Corvette Evolution GT

Corvette Evolution GT
Corvette Evolution GT (European version)
Developer(s)	Milestone[1]
Publisher(s)	Valcon Games Black Bean Games [2]
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 Nintendo DS Windows
Release date(s)	EU May 26, 2006[1] NA October 11, 2006[1]
Genre(s)	Racing[1]
Mode(s)	Single-player multiplayer (up to 4 players)
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone[3] PEGI: 3+
Media/distribution	DVD-ROM (Physical)
System requirements Minimum: Windows XP/2000, 64 MB of Video memory, 800 MHz processor, 256 MB Ram, 1.20 GB of hard disk space

Corvette Evolution GT (known as Evolution GT in Europe^[1]) is a racing game similar to Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano. In the career mode, the player has to build up his character's experience points that will allow him to develop his stats. Getting either a bronze, silver, or gold medal in all the events is mandatory for a "season" to become complete. The game uses the miles per hour system by default; the maxium speed of vehicle will either increase or decrease depending on the player's chosen talent (e.g., swiftness, test driver) and the concentration of different statistics.

Cars and race courses

Unlike Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano, automobile makers from the United States (Chevrolet, Pontiac), Spain (SEAT), and Germany (Opel, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz) are included. The race tracks have a more diverse feel to them compared to Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano (which had mostly Italian cities and countryside settings). City tracks include London and Berlin. In addition to the city tracks, there are circuits and countryside tracks. Cars are divided into several categories including hatchback, coupé, grand touring, and racing vehicles. Cars unlocked in career mode can also be used in the quick play mode once they are earned.

A full damage model is used for all cars in the game; driving off-road can also cause damage to vehicle through excess wear on the tires and the suspension system. Once the car condition meter becomes blank, the words "Car Wrecked" appears in red letters (ending the race because the car loses the ability to function properly as a race car). The car is rebuilt from scratch but the wreck is counted against the player in his career statistics screen. Getting bumped into a barrier by another automobile can either be better, worse, or the same as accidentally bumping into a barrier depending on the velocity of the vehicle(s) involved. A slide along the guard rail is enough to "wreck" a vehicle.

Career

It's not what you drive, but how you drive it.

—Gabriele Tarquini, BTCC & ETCC Champion

Before the player begins his rookie season, a former race car champion named Gabriele Tarquini introduces the player to racing through a full-motion video. This is followed by series of tutorials that the player must successfully complete before being allowed to race in his rookie season. Computer players can jump ahead by several levels just by performing accomplishments in the game that are most likely to activate the XP multipliers (and earn more experience points than even the winner of the race). Equipment can be equipped on any level as long as the item is in the player's possession; the player's statistics can either increase or decrease depending on the type of equipment being used. Unlike EverQuest, all of the earned equipment can be used interchangeably at any time without level restrictions.

Sponsors like Pepsi Max (the European version of Diet Pepsi Max), Erg (Edoardo Raffinerie Garrone; a petroleum company based out of Italy), and Bosch (a German-based automotive company) can be picked for the duration of the entire season in order to establish the player's livery; each livery offers different rewards for racing clean and/or fast. Most of these sponsors are European, indicating that this game was originally intended for a European audience of gamers. At the beginning of a new season, the player must sign with a new livery (as all contracts are only valid for a single season in the game). Other race car drivers will develop in a similar way to the player and will compete against the player in all levels (from rookie season to legend season). The choice of livery and the personality type of the computer opponent will determine whether the computer opponent will be aggressive, passive, intimidating, or more eager to overtake the competition.

Nintendo DS Version

The Nintendo DS version is similar to its console counterpart, but it does not feature the attributes from them. It was developed by Jack Of All Games. It features only a part of the cars and tracks from the PlayStation 2 and Windows version (12 cars and 8 tracks, opposed to 33 cars and almost 30 tracks) and similar events appear in the game. It received a relatively lower ratings in the main critics (around 49% from 2 reviews on Metacritic).

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	61% (Windows) 60% (Playstation 2)
Review scores
Publication	Score

Critical Reception

Evolution GT received mixed reception from critics, scoring 60,86 % in Game Rankings and 61 in metacritic in the PC version. The PS2 received a slightly lower average. Gamespot gave the video game a 6.9 average rating, praising for its deep RPG style driver development, good career mode and excellent AI, while the main critics comes from poor presentation, lack of multiplayer and lack of extras. Videogamer praised the game for the handling models, great variety of tracks, while blaming the poor tutorial. EuroGamer criticized the game from being too boring, and offering an exaggerated simulation of the intimidation.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Release information". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/data/935940.html. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
2. ^ http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/evolution-gt/
3. ^ "Ratings information". Game Spot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/driving/corvetteevolutiongt/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 

See also

• Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano - the prequel of this video game dealing with the same engine but with fewer vehicles and a narrower selection of race courses