Parking Garage Rally Circuit

Have you ever wanted the cracked-out drifting mechanics from Crash Nitro Kart to be their own game? Do you miss the ludicrous speeds of Zone stages in Wipeout? Not waggling your control stick enough in Trackmania? Do you have any taste in music? At all? If you said yes to any of that, perfect, buy Parking Garage Rally Circuit right now. If not… buy it anyway. You’re in for a [i]treat[/i]. I will start by saying that the scope of Parking Garage Rally Circuit is highly limited compared to most modern racing fare; three cars [spoiler](sort of)[/spoiler], eight tracks [spoiler](well, nine)[/spoiler], one mode — time trial — with multiplayer options. But it’s like you’re going to be hurting for variety, as the game is so well-designed and razor focused that it held my interest from the first press of the pedal on the Tatsugi Zippi, to tumbling the Alta Forte-Z across the finish line on Liberty Island for that final gold trophy. The drifting mechanics are incredibly simple; you hold handbrake until your tires spark blue, then release for a speed boost. It’s instantly satisfying, with slavish devotion to your every input. But the real game is chaining blue boosts over and over to increase your top speed far beyond your vehicle’s default limit; it’s not uncommon for you to be traveling at double or even triple your car’s base speed by the second lap, and each class from Light, Heavy, and Ultra drastically raises your car’s base speed. It’s manageable enough in Light and Heavy, but when you reach Ultra your car grows terrifying as you whip through tiny little parking garages like a metropolitan Colin McRae. Losing that speed, whether by failing to drift properly or eating a wall, is a concussive blow; you’ll practically launch forward in your seat. [b][i]It’s awesome.[/i][/b] And don’t let the benign premise of a parking garage fool you — the tracks are great! I would say that the blackout in New Orleans left a bit of an off taste in my mouth, though that’s mostly a skill issue on my part. Everything else is rock solid; even the little Learning Lot is fun to whip around in, to say nothing of the insanity that is Liberty Island capping off the main campaign. I will note that the Ultra class feels just a bit too fast for these tighter courses; coupled with the dimensions of the Alta Forte-Z, flashes of frustration with errant collisions become much more frequent. Not to mention, Ultra is when the quirks of the physics engine start to become apparent; if even one wheel leaves the ground a smidge too fast such that the game doesn’t feel like letting it stick, say goodbye to your run as your legally distinct MG Metro pirouettes through the air. Ironically, Ultra is also is when the game is at its best; the screaming ska soundtrack pairs perfectly with the utterly insane speeds you’ll be hitting, and despite my frustrations, PGRC it really nails that “just one more try” edge that a good time trial should. The instant restarts are appreciated, as well. Why can’t more games with time trials like these let me restart on a dime? I can’t believe I went this far without doting upon the soundtrack — it is some of the finest ska-punk you’ll ever listen to. If you have never graced your ears with a brass section going to war with a rock band, The Holophonics have put together a fantastic setlist that fits PGRC to a T. I cannot think of a single bad track in this game; from the breezy and cheesy Another Level (San Francisco) to the driving finale of Victory Lap (New York) and everything in between. Even if you’re still not sold on the game, PLEASE go listen to the soundtrack, they absolutely nailed it. I cannot recommend Parking Garage Rally Circuit enough. If you’re already a fan of arcade racing games, or racing games in general, you should already have this thing in your cart. But if you’re still apprehensive, give the game a chance to grow on you; at least try to get gold on some tracks. You might even like it.