Corvette (Game Boy Advance)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.9 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 11/18/2003
• Updated on: 02/23/2004
• Released on: 11/11/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: Corvette (Game Boy Advance) Review

Corvette gives you the opportunity to drive across America in classic Chevrolet models drawn from the 1950s to the present. The game's slick presentation, along with the included picture gallery, gives fans of the Corvette brand a convenient way to bask in their infatuation while on the go, but there really isn't much here to satisfy someone who's looking for a full-featured racing game.

The box describes the game as a driving adventure, which isn't far from the truth. When you start out, the only car you have access to is the original 1953 model. You unlock new cars by completing events in the challenge mode, which assigns different regions of the United States to various time periods in Corvette history. Once you complete California 1960, for example, you unlock the 1968 Corvette Stingray. Each region contains three different challenges--a rally race, which pits you against another competitor on a 100-mile-long course full of commuter vehicles; a grand prix race, where you need to take at least third place against a field of eight challengers on a two-lap track; and a special event, which usually involves navigating a set of parking cones or avoiding obstacles within a short time limit. The game itself doesn't bring anything new to the driving genre, but it is nice that commuter vehicles actually move out of the way when you honk the horn at them.

Most people will base their initial impressions of the game on its graphical presentation, which is a slick 3D engine that at first seems to surpass everything else currently available for the system. The scenery changes throughout the course of a race. It isn't uncommon to start out in the desert, transition into a marina setting, and end up finishing the race on the busy streets of a major city. This is also the first racing game on the GBA to implement realistic shadow mapping. When you drive under streetlamps, you'll notice that the shadows on the ground smoothly darken between each light source. Drive under an elevated highway and you can watch the sunlight bounce off your car as you move past each support pillar. It's thanks to details like this that it's possible to forgive the minimal soundtrack, which is mainly just a few forgettable music tracks, an announcer calling out "checkpoint," and a set of engine and horn noises for each car.

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