As an Xbox Live enthusiast, I've played countless games online. Midtown Madness 3 is my all-time favorite, but I've also finished Project Gotham 2 and played it online. Naturally when I saw this game selling brand new for under 1/2 the cost of other new Xbox games, I snatched it right up. But this game is plagued by many of the problems that Sega GT 2002 had; poor/confusing menus, mediocre graphics and now a half-hearted attempt at online play.
Pros:
- All the things you love about Sega GT 2002: arcade-style racing, career mode, and lots of cars (about 40 additional cars added for GT Online)
- The online race modes include two truly unique styles: team battle (a relay race where each player races for 1 lap) and navigate (a blind man's race, where the co-pilot must indicate to the driver upcoming turns and competitor's moves).
- You can trade cars, parts and even cash with other players online!
- Three new offline challenge games (gathering, time attack and chronicle).
Cons (just focused on the improvements from 2002):
- Three words: Lag, lag, lag.
- Although the game is supposed to transfer SegaGT 2002 saved data to access customized cars from last year's game, I couldn't get it to work.
- Online matches are tough to join, if you try to enter a room that has a race already in progress, it pushes you back out to the main menu.
- In online play, when the 1st place car runs across the finish line, the game ends for everyone.
For the price, a die-hard racing fan can't really resist this game. Plus, with 2 months free Xbox Live subscription, (for new users only) this game almost pays for itself! So when it comes right down to it, this game is well worth what you paid for, but you should expect some inconveniences. Finally if you don't already own Sega GT 2002, you should certainly add this game to your collection since it is included in GT Online!
