Horizon Chase Turbo. The game inspired by Top Gear. To be honest, I always looked at this game with a bad face, because when I met it I hadn't even touched the original game and it looked like the hundreds and hundreds of very low quality indie games that were around the playstation store, but now that I've played and finished the original Top Gear some... almost a hundred times, to the point of even seeming like one of the best games in the SNES catalog, how is this little game that everyone recommends? Well, for starters, this game shows that the Top Gear has aged more than well, maybe too much and... maybe it would affect Horizon Chase negatively, but hey, we'll talk about that later.
Basically it's still the same simple racing game as always, you accelerate, try to win the race with curves that always appear out of nowhere and that's it. If you are not a fan of this kind of games, you may be bored as soon as you start it. I admit that it is not for everyone, but if you enjoy retro gaming, believe me, dedicate at least 1 hour to it like I did and you will start to got some serious fun thanks to its super addictive gameplay. There really isn't much more to say, since it feels like Top Gear, but with a few things changed, like more cars, the fuel system being the same as the second installment, and an online challenge mode, as well as graphics that form a good mix between the SNES and the N64 in my opinion. It's a very nostalgic game, and even has some of the songs from the original.
Unfortunately this game has some flaws that although they do not seem serious at first glance, it is as if those who made this game were too careless. There are missing game modes that every racing game should have, such as a time trial mode without opponents, online multiplayer or local multiplayer without AI. What did it cost them? Yeah, the original Top Gear didn't have them, but come on! I also think that the long endurance mode completely breaks the experience that the game itself is trying to convey, and the reward they give you is silly. And speaking of things about the gameplay itself, I would have liked a fuel system like the one in the original to have been included, instead of its second installment, at least one optional mode, because just like this it only makes the game have one less layer of strategy than the original.
Overall, it's a great retro game, but as unpopular as it is, I still find Top Gear from 1990 far better, mainly because it feels much more faster, more strategy thanks to the pit fuel system, and the soundtrack I also like it more, in addition to the fact that Horizon Chase lacks things, things that without them do not encourage me to replay it so much. However, if you are a fan of this kind of games, it is a must buy.