I've play this game for years since I was 2 or 3 in 1998-1999. It was my favorite racing of all time, so many memorize. All that playing time made me master the game and drive through corners like nothing. Wish I could play it again. So much fun :'D
Picked this up at the local shop for $3.99. It's not terrible. Seems harder to steer when the camera shows the car from behind. Set camera where all you see is windshield and it's pretty intense sliding around the corners. Its like the old waitress trick carrying coffee, if you look at the cup u will spill it because of over-compensation. If you dont look at it, not a drop is spilled. All the cool cheats (playstation mode, rainbow psychedelic mode) make it a worthy addition to the collection). Replay value is eh because it's so damn hard. Great review dome candy!
Top Gear Rally always seemed as more of a tech demo than a full racing game, what with all the great effects and cheats that turn off texture filtering and stuff. That being said, I still had a hell of a lot of fun with it back in the day. I love the attention to detail, such as the water in the jungle freezing over when it snows, allowing you to drive across it without slowing down, or being able to see your own car's headlights in the car ahead of you. (something most games even nowadays don't do) I also like the music, but apparently I'm a minority on this. :( Great video.
***** Both of us seem to be. I think the graphics have aged very well, but unfortunately, unlike some of the other older racers on the N64 such as Mario Kart, the gameplay has not. If someone didn't grow up with this game and have any fond memories of playing it back in the day like us, they're not going to enjoy playing it today at all. But I did grow up playing this game and for that reason I will always love Top Gear Really, dull as it may be today.
Yeah, I'm with you guys. I remember loving this game as a kid. The graphics held up decently for an N64 title, but gameplay-wise, it's hard to come back to.
alex pencek I need to revisit TGR 2 (and buy it again), but I remember hating it at the time (1999 I think). They completely changed the physics of the cars to the point where I thought the control felt really arcadey and that turned me off of it. I do remember it was much deeper in terms of needing repairs and stuff like that, so it's quite likely that the gameplay holds up much better than TGR 1. I'm keeping it in the back of my mind for a possible future review.
Hey man, I was wondering what song did you use for the ending credits here? I was going to comment that this game was actually one of my first ever video games I ever played and I still hold some enjoyment to this very day (especially with the music the game had), but I have honestly been searching for that end song you've used for years!
No problem! It's called Fresh Cutz, and it's a free download on freestockmusic.com. www.freestockmusic.com/hip-hop-production-music/free-old-school-hip-hop-stock-music-fresh-cutz/
Me and my dad used to compete at this with a Mad Catz steering wheel and pedals. At Christmas all the relatives would get drunk and play it. Many, many happy memories in this game. And as a sidenote, once you got the handling down, it was a lot of fun. Seems a little unfair to compare it to Dirt 3!
For sure! I didn't have the patience to play long enough to earn it, but there was a reflective chrome paint job that you could earn that was pretty impressive.
I actually really loved this game. Once you get a good handle on the controls its a smooth and quick ride. Even opportunities to do a bunch of stunts on command. And the paint shop was great if you were willing to take some time to customize.
In terms of serious racing games on the N64 there is actually just Wave Race and Roadsters. Both still worth playing today All the other n64 racers mostly had awful sense of speed and/or pretty bad controls…
I actually loved this game back in the day. It was the best racing sim we had on N64 along with World Driver Championship, which was also a good game. I never got to play Top Gear Rally 2.
Loved this game, although I haven't played it in ages. I agree, more nostalgia than a good game. And I really liked the paint job feature, my car was donned with a Triforce :)
Ah yes. At the age of 4 I mastered this game. I would go against my older sibling's friends in multiplayer and win every single time. This is defiantly one of my favorite N64 games right next to Ocarina of Time. And OH MY GOSH the music! The music is very superior in my opinion compared to the other games on the system. A great racing gem!
i really liked this game in its time, now n64 has so few well aged racers and sports games but its ok. I love your n64 shit dude, looking foward for moar xd
Yes i bought the game very expensive as an import and i remember me and my buddy trying to pull off these crazy stunts when we found out about the cool crash physics
For it's day, Top Gear Rally was totally next gen in terms of graphics. There was nothing on the PS1 that could compare with its smooth textures running at a mostly smooth framerate. Nowadays, this entire visual effect is lost in time. You had to be there as the saying goes. Other than graphics, it had overly twitchy controls and kinda boring gameplay. This game is a great example of how great graphics will always age, but a great physics engine and great gameplay will both stand the test of time (i.e. Sega Rally Championship 1995). Unfortunately, this game really only had 1 of the 3. Nevertheless, I still like this one for the car customization and the tricky short cuts. It's a extremely challenging game to race perfect laps on.
I think is not a mediocre game. Well the championship structure is not realistic, it just made you drive for four tracks but when you get dominate the control is very enjoyable and fun. The graphics are realistic for the time, I like the music too and I am playing this top 10 N64 racing game now.
I played this a lot back in the day and I remember it being the most unremarkable game I've ever owned. It was "the racing game with the hot dog car" that was all I could remember, I actually realized that this was the game about two minutes into the review... Oh shit, I just realized I didn't own this, I owned the sequel Top Gear Overdrive. Okay, I guess I don't have memories of Top Gear Rally. Oops.
I dug out my N64 recently and went and erased the data on Top Gear rally, in the hopes that I could easily complete the game all over again.. HAHA! something happened in the last 15 years that doesnt allow my brain to work this ancient controller which has such a lag in the steering. I either set it at handling "3" and use the old school direction pad to steer, or choose handing "1" and use the analog stick. Either way, when driving the porsche, its a pain in the neck.
Despite it being painfully true what you say, i still want to get my hands on this game again! Yes, the man who has recently purchased forza 5 and forza horizon 2 still wants to play top gear rally! I can still remember playing jungle over and over trying to get down taking the shortcuts perfectly. Aaaaaaand spending hours making a paint job for my car, i was obsessed with neon green cars with black and white lines d['-_-']b The problem with this game was i couldnt find anyone else who was into racing games, everyone was playing literally every other n64 game but this.... there loss right? right! Anywho, long story short, this, zelda and mario kart are good reasons why i am buying an n64 this christmas, move over X1, youve got some new company :D
I liked the AWD sedan the most and ended up buying one and drifting it when it snowed...thanksN64 wish i never donated it to good will but u gotta grow up sometime...?
I have a memory of get it in my birthday, play, hate it.... Funny is when i sold the system i so didnt care about that game that i couldnt find it cart so i sold without it.... yet 1 year after i sold i found it....fast foward 12 years later the cart still in my shelf.
Playing this in 2019 on my phone with an Xbox One controller when travelling for my job haha, at least there's no adds and money-milking bs like in most mobile games. ^^
Damn i loved this game. Loved the smooth framerate the not pixelated trucks. Btw 1 thing you were wrong in your review. The game was programmed to sustain the framerate with 2 more cars visible at the same time. That's why you never see more than 3 cars on screen at the same time. So what you said about framerate issues....just don't exist
