Super Street Video Game Reviews
Game Title: SegaGT Online
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Racing
Platform: X-box
Rating: 
Game developers have learned that throwing together a quickie sequel to a popular game is not going to cut it in today's ultra-competitive market. It's no longer possible to survive in the gaming arena producing mediocre products. Developers who continually strive for cutting edge graphics and improved game engines set the standards across the board in all genres. In the last year, online gaming has gone from being a cool bonus feature to being an integral part of many new games. For Sega and their new Xbox racing game SegaGT Online, online racing takes center stage and Xbox live subscribers are in for a real treat. SegaGT Online is an addicting driving game that offers players a wide range of cars to drive, new tracks to master, and awesome, innovative online racing.
Xbox live takes full advantage of hardware capabilities making it possible for up to 12 players to compete in three different game modes: Free Battle, Team Battle and Navigator. Single players head over to Free Battle to put your skills to the test. The name says it all, it's just a flat-out race to the finish line so bring all your finest moves in order to reach a coveted top spot on the ranking boards.
Both Team Battle and Navigator are multi-player games. Team Battle sounds obvious suggesting that gamers build a team of racers to go up against other racing teams, but that's not the whole story. These are team relay races, meaning it's one race and each player on the team only gets to drive one leg of it and must rely on the skills of his or her teammates in order to reach the top spots. Sounds easy, right? Not so fast, this is not only a test of drivers skills but patience too. It's hard to sit back and watch the other drivers race their parts, especially if they pull a stupid or careless move knocking the team out of any chance in the winner's circle.
Last we have Navigator, a very cool, all-new, driving game that pits several two-person teams against each other. The twist on this game is that it is not another relay race, because both players are racing in the "same car". However, the driver's screen is blanketed in a thick fog, making it extremely difficult to see, while the "navigators" screen is completely clear. The navigator can give both verbal (if players have headsets) and control-based directions to the driver to avoid other racers and roadway obstacles.
Players now have more options to build their perfect race car. What would a driving game be without it's sweet stable of cars? In SegaGT Online, players can choose from a total of 165 cars with 40 cars being brand new to the series. Plus, if gamers have saved versions of Sega GT2002 they can use any of the saved items and cars in Sega GT Online. Another perk for online racers is the ability to trade cars, parts and accessories with other drivers. If gamers can't get it by trading, there's always the offline mini-games mode where gamers can win games to earn cash to buy it.
Music soundtracks are essential to all games, but are intrinsic to racing games. To keep racers going, Sega has put over 40 songs by favorite indie bands in the music rotation making for a couple hours of driving with no repeats. To sweeten the deal even more, Sega has slapped a price tag of only $19.99 on this title. Racing and gaming fans cannot lose on that deal, especially since this is a newly released game and not a platinum hit that has been around for a year or more. Sega GT Online is more than an upgrade, it offers new online gaming features as well as some innovative new team racing. The graphics are great, the controls handle well and it's easy to get up and running right away. This is a solid game that will have players coming back for more. We give it four nukes.