Much as this racing title isn’t particularly new on the Pocket PC (not even the latest, 1.2 version), now that PocketGamer reported on it, I’ve realized I still haven’t dedicated a review to this SuperCars clone (without, unfortunately, any kind of multiplayer capabilities, which made SuperCars II just great on 16-bit home platforms back in 1990), which may be of interest to all Pocket PC gaming freaks before Infinite Dreams’ K-Rally is released.

It’s a classic example of top-down 2D racing games like Gangsta Race (also reported on in the Roundup of All Pocket PC Games Part I).


(VGA screenshot; on QVGA devices, a similar one is here)

Availability

The game is available here for $14.95. The trial is one-level only.

Compatibility

It’s compatible with all my test Pocket PC’s. Note that while the homepage doesn’t list the game as PPC 2002 compliant, in reality, it is – it’s running just great on my PPC2k2 Compaq iPAQ 3660.

The other PDA’s I’ve tested it on are the following:
HTC Wizard (runs great even at 195 MHz)
HP iPAQ hx4700 (on it, you MUST use the stylus to control the car as not even button redefining works)
Dell Axim x51v
Pocket Loox 720
HP iPAQ h2210

It's also compatible with the MS Smartphone and the Palm OS platform.

Compared to Gangsta Race (GR) 1.1…

(Note that Garga Games’s official homepage is not accessible – this may also mean they’re out of business)

Pros

1. It shows much more of the playfield on VGA devices and is, of course, hi-res (GR screenshot here on VGA - note that it doesn't support hi-res on VGA)
2. Has better in-game music

Cons

1. It doesn’t show the relative position of the other cars, which is a real pain in the back particularly on QVGA devices, where it shows less of the playfield than GR
2. It has no stereo (!) sound effects, unlike GR – the sound effects in Dreamway are much poorer
3. It can’t switch to any non-Portrait mode, unlike GR
4. Doesn’t have a Pocket PC 2000 (MIPS) port (on my Casio E-125, the MIPS version of GR runs just great)

Compared to the Palm OS version…

There are no differences. The Palm version runs a bit slower on my T3 (even in HiRes-only (that is, 320*320, as opposed to the 320*480 HiRes+ mode) than on my Pocket PC’s. The Palm version, however, uses a clearer in-game music track with much better highs (it’s sampled at a higher sampling frequency)

Verdict

Give it a try if you liked Gangsta Race. It is in no way as spectacular than the forthcoming K-Rally, but is certainly worth giving a try, particularly on VGA devices.

Microsoft MVP - Mobile Devices, 2006, 2007. See my PPC & SP blog HERE.

    

Thanks a lot for the review!

Paul