One moment you’re racing around a plain, traditional circuit, the next you’re hurtling through a ninja hideaway. These opponents are largely dumb, and indeed half of them are prone to getting themselves stick on scenery and the like, but because the other half tend to stick to the perfect racing line, there’s some challenge to be had in overtaking large groups of racers to come out in first. Any given race pits you against 24 other opponents. The races themselves seem to have attracted the entire population of the game world, though. While that in itself isn’t as bad as it would be as, say, a GTA game, the lonliness of driving around empty (and big) areas becomes wearying after a time. It’s pleasant enough to drive around, but incredibly sparely populated – you’re lucky if there’s even one other car driving around the same town as you. This earns you money and then unlocks harder difficulty challenges. The idea is that you drive from town to town, doing a couple of odd jobs for other cars (there are no people in this world, just cars), and then entering and winning races. The main part of the game is, weirdly, an open world. Those parts cost money, which is where the “Adventure” in the title comes in. From tinkering with the aesthetic look of your car, to installing new parts that improve performance, there’s a lot of upgrades to be bought in this game (200 or so, in fact). The amount of customisation that is available is incredible. And this is the first real strength of Road Trip Adventure. They were also known for their variety and collectability. These cute little cars were pull-back spring propelled toys, and were indeed very popular back in the day. The game is based on Takara’s Choro Q racing car toys, also known as Penny Racers in the west. It’s not a work of art by any means, but it’s an entertaining little racer with plenty of longevity for people who get into it.

Road trip adventure ps2 iso