Game Boy Advance

GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing

Around the US launch of the original Game Boy Advance, THQ released a barebones version of GT Advance complete with a password save that hurt the game far more than anyone could imagine. Just picture earning 30 some odd cars in Gran Turismo and earning all your licenses with an S ranking and having to write down this complicated string of code made up of numbers and letters and if you wrote it down wrong, your information would be lost forever on the disc. All that hard work – wasted. Suffice it to say, the system was inadequate in just about every way one could conceive. However, THQ learned their lesson with the release of GT Advance 2 where it had a cartridge save, but that particular game was based off of rally racing and just didn’t feel like the true sequel to the first GT Advance.

Even though games like Moto Racer Advance and Colin McRae Rally Racing mop the floor with this game's graphic engine, the arcade-style gameplay of GT Advance 3 is still excellent even to this day. Folks who were burned the first time with the original GT Advance's lack of cartridge save can rest assured that they're getting a quality racer in this sequel. Not only is the save RAM in there, but the gameplay from the original has been given a significant shot in the arm. It's a great GBA racer, absolutely.

Since the beginning of time man has attempted to harness the action and speed of auto racing in a handheld gaming device. Early attempts were crude and disappointing, being nothing more than jagged rocks or pieces of animal bone. Sticks and whale's teeth eventually gave way to the Game Boy, the GBC, and finally the GBA. And it looks like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel in man's eternal quest. THQ returns with GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing -- and this latest racer for the Game Boy Advance has a lot going for it.

Overall, GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing is a spicier version of the original GT Advance that was released when the Game Boy Advance launched in June 2001. The inclusion of a battery save feature makes this game infinitely more enjoyable, however, and the twofold increase in car selection isn't too shabby either.

All in all, this is a great game. Where it lacks on actual depth, it makes up for with quick action and simple driving fun. I never could really figure out the Drift mode, but it nice to see different modes in a game. Racing fans will love it, and GBA owners looking for fast paced racing game will also like it!

GT Advance 3 is trying to be the Gran Turismo of the Game Boy Advance, and with its unlockable cars, licenses, upgrades, and numerous tracks, it is.

Overall, GT Advance 3 isn’t perfect … but if you happen to be out looking for a racing game that will fill the time on the little GBA system, you’d have a hard time finding one better than this. I enjoyed playing it, and even with some quirks and annoyances was impressed and what they managed to do with a little cartridge like that. If you tend to be more of a home console person and are just looking for something to fill the void until GT4 comes out, I would probably recommend looking for something more along the NASCAR or Pro Race Driver lines for your console system. If you are an on the go racer however, you should have fun with this title.

Put away the mudflaps and kick the strung-out British navigator off the passenger seat GT Advance has gone back to, erm, GT racing. How many games can you make with the same basic engine before the series starts getting a little threadbare? The answer, judging from the latest GT Advance, is around three: Pro Concept Racing is essentially an add-on pack for the original with four dozen new tracks, 97 cars to unlock, and that sort of urgent Euro-beat music that apparently must be included in every racing game, no matter who it's from.