maxlords
03-03-2005, 11:44 AM
Today we’re looking at a more recent game for the sleeper of the week. In fact, it’s one that I personally missed until someone pointed it out to me. It’s the original CARPG, Road Trip!
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Road Trip is actually one of the newer games in a long line of titles that were never ported to the US. They’re called Choro Q. The Japanese have gotten to play these fun quirky games for years, but us poor North Americans never got a one until Conspiracy Entertainment ported Road Trip here. Fortunately, Atlus later followed suit with Choro Q for PS2, so there are a couple to pick from, but only if you own a PS2. Of the two, Road Trip is the superior game in general.
So what is Road Trip you ask? Well, it’s a car role playing game. Literally a CaRPG. You play a small racecar who goes around talking to other cars, racing, playing games, running errands, and so on. The cars talk to each other through headlight flashes and horn honks, and ask each other for favors and help each other out. They live in houses too. It’s weird, but surprisingly fun. The controls are decent, but as with any racer, get better as you upgrade your vehicle. In this case it’s almost like buying new armor and weapons in an RPG. You get new tires, engine, different paint and more.
The racing is fun as well. There are tons of different tracks, and to progress in the game, you have to earn higher rated licenses. To do so, you must win a certain number of races, which you can do at any time. But to be able to compete, you’ll have to get your car upgraded, which means running missions around the countryside day and night. This of course means you also get to explore the overworld, which I found to be one of the most entertaining parts of the game. The overworld is huge and I spent many hours just driving around to see what I could find, hitting odd hillsides to try and launch my car and driving through rivers and fields. For such a simple game, Road Trip is surprisingly addictive!
On top of all the RPG-style play and the racing, there are many mini-games as well. Playing soccer with other cars is always a treat, as is playing golf. It’s kind of like trying to play any sport you can think of with a bumper car. Definitely unique, and a whole lot of fun. Add a two player mode, team play with other cars, and a host of other functions I haven’t even begun to get into yet, and you have a surprisingly deep gaming experience.
Ultimately, Road Trip is one of those games that you most likely passed by because of the sad cover art, lack of reviews, and lousy screenshots on the back of the box. But don’t let any of that fool you! When I originally played Road Trip, I literally couldn’t set it down for over 3 hours. It’s that addictive! And I don’t even like racing games. This is one of those must buy titles that everyone passed over. When it was released, it was only about $20 new, so maybe everyone thought it was just another trashy bargain title. But I’m here to tell you it’s not. Road Trip is worth the price of admission and more. Go snag this one now, and you too can be playing through the strangeness of a super deformed CaRPG!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/b30e81f5.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/4781c820.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/a1ef7099.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/81e81da9.jpg
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Road Trip is actually one of the newer games in a long line of titles that were never ported to the US. They’re called Choro Q. The Japanese have gotten to play these fun quirky games for years, but us poor North Americans never got a one until Conspiracy Entertainment ported Road Trip here. Fortunately, Atlus later followed suit with Choro Q for PS2, so there are a couple to pick from, but only if you own a PS2. Of the two, Road Trip is the superior game in general.
So what is Road Trip you ask? Well, it’s a car role playing game. Literally a CaRPG. You play a small racecar who goes around talking to other cars, racing, playing games, running errands, and so on. The cars talk to each other through headlight flashes and horn honks, and ask each other for favors and help each other out. They live in houses too. It’s weird, but surprisingly fun. The controls are decent, but as with any racer, get better as you upgrade your vehicle. In this case it’s almost like buying new armor and weapons in an RPG. You get new tires, engine, different paint and more.
The racing is fun as well. There are tons of different tracks, and to progress in the game, you have to earn higher rated licenses. To do so, you must win a certain number of races, which you can do at any time. But to be able to compete, you’ll have to get your car upgraded, which means running missions around the countryside day and night. This of course means you also get to explore the overworld, which I found to be one of the most entertaining parts of the game. The overworld is huge and I spent many hours just driving around to see what I could find, hitting odd hillsides to try and launch my car and driving through rivers and fields. For such a simple game, Road Trip is surprisingly addictive!
On top of all the RPG-style play and the racing, there are many mini-games as well. Playing soccer with other cars is always a treat, as is playing golf. It’s kind of like trying to play any sport you can think of with a bumper car. Definitely unique, and a whole lot of fun. Add a two player mode, team play with other cars, and a host of other functions I haven’t even begun to get into yet, and you have a surprisingly deep gaming experience.
Ultimately, Road Trip is one of those games that you most likely passed by because of the sad cover art, lack of reviews, and lousy screenshots on the back of the box. But don’t let any of that fool you! When I originally played Road Trip, I literally couldn’t set it down for over 3 hours. It’s that addictive! And I don’t even like racing games. This is one of those must buy titles that everyone passed over. When it was released, it was only about $20 new, so maybe everyone thought it was just another trashy bargain title. But I’m here to tell you it’s not. Road Trip is worth the price of admission and more. Go snag this one now, and you too can be playing through the strangeness of a super deformed CaRPG!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/b30e81f5.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/4781c820.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/a1ef7099.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/81e81da9.jpg