KMGR of "Ferrari GT Evolution"

Image via WikipediaFerrari GT Evolution is one of the better "2D" driving games around. Car handling is very responsive, and other than glitches with some of the fastest cars and with the key held down, the game is surprisingly fun and there are PLENTY of driving.

There are two modes to play: Arcade, where you race a car around various circuits, unlocking additional tracks and cars as you go, and Career, where you start off as a new Ferrari owner, and are challenged by other owners to visit all over the world as well as participate in amateur races, historic races, Euro Challenges, GT Championships, and so on (different races have different car requirements, depending on which car(s) you own), as well as special challenges given by multitude of characters, from fans and movie stars, to other Ferrari owners eager to "defend" their city from your "transgression".

As you can guess, this game is Ferrari only, and they have almost every civilian Ferrari available for sale, from the 208 all the way up to the latest California and FFX Evo, and everything in between... F40, Testarossa, Enzo, Berlinetta, 308, Scuederia... They are ALL here. And they do handle a bit differently... And you do get graphs and bar chart ratings to help you pick which one to drive.

And the races do vary somewhat. There's the duel (one on one), "best race" (i.e. NFS style "knockout" where 4 cars start, last place at each lap is eliminated until one car is left), "race" (8 cars start, must finish in top 3), "avoid the cones" (avoid at least # cones specified), "get the roses" (hit at least # of roses specified), and "top speed" (exceed the specified lap speed). What's more, there's traffic on the road (hitting one will flip your car, forcing a 'reset' which also costs you a little in prize money).

The tracks themselves are 2D, but VERY GOOD 2D, reminiscent of Outrun and Turbo Outrun, except no radio station and no "turbo" button. As you go through each city, you are given street names and any "sights" to see in the area. Most courses feature an intersection with an alternate path which rejoins the main route a little later. Buildings, trees, landmarks, lamps, and other features whiz by with very good sensation of speed. The vehicle itself is also 2D, but again, very good 2D, with sufficient variations as well as proper "drifting" animation to actually show you drifting, tire burnout marks on the road, dirt and grass if you go offroad, smoke when braking and/or drifting, and so on.

Controls are a bit sensitive, but that's the way a Ferrari should handle. However, there's way too much "drifting", IMHO. Drifting should be optional but here it is required. Nice part about this drifting is you can actually still maintain control WHILE drifting, and when the road straightens out, the car automatically goes back to grip driving. You don't need to use opposite lock to force the car back to grip, and that got me a few times before I figured it out.

You can switch between the arcade progress and the career progress at any time, as the two sets of data are kept separately.

The main problem is the music... It's repetitive and underwhelming. I usually turn it off, except you then lose all the sounds.

There are lots and lots of racing to do in order to complete both the arcade and the career to 100%. While it is a bit repetitive, the different cars, different tracks, and different variations does offer a lot of different challenges to the driver/player. This one definitely one of the best driving games out there for the mobile, except for the enforced drifting.

Overall rating: 8.5 out of 10
Pros: looks great for 2D, lots of tracks, lots of cars, career mode
Cons: 2D still, drifting required and very sensitive, repetitive at endgame