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A playthrough of Kemco's 1993 racing game for the Super Nintendo, Top Gear 2. Played through on the championship difficulty level. The original Top Gear was one of my favorite racers on the SNES, so I remember being pretty excited when this one was released. The Top Gear series was a spin-off of Gremlin's iconic Lotus series for the Amiga, which was known for its fast and smooth graphics, arcade-style gameplay, and some wicked music. The first Top Gear, exclusive to the SNES, changed the structure of the Lotus titles a bit, but it nailed all of the things that had made Lotus such a hit. Top Gear 2 (also available on the Sega Genesis and the Amiga) does much the same. Though some further changes have been made, the spirit and the speed of Lotus and Top Gear has been well preserved here. There are sixty-four tracks spanning 16 countries to tackle here, and there's a huge amount of variety between them. Some are short loops with wide open lanes, while others are sprawling collections of hairpin turns and choke points, and now the weather plays an active role, too: snow, rain, and fog all interfere with visibility and your car's handling. Instead of choosing from the original's four prebuilt cars, Top Gear 2 also now allows you to tweak your car however you see fit with your winnings from each race. You can upgrade the engine, gear box, tires, nitro capabilities, armor - there are a lot of options, and experimenting with which to buy and when adds nicely overall to the game's replayability. The game also now features some simple damage modeling, so it's usually wise to not bash into everything in sight! And for everyone that loved Top Gear's red car but hated its need to constantly refuel, rest easy. There are no pit-stops in Top Gear 2. The graphics have seen a solid upgrade, too. The game runs more smoothly than three first Top Gear did, and the single player mode is no longer a split-screen affair, so you get a better overall view of the action. The two-player simultaneous mode returns with its use of horizontal split, but the game manages to keep up with the action just fine, and visibility is rarely an issue. The sequel also occasionally throws in a few primitive 3D elements to keep things visually interesting. A few of the races feature short segments of track that are lined by solid walls, and while the effect is crude and entirely superfluous, it does make for a couple of “oh wow, that's neat“ moments. The music is, in my opinion, a bit of a down-shift, though. It's still excellent, but it lacks the amazing catchiness of Barry Leitche's themes in the first game, and it sounds better on the (otherwise fairly poor) Amiga port. If you liked Top Gear or Lotus, there's a lot more to like here. Top Gear 2 isnt for anyone looking for a realistic simulation - it focuses on being a fast and fun arcade-like experience, and it succeeds admirably. You can find my video of the original Top Gear game here: _____________ No cheats were used during the recording of this video. NintendoComplete () punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
