Glimmerati

Publisher: Nokia
Developer: Bugbear Entertainmen
Category: Action
Release Dates
N Amer - 07/18/2005

Glimmerati is one of the coolest racers I've played in a long, long time. Its premise of racing celebrities didn't sound too intriguing, and the restricted overheard view – that didn't sit too well either, not when we have the best Ridge Racer iteration running on the PSP.

My fears kept getting drowned out by the sound of praise that poured out of anyone who got the chance to try it. By the time I finally got a serious impression of it (at this year's E3) I, too, found myself overflowing with praise. And now that I have the final version running in my game deck, praise is all I've got to give.

Glimmerati is one of those rare games that takes a look at the current technology and says, "We could do this or this, but let's do this." The third "this" being the unexpected, unconventional choice. For starters the top-down view -- it seems like something you'd get from an N-Gage game because the system isn't as powerful as its competitors. In truth they could've made an in-the-car view, but that would have removed the game's uniqueness.



Taking us back to the days of the Micro Machine racing games, Glimmerati has a semi-retro appeal. The remarkable thing is that it doesn't copy the Micro Machine games in any way. The vehicles feel small due to the camera position, but the environments come across as being big and lively. Traffic interferes whenever it pleases, having a "I have the right to be on the road too!" attitude. That makes each race a lot more interesting (and a lot more dangerous!). Up until now I don't think any of the N-Gage racing games even acknowledged that traffic exists.

Avoiding collisions is no small task. Crashing won't total your fancy sports car, though it will slow you down immensely. In other words, get good at steering, swerving, and become a master at last-minute evasions.

While you're at it you might as well become a master of cornering and high-speed maneuvering. Glimmerati's controls are excellent, but the courses, while also impressive in their design, include countless twists, turns, and valuable shortcuts that could lead you to a quicker victory. Or, in some cases, leave you in a ditch. Then the paparazzi catches up to you, take a bunch of pictures, and by sunrise you're on the cover of a mock magazine with a hot supermodel. The cover story: you're in love and you're having a baby!



That's not exactly what happens, but the game does have a cool sense of humor, and a killer lineup of objectives that massively increase the difficulty. Glimmerati is a true racing game, but its requests can be very unusual. Pick-ups and drop-offs – they're not the most fun thing to do. But when a rich businessman asks you to take his wife, or a hot model, or anyone else to and from a particular location, the gameplay doesn't veer off course. Being a chauffer merely means that you have cargo onboard. It's still a race to the finish line (in this case, a specific location). If a time limit isn't given then chances are you'll have to race someone, like the evil press. Should they catch up to you the race could end and then you'd have to start over.

The solution to the game's challenges almost always lies within your map. There's really no way of knowing where you'll end up unless you check and study the map frequently. How's that for originality? I can't think of the last racing game I played where that was necessary. It applies a Grand Theft Auto quality that isn't commonly found in racing games. It's usually reserved for driving games like Crazy Taxi.

In between the main story mode are challenges that can reward you with additional cars and other goodies. These challenges are all racing-based. One of the more unique challenges lets you take control of a special rocket vehicle. This vehicle is probably the fastest in the game, surpassing 400mph! Controlling this fuel-guzzling beast is extremely difficult, making it next to impossible to defeat the 13-second record the rocket scientist asks you to beat. The only way to do that (presumably) is to pick up speed on the first lap, in which case you'll probably make the run in about 20 seconds. After that it's all about hugging the center of the track while doing your best not to hit the sides. Good luck gamers! You'll need it.

Determined to engross and be successful at doing so, Glimmerati is an incredible N-Gage racer. I'd recommend it on any platform – DS, PSP or Gizmondo – but it was designed exclusively for the N-Gage. The challenging, arcade gameplay and the absolute wealth of objective types (and the way the game masks the concept of racing by asking you to avoid the press, etc.) make Glimmerati more than a glimmer of hope for N-Gage users. It's a hardcore game that all developers should look up to and work their butts off to compete with.

Review Scoring Details for Glimmerati

Gameplay: 8.9
Unbelievable. So much from such a little package. The cars look tiny and, during some of the crashes, get tossed around like Micro Machines. But the gameplay is as big as an in-your-face racer created for a home console. The tight controls, stellar course layout, and the excellent sense of speed come together for an experience that will not be forgotten.

Graphics: 8.6
Most impressive. Aside from clipping (which occurs every now and then), Glimmerati is smooth, smooth, smooth. Tiny, hard-to-notice details (like the intricacy of other vehicles) highlight the larger objects like buildings, streetlights, varying terrain. No one's going to walk away unimpressed.

Sound: 7.9
The sound quality isn't the best, but wow! There's something really special about the music. It's somewhat techno-ish, and a bit orchestral ... Like a cross between a good RPG and a good racing game (if the sounds of those games could be merged). Glimmerati's voice-acting is weird at times but makes the story a lot more entertaining than if they had just included text.

And just to make something clear to eavesdropping publishers: it took more than that to make the sound interesting! The majority of Glimmerati's voice actors know how to recite lines with different levels of emotion. It's far from perfect but it's better than most. You got that, copycats?

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Glimmerati gets really tough really quick. The paparazzi are fast! And your opponents quickly up the ante as well. It'll take a good deal of practice to get through some of the challenges. Look forward to a fairly long and highly enjoyable journey.

Concept: 8.0
The first guilty pleasure video game? Glimmerati's great gameplay is a grand distraction, but there are several suggestive moments (and suggestive images) that caused the ESRB to say, "Wait a minute, this racer needs an 'M.'" No gore, no violence, just sexual images and references.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Multiplayer for up to four local players! Now if only I could find someone who has an N-Gage...

Overall: 8.9
Nokia had a strong showing at E3, making it really difficult to predict which game would turn out to be the best. No one can make that final call until all the titles showcased are released, but of all the games to come out thus far, Glimmerati earns the gold trophy. The gameplay is unbeatable. You really can't find anything like it anywhere else. That's where this game succeeds the most - it's different. Good different.
GameZone Reviews
8.9

GZ Rating
Gameplay 8.9
Graphics 8.6
Sound 7.9
Difficulty Med/Hard
Concept 8
Multiplayer 8
Overall 8.9

More than a glimmer of hope for N-Gage fans

Reviewer: Louis Bedigian

Review Date: 09/06/2005

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9.0
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