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Chocobo Racing

 
So Why Did The Chocobo Cross The Road?

The answer is…to cut off all of his opponents of course!! That's right gamers, Square will be bringing out an interesting racing title this summer called Chocobo Racing. Along for the ride are of course the Chocobo's and a slew of characters from previous Square Final Fantasy games like Mog, the Golem and other familiar creatures.

The racing is kart style, very similar to Mario Kart for that other system, with a nice choice of play modes and of course that little touch of Square magic.
 

Gaming Modes to Race For:
 
      As I have mentioned, there is a nice choice of neat gaming modes to participate in. First up you have the story mode which is depicted in a neat little pop-up storybook style presentation. In this mode, Chocobo challenges all other characters individually and then proceeds to the next, more difficult story.

You have your versus mode where you can grab a friend, pick a character and race it out one on one style.

In relay mode, you select three characters and compete against the computer or a friend in a relay style race where you a lap with each of the three characters.

The Grand Prix mode has one or two players charging around four courses. The person with the highest point total at the end wins.

There is also a Time Attack Mode where players challenge themselves against the tracks best times.

Eye Candy & Sound Effects
 
      Okay, so we are going to be able to play some Kart racing on the Playstation but how does it look and sound?

Well, right now with about 80% of the game complete the graphics look to be solid and quite pleasing to the eye. There are generous amounts of special effects to liven things up and the game keeps a nice solid frame rate going even when things get busy on the screen. Even though the character models are a bit on the small side, there is no mistaking who is who and where you are in a race. A few of the tracks reminded me a bit of the Chocobo racecourse mini game in Final Fantasy VII…very colorful indeed!

The sounds effect and music are also coming along quite nicely and retain a distinctive Square flavor…if there is such a thing. For all of the graphical special effects that are going on, you get a nice corresponding sound effect as well.

Actual gameplay will consist of you challenging a bunch of computer controlled characters in races around some pretty creative courses. Along the way you can pick up speed boosts to help your cart go faster and weapons to help keep your opponents behind you. At this point, the gameplay is nice and tight and the races will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Features
 
      Here is a quick run-down on what to expect in this fast paced kart style game:

· Players can edit a character's parameters after completing the Story Mode, in order to customize the character's racing characteristics.
· Race with (and against) familiar character's from the Final Fantasy universe.
· Lot's of racing modes: Story, Versus, Relay, Grand Prix and Time Attack.
· Dual Shock analog control
· A non-interactive demo of Chocobo's Dungeon TM2 will be on the disc.
· Creative fantasy-style track designs to race on.

When Can You Expect..?
 
      Right now Chocobo Racing is set to be released in the US in August of this year so start revving up those engines!
Publisher: Square Co., Ltd.
Distributor: Square Electronic Arts, L.L.C.
Genre: Action Racing
Options: 1 or 2 players, memory card save, dual shock analog controller compatable

 
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