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Glimmerati Preview
Written by Robert Falcon on Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Competition gets tough with this new racer from Nokia and Bugbear.
Driving games for the handheld platforms out there has never been so good. If we're not spinning our wheels with the likes of Ridge Racer on the PSP, more than likely we're waiting for Need For Speed Underground 2 for the Nintendo DS. But let's not count out the N-Gage. Sure, the platform's run into a few snags during its run, but it is having a nice little turn-around as of late, with the recent releases of X-Men Legends and SSX: Out of Bounds. But the best is yet to come, as the racing game Glimmerati may redefine mobile racing as we know it.
Glimmerati looks to be a deeper racing experience than most, focusing on individual tasks that must be completed during each race along with the typical "finish first" mentality. For instance, you might find your engine has been tampered with, causing your brakes to go bad or your performance to be below-level. You must work quickly and feverishly to get yourself back in the race and fix your car in the process. There's also other tasks, like finding particular opponents or following things such as a map or something as simple as a helicopter's spotlight.
That's not to say the racing action itself is complicated. Bugbear and Nokia are wisely sticking to a great view of the action, an aerial behind-the-car view that gives you a wide view of each of the driving layouts. There's different variances of driving as well, from high-tailing it on city streets in a race car to trying to stay the course on a snow-capped road to riding through the canalos of a tropical city in a high-speed powerboat.
The game features a lot to do all around in terms of modes. Single player will challenge you to earn new items for use later in the game, as well as making particular alliances with those you would otherwise brush off in a heartbeat. If multiplayer's your thing, not to worry. The game will offer full support through the Bluetooth hook-ups and with N-Gage Arena.
No doubt that Glimmerati will be present at Nokia's booth next month at E3, and, from the looks of things, it's also no doubt that it will grab some attention. Look for more coverage on the game soon.
