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No Where Near As Good As Gallop Racer With A Few Glaring Flaws

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm not much of a gamer but I'm a big horse racing fan and about 90% of my game play has been Gallop Racer games. I like the Gallop Racer's gameplay in the races. Asking horses to accelerate or decellerate seems somewhat realistic as do horses running better when they're in their preferred running position (lead, pressing, closing).

The new game fails horribly in race play. Closers appear to suffer no problems racing on the lead. Horses all accelerate like Arazi did at the quarter pole in the 91 BC Juvenile. The whipping is a joke. Pace is perhaps the most relevant variable in real horse racing (if you figure that natural abilities of horses can't be controlled), and pace seems to mean nothing in this new game except that you can't run off without tiring. Any closer with any ability can win if they take the lead and then just make a series of as many as 12 moves within a race.

Gallop Racer is much better as far as horse ability, as well, in the sense that if you pay more for a horse, that horse will be a better horse. The randomness of breeding in Gallop Racer seems realistic for a video game.

Notwithstanding my criticisms above on the issues that are probably most important, here is the thing that discredited this game for me the most:

ALL THE TRACKS SEEM TO BE 6 FURLONGS IN CIRCUMFERENCE!!! I thought I'd watch a race from Belmont at 1 1/8 miles, just to see a long one-turn race on a video game. The horses made THREE turns.

A close second for biggest thing that bothered me was that the grandstand at Saratoga looks nothing like Saratoga, while the Florida make believe track has Saratoga's grandstand. Didn't they have a consultant on these things? I will say that Del Mar is a good depiction. I live in San Diego and it was fun to show Del Mar to a few people.

But the game is a disappointment.

If you love horse racing, buy the game. There's a reason it's only $20, though. If nothing more, this game will have you thanking yourself for the creation of Gallop Racer and its progeny.

Big Disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: October 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was anxiously awaiting the release of this game assuming that since the NTRA was involved it would be a top notch product. All they had to do was take Gallop Racer and make it better. What a disappointment.

The first time I played I was able to win a race right away. There was no challenge to it whatsoever. The tracks are far from interesting and not at all representative of the real location. Several times I chose to run a dirt race and all but one of the horses entered preferred the turf. Pick the horse that likes the dirt and you win - duh. Graphics are mediocre at best and you get no sense of the racing experience like in Gallop Racer.

Looks like the racing industry can't even get a video game right, let alone solve their other issues. Save your $$$ and stick with Gallop Racer.

what a shame

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: October 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As far as I know I have played every horseracing videogame to come to an American console, I even bought a Saturn just so I could play Winning Post, and this game is the worst. I had high hopes upon hearing about this game and bought it right after it came out. I was hoping it would have the race and breeding mechanics of gallop racer but with American tracks and races, boy was I disappointed. The other two reviewers have pretty much nailed down the game's faults; it is far to easy, I probably won 75-80% of my races the first year I have played, the racing part of the game is pathetic, you basically just have to gun your horse to the lead rather he prefers to be there or not and you will win most of the time. Even pinballing between horses does not seem to hurt you, if you are blocked in just knock the horses out of the way and go right through. The breeding is also bad, the first horse that I bred with my initial 50k won the Breeder's Cup Mile the first year. I also thought that having some real tracks meant that there would be some other real races such as the Travers at Saratoga or Pacific Classic at Del Mar, but no, only the actual Breeder's Cup races are real. The betting is also ridiculous, I won at 50-1 or more a couple of times and 20-1 shots seem to win as often as favorites. Hopefully they will make another game with improvements but right now this game is really bad, I had alot more fun with the original Gallop Racer on PS1, and Gallop Racer 2004 is an infinitely better product, NTRA license or no.

A Waste of Money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 15 / 18
Date: October 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I anticipated the release of this game for two months and even paid extra to have it priority shipped. I wish I could sell it back for the cost of shipping alone. There is no strategy to the racing just hold the controler down and wait until you win pretty much. As a reviewer stated you can pinball off of other horses and it has no effect. The worse part in my opinion is that in career mode you can "skip" the races you are not in, but you still have to skip them one by one and look at the horse that won the race in the winners circle. If you are racing in race number 9 on the card you simply have to hit "skip" for each race individualy and lumber through the ridiculous fact that you have to watch every horse in the winners circle. Four minuets later you can race (and win) your race. Sound fun? This game makes me so sick I do not even want it in my house one day longer. I will trade it today for Madden 98 or whatever they will give me at the gamestop. I wonder if the creators ever played the game before they sold it. I do not see how they could of.

Go to OTB

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 17
Date: October 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

A complete waste of money. Take the $28 that you were going to spend and bet a Superfecta Wheel without looking at the program. At least you'll be entertained for two minutes. I "unlocked" Ghostzapper after a few races then beat him in a match race with a $16000 claimer. I will say that this game might be fun for little kids who like horseys and need a primer on becoming a degenerate gambler. Everyone else...you've been warned.

I should have listened

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: December 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I read all the reviews and thought well, I'll try it even if it is too easy. Let me tell you this is a horrible, horrible game. Grade 1 Jockey 3 and Gallop Racer are so much better, I am in the Throroughbred business and the NTRA should be ASHAMED of themselves..... DON'T BOTHER!

Horrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: December 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I found this game on a shelf at a store, and thought it looked ok for my daughter. I brought it home and on the first day she had won almost all the stake cups, had over $10.5 million in the career mode, and had all the legends unlocked. This game is horrible, it is absolutely horrible. The NTRA should have done a whole lot better on this game.

Shame on the NTRA

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: December 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

After being a fan of the Gallop Racer series for the past six years I couldn't wait till the NTRA brought out a licensed game. The preview sounded like you'd be racing/riding the famous horses of today. WRONG. I think I played for two days and I haven't touched it since. You have to skip through every single race on every single day which takes forever. I have certain horses that will win every time by daylight which is too easy. There's no challenge. You can beat the stars you unlock easy. I beat Citation (Triple Crown winner and one of the greatest of all time) with a random game horse. Save your money and go for a game in the Gallop Racer Series (I recommend 2003).

Not that bad

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: January 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is okay. I mean, Gallop racer is a million times better. But this gam is kinda cool. But when you breed horses , they are either 2 or 3 years old.And you can't breed YOUR horses. You breed someone elses. Plus, your horse injures itself AL OF THE TIME!!! It drives me crazy.

"Impressive" NOT

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: February 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My dad got me this game for Valentine's day. I was SOOO excided, But when I started to play, it was boring. The races were too easy, and the stable part is comfusing. You have to claim your horse and you can't even groom it!! I didn't want to hurt my dad's feelings, so I said the racing part was fun.

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