Auto Modellista (GameCube)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.2 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Jeff Gerstmann
• Reviewed on: 12/01/2003
• Released on: 09/30/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: Auto Modellista (GameCube) Review

Had enough cel shading yet? It certainly seems like the graphical trend, which got its start elsewhere but was popularized by Sega's 2000 release Jet Grind Radio, has shown its cartoony face in just about every genre at this point. While there have been some fairly gimmicky implementations of cel shading over the past couple of years, Capcom's Auto Modellista brings the look to the driving genre without making it feel hackneyed or overused in any way. Unfortunately, the rest of the game doesn't live up to its interesting visuals.

Auto Modellista is a fairly deceptive game. While it may have a crazy cartoon look, it also features licensed cars and aftermarket auto products from lots of different manufacturers. You'll find cars from Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and more, including a few Japanese concept cars. The game also gives you a fair amount of control over your car's tuning. While you won't find a Gran Turismo-like level of depth here, you can still adjust your car's suspension, tires, brakes, and weight. You'll also earn engine, computer, turbo, and muffler upgrades as you progress through the game's main mode.

The main mode in Auto Modellista is called garage life. Here you'll be able to choose one of the cars you've unlocked thus far--and the game gives you plenty to start with--and enter it in the game's various races. The garage life mode features seven levels, each of which has a different number of races. You'll need to place first in some or all of these races to proceed to the next level. When you finish first, you'll unlock new items, parts, and cars. New cars and parts have obvious purposes, but you'll also get posters, trophies, and other little items that you can use to decorate your garage. You'll be given the opportunity to save your modified cars in a subgarage, which lets you try out all the game's different cars without having to retune your vehicle each time you change back.

In addition to the garage life, you can also run two-player races on a split-screen, participate in time trials against ghost cars, run one-off races in arcade mode, and view replays. In a somewhat strange touch, replays can be edited by a handful of audio-visual effects that can be toggled on the fly by using an interface that may unpleasantly remind you of Sega's Make Your Own Music Video games for the Sega CD. The audio-sample editing interface features an option that will bring a smile to the face of any would-be Bruce Dickinson, giving players the option to lay as much cowbell as they can handle over saved replays.

Auto Modellista was originally released for the PlayStation 2 back in March. The GameCube version is basically identical, except that the online gameplay has been stripped out. While that's hardly a surprise, given the almost total lack of online gaming on the GameCube, the online play was one of the only things that made Auto Modellista interesting, and without it, there's really not much here to see. You'll cruise through the garage life mode in around eight hours or so, and there isn't much to see after that.

Continue reading

Compare prices for Auto Modellista

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Email me when this product is available