known in Europe as ''Top Gear Rally'', is a

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

video game developed by

Kemco Kemco (abbreviated from Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher established in 1984. It is headquartered in Kure, Hiroshima. One of its best known franchises is the ...

and released for the

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

handheld console in 1999. A sequel, ''

Top Gear Pocket 2 known in Europe as ''Top Gear Rally 2'', is a racing video game developed by Kemco and released for the Game Boy Color handheld console, released on December 17, 1999 in Japan and in 2000 across other regions. It is a sequel to '' Top Gear Pocket ...

'', was released in 2000.

Gameplay

''Top Gear Pocket'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

where the player drives

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

cars through a series of tracks. As the player wins races, new cars and tracks are unlocked. The game features a total of 14 cars and eight tracks. Races can take place in cities,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s, and snowy trails. Both two-wheeled and four-wheeled cars are featured in the game and the handling of each car varies significantly. The game cartridge features a built-in

rumble Rumble or Rumbling may refer to: Sounds and vibrations * Rumble (noise), a form of low frequency noise * Rumble, a haptic feedback vibration feature in video game controllers * Rumbling, a quality of a heart murmur * Stomach rumble, or borbory ...

feature that vibrates when the player crashes into other cars or slides on the track, but does not feature a battery to save the game progress, so

passwords A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...

must be used to restore the game to a specific state. The game also includes a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode where two players can race against each other. The

Game Link Cable The Nintendo Game Link Cable is an accessory for the Game Boy line of handheld video game systems, allowing players to connect Game Boys of all types for multiplayer gaming. Depending on the games, a Game Link Cable can be used to link two gam ...

is required for multiplayer.

Release and reception

''Top Gear Pocket'' was the first

game to introduce a rumble feature in North America. In Europe, the game was released as ''Top Gear Rally''. Critical reception for the game was generally mixed. ''

N64 Magazine ''NGC Magazine'' (''N64 Magazine'' until October 2001 (issue 59)) was a British magazine specialising in Nintendo video game consoles and software. It was first printed in 1997 and ran until 2006. It was the successor to ''Super Play'', a maga ...

'' criticized it for its lack of challenge and variety, stating that tracks are "either a mixture of ''looooong'' straights or fairly simple curves", but highlighted its graphics and sense of speed. In contrast, ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' felt that the game was very challenging, stating that players might get both frustration and joy in equal measure. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' remarked that the graphics are sharp and clear and that the game "creates a very realistic feeling of movement". The French video game magazine ''Consoles +'' praised the game's rumble feature, stating that it enhances the gameplay experience significantly. The Spanish official Nintendo magazine ''

Nintendo Acción ''Revista Oficial Nintendo'' (formerly ''Nintendo Acción'') was a Spanish magazine about Nintendo. It was released in December 1992 by HobbyPress. In 2016 it voiced 8.100.000 euros and lost 200.000 euros. It was discontinued on 14 December 2018 ...

'' agreed, but criticized the car handling and their small size.

References

;Notes ;Citation

External links

* {{Top Gear series 1999 video games Game Boy Color games Game Boy Color-only games Kemco games Multiplayer and single-player video games Off-road racing video games Top Gear (video game series) Vatical Entertainment games Video games developed in Japan Vision Works games