀 For fun!

You want to know which manufacturers take part?

CONCLUSION

Overall, this game is terrific. Even if it doesn’t click to most of the racing game enthusiasts, it is still a nice arcade game to have. It makes you happy with the bouncy hatchbacks and funny modes that are not really done in the real world. Though the soccer game was done by Top Gear but at least you won’t have to pay the body shop for repairs. 😀 This game is just like it’s father which makes it fun to drive.

GALLERY