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Sega GT Online

Sega GT Online (Xbox) One hell of a game!
Also On: n/a Publisher: Sega Developer: Wow Entertainment Genre(s): Driving and Racing ESRB Rating: Teen Release Date: 1/27/2004 (USA)  Rate It Yourself

Gamers rate it one of the best racing games yet!.Originally slated to be the racing-sim killer app on Sega's now-defunct Dreamcast, Sega GT 2002 made its Xbox debut to muted applause. Despite the game's many innovations, such as a passionate focus on classic cars and customizable player garages, Sega GT was seen as just another Gran Turismo clone amid a sea of next-generation imitators. But with the series accelerating onto the information superhighway this holiday season, Sega GT Online is the first game of its kind to offer both real-world cars and real-live competition.

As a racer with the word "online" planted firmly in its title, Sega GT's latest outing does not disappoint on Xbox Live. Developer WOW takes advantage of Live's community potential to deliver truly compelling multiplayer races. A whole load of players can gather online and compete against each other. Up to 12 players can gather online to compete in three distinct modes: Free Battle, Team Battle, and Navigator. True to its name, Free Battle pits a fleet of cars in an all-out sprint for the finish line. The Free Battle competition experience, although unimaginative, is addictive and unpredictable—especially during endurance sessions on difficult tracks with more hairpins than straightaways.

Online's strengths are more apparent in Team Battle, where players are divided into—yes—teams and fight it out via an automotive relay race. During the relay battle, team members take turns driving laps while teammates sit figuratively in the passenger seat to offer advice, give praise, or heap insult upon injury when said driver careens into a wall. Then there's Navigator mode, a brilliant and inventive rally race where one drives through thick, impossible fog while being guided by a live navigator issuing cues and panic-stricken voice commands. It's the first real innovation for a tired genre since Gran Turismo hit the scene so many years ago. The dreamcast version was good for the gaming at that time, there wasn't many racing games out for the dreamcast but Sega GT online has much more to show you!

Throw in a global ranking system, a seamless online interface, and the ability to trade rare, unlockable cars with others on Xbox Live, and the result is possibly the first racing killer app for the broadband generation. Sure, it's possible Online is just a prettier, more complete version of last year's entry with many of the same (but now more robust) single-player features.  Even with Project Gotham Racing 2—sporting its exotic veneer and boasting more accessible driving physics—competing for similar Xbox space, discriminating gearheads need to hitch a ride on Sega's latest offering.

Xbox Zone Give it... 9/10

Here are a Few Screen shots.