Rent this one first or try it somewhere, because the people who enjoy it will be few and far between.
User Rating: 8.5 | Gallop Racer 2004 PS2
Gallop Racer 04 is a huge improvement over previous entries to the series, improved graphics and a much better story mode with more to accomplish. The gameplay in GR04 is either hit or miss with people. This is because the actual racing is so tough and exact, but you may or may not "figure it out". A friend of mine has yet to win a race after about 50 races, it took me 8 races before I won one and got the idea of how your supposed to race. With saying that the racing is tough, it comes packed with tons of information at the "school" for you to read and learn, which you HAVE TO do. Racing in GR04 can be a bit frustrating at first becuase 1 or 2 mistakes and you will finish in last place, unless you have a king of a horse, a top 10 may be possible. You can lose a race before the bell sounds for you to break out of the gate or you can lose it in less than a furlong(1/8 of a mile) from the finish in a 16 furlong race. Practice and patience are a MUST. The graphics are much better than the past Gallop Racers, but is not much to brag about here in this department. They're fine for what the game calls for and the characters are filled with expression and personality from the way they are depicted. Sound is fine, but after a bit there is one song that you must turn the sound down on, it hits a high note for quite a while and it quite annoying, luckily its only during one menu and is rare. Everything else about sound in great and good enough to do this game justice. The value is so huge, I'm 50 hours into the game and I don't even think I have half the stuff in the game from the ingame catalogue, which you can purchase things to add to your farm. Tons and tons of value, thats what this game thrives off of. I say, go rent the game first, it's designed for a small niche of players.
