User Reviews (11 - 21 of 25)

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drjekel

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is for drjekel: GI, GII, and GIII are all types of races. The G stands for grade. Grade three is the least valuable of the three and GI is the most valuable of the three. Only the top horses compete in GI races. that is what it means. I haven't bought Gallop Racer, yet. But I really want to. I have played it and it is a great game. I hope this helps

Gallop Racer 2001 Puts you in the Saddle

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you had ever wandered what it would be like to control your own fate in a horse race then you have got to try out this game. You decide whether to send your horse to the front or take him off the pace. You determine the fate of your horse by making split second decisions when breaking from the gate and making sure you save horse for the stretch run. You will definately feel the rush of energy as you thunder down the homestretch.

Highly addictive

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I got this game for Christmas and couldn't put it down for four hours. I love it the highest place I've gotten though is only 2nd. It is very challenging even on easy mode. Once you start playing it you can't stop untill it says GAME OVER. The only thing I don't like about it is how frustrating it is. but that's my problem so I find this game fun and highly addictive.

Save your money... buy Gallop Racer PS1

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: September 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Coming from someone who spent lots and lots and lots of time playing the excellent Gallop Racer 1 and owns both games... at best, Gallop Racer 2001 is a disappointment. The overall graphics of the Playstation version were more impressive for the system, especially now since 'in the strech' the background now blurs instead of the horse actually moving faster, so you don't get the feeling of rallying and leaving the pack as much, the center of focus is the jockey's overly rounded and large behind, but the backgrounds are cleaner and more crisp. The new betting mode is a flop since it can only be used when you watch a race, and only first player can bet, and scores aren't cumulative or able to be saved. Tecmo has also given it a very Japanese game feeling with the addition of the completely unnecessary navigator girl. The only improvement is buying a horse in season mode, since you can now specify the charateristics you want. Congrats, Tecmo! This is the biggest system switch-over/sequel tragedy since Tecmo Bowl came to Playstation. Lesson learned: Avoid Tecmo sequels like horror film sequels.

Looks Fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: May 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have not played this game yet but my friend is a huge horse fan and she has, and it is spose to be really fun. I am getting it for my B-day and I have been looking up screen shots for it and I know right now that I am not going to want to stop playing it once I start! I have the Mary-kate and ashley's winner's circle and that one was fun for about 3 months, then it started getting easy after I beat it 5 times... but it is still fun to just play it every now and then. Well anywho it looks like a AWSOME game....
Horses Rule!

Like Hooves of Tunder

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 9
Date: October 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Hi
I from South Africa what a gread game to play.
Here is none sutch games like this here and verry glad for
Temco to design sutch good game.
Kindly Regards
Timo Potgieter

Galloping your heart away

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: January 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is the coolest. If you love horses and don't ride or even have one well then get this game. It's almost like you have your very own horse 'cause you can breed them, race them ect. Anyway, this game is the best game with horses in it. I only wish that they would make more games for ps1 just like Gallop Racer 2001. Trust me if you want to get this game go right a head because it is worth the money!

An OK game...For Awhile

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: December 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Ok, I'm a total horse lover and I go to the race track quite often. Yet the game does not give the whole perseption of training/feeding/racing a Thoroughbred. I would totally love this game if I got to call the shots! Come on people all you do is make shure the triangle is blue, and your horse is trotting!

Pros:
The realistic of being the jockey is awesome!
Breeding the horses, and seeing what you get is pretty cool.

Cons:
It gets so boring after you win "Horse Of The Year" and you get 10,000 extra! Big whoop! Ok so then you have the greatest horse of the year, and it cost ALOT to breed him to your mare, and you can only breed him once! Come on that would never happen! And what happened to TRAINING your horse! This part of the game infuriates me, you can't train, or anything. The game is nothing like having a real horse, you don't get to feed it, groom it, muck it's stall, train it, exercize it! Grrr so mad. I think they need to make the game more in detail, sort of like have story lines, and you make your way as a trainer or jockey, and have owners asking you to train your horses. Then you could do it like the big time, fly to Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby and watch the horse that you have been training for months win it, when your jockey rides to presise plans. Also you could have sale, where if you were an owner, go to sales and purchase that 1mill horse, then look for you a trainer, or do it yourself.

It shows that Japan doesin't know a dang thing about horse racing, and should travel to the states, and see what is is all about! If you want a boring horse racing game, then buy this game! But I swear that you will get bored with it, as it is the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over AGAIN!!!

Fun but flawed

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: June 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game online a year or two ago, and I was hooked from the start. Even my brothers, who arent horse racing fans, wanted to try it and ended up starting games of their own.

You start out by picking the level you want to play at. I have played all of them and concluded that the only difference is the amount of cash you begin with. The manual claims horses you breed are stonger when you are on the normal or hard level, but I have bred equally stong horses on all levels.

It can take a while to get your first when. The manual doesnt explain when to whip and encourage your horse. I find it works best to whip your horse for the first time at 2.6 furlongs to go, then as much as you can from 2 furlongs to go. This may need to be tweaked for the front horses and closers. For front horses, whip later and for closers whip sooner. Also, while there is a small chance of being stuck on the rail in the stretch, getting to the rail for the curves can allow your horse to pass others and conserve energy. This especially helps for the 6 furlong and 9 furlong turf races, and all dirt races.

After maybe 5 or 10 races, you should find yourself understanding the game and controls much better.If you are really struggling with the controls still, you have the option to change them in the settings category on the home screen.

Buying horses can be quite a chore sometimes. No matter what class of horse you are buying from, the best horses have high guts and incline ratings. A good condition rating also helps. I find the temperment does not really affect the outcome of a horse in a race. Horses with low temperment ratings can be hard to settle, but I personally enjoy the additional challenge. This does not mean that horses with high temperment ratings are easier to race, I have had just as much trouble with them as the lower temperment horses. A fast sprint is not necessary as good horses with slow sprints can outrun horses with faster prints. Make sure to check the growth rate of your horse by pressing square when you are looking at buying them. A long growth rate will let you race them for longer. Once their growth rate starts to go down, you should notice a definite decrease in their abilities.

The major things that bugged me about this game were that you could not train or raise your horse at all. You also could only ride the horses you own, while I would have liked to freelance on the side. You are also not allowed to enter two of your horses in the same race. I think you should be able to hire another jockey for a fee to race him for you, and that you should be able to do that even if you dont have two horses running in the race. Also, you can only breed a horse once, then he or she disappears from the breeding list. You also cant have more than six horses. At first, this doesnt really restrict you, but after a while you are forced to retire a horse to allow another one into your stable. The lack of betting in the career mode doesnt bother me, but it is possible to do in the game. The trouble is that you have to watch and are not allowed to ride. It is one thing to watch replays of your own horse, but it is boring to watch horses that you have no connection to. You also dont get to keep any money you win. And I dont know what the creators were thinking when they made Navigator Cindy. She is dressed in a skimpy party dress and the only connection to the game is that she has GR on the front. She appears onscreen every time the game is loading, and I get tired of looking at her every time I want to race or get results. Also jockeys are all guys, there is no option to be a girl.

Dont get me wrong though, just because I think there are design flaws doesnt mean I didnt enjoy the game. I am still going strong and am very much addictive. I think any horse racing fan would enjoy it a lot, but it still could be better.

Looking forward to this?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Ok - I was looking forward to this game - especially after reading some of the reviews - and yes, the game is addicting to some point. The graphics are great, horses are detailed. The sound is not super, but for those looking for a good Horse management/racing game, it's not a big deal.
On with the game - the 'Racing' part of the game is fun - but after a little while it loses it's fun factor. The game and manual really doesn't give you enough information about the different races and in particular how to win titles and what the GI, GII, GIII races all mean. I've been hunting for information on how to win these titles and what they are all about - but no luck.
I was really looking forward to the management side of the game - but I was not happy with the result. You have very little control over the management - you basically buy horses with points, select which races they will race in, decide when to rest them and you can also breed your horses to create unique ones. The horses have statistics of around 5 different categories... but really there is not enough information on them, and the statistics are in the form of a bar graph - so it's not obvious what the difference is between horses.
Overall it's a fun game - it would be good to have a multiplayer option in 'Season' mode - plus the ability to have more than 6 horses in your stable. I was also looking for more on the management side - Trainers, Training information, Stables, food, doctors, transportation to and from races - that kind of thing. Maybe I was hoping for to much from a playstation 2 game? better stick to PC games for that.

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