RC de GO!

• Release Date: September 26, 2000
• Genre: Racing
• Style: Miniature/Radio Control Racing

Game Description

Sure, you could race circles around your mother's feet with your old RC car, but can you handle professional racing in RC de GO? This game is all about those Radio Controlled cars that fascinate children and even adults across the country.

Grit your teeth and prepare yourself for racing; RC style! RC de GO is composed of 4 modes of play: Practice, Quick Race, Championship, and Time Attack. The practice mode is a tutorial that takes you through the controls of your RC car in a step-to-step course. After you've gone through the basics, you'll attempt a practice race.

In Quick Race mode, you can choose between an off-road or on-road track and then select a car out of the few available. Some of the cars in this mode are not available in any other.

The Championship mode is the lengthiest area of RC de GO, as you'll have to defeat 6 off-road and 6 on-road courses. In order to defeat a course you must win first place. In the beginning, your car will only have a few parts and chassis, but as you win races you'll win credits that are redeemable for better parts. You can also win new chassis in some of the off-road courses. If you manage to defeat all the main courses, then 3 special tracks await your skills.

Choosing the Time Attack mode allows you to compete against your own best times without other racers. Simply choose your car and the track you wish to race and drive as fast as you can! You can view your high scores and total standings by choosing the Records option from the main menu.

RC de GO allows you to choose the look of your car by adding a new chassis. Some of the options include several slick-looking racecars and even a chassis that holds the appearance of a sumo wrestler! Chances are, you won't be able to find 6 other friends with RC cars and race in the street, so what are you waiting for? Batteries not included (and they're not needed either).

Review: Overall

RC de GO! is a challenging and fun racing game, but it does have a few downfalls. One positive is that you can customize your car more than in most other standard racing titles. While you won't be able to buy new cars and they all use the same parts, you can get a new look by selecting a different body.

There are over 20 different bodies to choose from, so your car can have some personality. Body types range from the traditional racing car look to "exotic" styles like a sumo wrestler. Each race will earn you some points, which are in turn used to buy new parts for your car. Points are earned by your ranking and whether you break a course or lap record.

Players are free to race on any of the tracks from the start, but since other cars in the later tracks are so advanced, you have almost no chance of winning. So you'll have to win the first race, build your parts up, and go for the second. It's easy, though time consuming, to simply race the first track over and over again until you buy all of the parts.

Once you have all of the parts, you can defeat almost all of the tracks with ease. Even if you slam into walls, spin around backwards, or fall behind, it's still easy to fly ahead of the other cars (due to their slower speed). The last two tracks in both the off-road and road areas are very difficult, however. If you manage to win gold in both of these, then you'll have access to the special levels.

The off-road courses are fun, because you can jump over hills and your car performs more wildly. The regular racing tracks are equally entertaining, simply because you can drive much faster. The turns are difficult to get used to at first, because they can be much sharper than a normal racing game. You are driving an RC car, though, so in theory you should be able to handle turns easier.

One aspect that's missing from this game is a two-player mode, which is usually a racing title's best feature. Any game can be fun by yourself, but it's much more so against another person. The replay value in RC de GO! would have easily been improved if you could have played against someone else other than the computer.

Since it's so easy to buy all of the parts for your car (including different chassis), the championship mode of RC de GO! quickly becomes boring after you've beaten most of the levels. The single motivating factor for you to keep playing is unlocking the secret levels that you can gain access to once you get first place in all the races. This is not an easy task, and the last two races in both off-road and on will be tough.

The Quick Race mode is much more enjoyable, because you can race completely different types of RC cars. The control is also easier to handle, and the cars can look more like actual off-road vehicles. This mode works more like an arcade game and you can choose on-road or off-road in the same way that you can in the championship game.

Despite some issues, RC de GO! is an altogether solid game. It has its share of good features, including a very easy to understand practice mode, but it could have been better. The championship mode should have contained some of the elements of the Quick Race. Purchasing this game won't disappoint you, but it isn't the best racing game on the market.

Review: Enjoyment

RC de GO! holds many hours of entertainment as you try and win every course and buy every part that exists. The quick race game is even more fun than the championship mode, because your cars are easier to control and you can play it in a more arcade-style fashion.

Review: Graphics

The courses are well detailed with great looking cars. You can even change your body into the shape of a large sumo wrestler with moving hands!

Review: Sound

The sound needs to be marked down simply because of the cheesy announcer. Plus the music itself is rather run-of-the-mill. However, the basic sounds (car noise, slamming into the wall etc.) work just fine for the game.

Review: Replay Value

The replay value would've been better with a two-player mode. The quick race mode will always be fun to play if you're bored, but the championship mode will dwindle after you've beaten it.

Review: Documentation

Everything you need is included in the manual. The parts are explained during the game when you switch them.