Racing Lagoon

For a long while now, we've all been waiting for Gran Turismo 2 to come out. And I am also sure that all you racing gamers out there have played Gran Turismo to a point that it just boring, because I know I have. Don't get me wrong, Gran Turismo is a great game, but if you look at the details, I am always wondering, what ever happened to the stuff I just bought to modify my car???


There is a new import racing game out called Racing Lagoon and it is really what I've been looking for in a good racing game. Not only does the game takes on the streets of Akihabara, but you race on different streets, and there are tracks that you can race too. You get to go around and race different kind of cars. Cars range from Civics HB to Si, from Corollas to Supras, 300ZX, Mitsubishis, old school and new school RX-7s, and even BUSES and TRUCKS, plus a whole bunch that I don't think would fit if I put them all in here!
The best part is that after each race, where if you win, you get to rip anything off the other guys car or they rip something off of your car if you lose; for example, engine, spoilers, exhaust, paint, rims, stickers, tech chips, and a bunch of other stuff to make your/his car the way you've always wanted. After you put the things you want on there, you can see the actual changes you made on your car such as your rims are different, the paint is a different color, the body that you just put on. You can go to Spencer's Car Shop to buy new stuff also besides from getting them from winning races.
This game is also an RPG, so you can level up your engine, chassis, and body to fit more stuff on there to make your car perfect. The game is split up to about 10 nights I believe, and you can do trials to get special parts from racers in the game. Most of the time you go around and flash your high beams to tell the other car you want to race, which is pretty tight. As you go through the nights, the story progresses and you see what happens to the racers in the town.
My favorite street to race on is the main street which has two big turns requiring your to slow down to about 30 mph to take it, which everyone always tries to jam through, and end up slamming into the walls, which slows them down a lot more then just slowing down.

Game play is really good and fast once you start to get the parts you want. At first, the game is pretty slow. I do have to admit you start out in a 87 Corolla which really sucks, but after a little skill pulled off here and there and some drifts, I managed to get a Civic Type R engine by the end of the first night therefore giving me double plus my old cars horsepower.
The graphic I think you will like because its really comes close to Gran Turismo and the concept is just that you are more of a illegal street racer then legal track racer. I must admit that this game is one of the best racing games I've play since Gran Turismo came out. Controls are not hard to control and even though its all in Japanese, all you need to know is car parts to get by. I mean who really needs to learn Japanese to play Japanese games?
Well, I will give this game an 8 out of 10 because it did try to copy the Gran Turismo engine. But you can't blame them for doing so and because sometimes you can't find the car you want to race and you have to race some cars over and over again. The cars go around town at random, so it takes you awhile to find the one you want to race sometimes. If you want to know where to get this game you can order it at Howie's Hi-Tech Games or ask ahead for information on the game by calling (408) 944-0333 at Howie's Hi-Tech Games.