Topic: Top Gear: Downforce Coming to Nintendo DS

[WindyMan]

Top Gear goes top-down and 3D on the dual-screen handheld.

Tantalus and Kemco Announce Top Gear for Nintendo DS    

Tantalus Interactive is happy to announce its partnership with Japanese publisher Kemco to develop an innovative new racing title for the DS platform. The two companies collaborated in 2003 to produce the award winning Top Gear Rally on GBA, a game ultimately published by Nintendo. This extension of the relationship will see the creation of an original racing title for the DS, leveraging Kemco’s popular Top Gear brand. The new game, Top Gear: Downforce, will ship late in 2006 and will be the second DS release for Tantalus, following on from the hugely popular SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger.    

Tantalus CEO Tom Crago said the company was happy to have the opportunity to develop another title in the Top Gear franchise. “We loved the original Top Gear on N64, and of course our rally title on GBA was a big success. This time around we’re attempting something completely different. We want to create a racing game that feels perfectly at home on the DS platform, something built from the ground up to exploit the cool features of the hardware."    

Kemco President Masakatsu Hirose shared Crago’s enthusiasm. “Top Gear Rally on GBA rates among Kemco’s most successful releases. Many people enjoyed this title, and we know that with Tantalus we can create a new game within the franchise that will be just as popular."    

Top Gear: Downforce will be a ‘top-down’ style racer, boasting 3D models, robust vehicle physics, and the ability to place hazards on the track surface using the touch screen of the DS. The game will also allow for wireless multiplayer races and data sharing between players.    

More details about Top Gear: Downforce will be available at E3 in May.

[ruby_onix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Tantalus CEO Tom Crago
"We loved the original Top Gear on N64..."

I read the headline, and thought to myself, "I hope this game is good, because I haven't really enjoyed any of the Top Gear games since the SNES."

[AManatee2]

this actually peaks my interest quite a bit.

i loved overdrive for its fast and hardcore racing. not to mention it's music and graphics. the latest top gear games have been crap though. and of course... top gear rally back in the early days of the 64 was the bomb freaking diggity. it was a good mix of arcade and sim.

but we're talking about a handheld top gear here.

oh well. i'll do my usual reading of many reviews before making a purchasing decision.

[18 Days]

“We loved the original Top Gear on N64, and of course our rally title on GBA was a big success. This time around we’re attempting something completely different."

I can see 3 statements here and three lies. Top Gear 3000 was the best ever, everyone knows this.

[Knoxxville]

I beg to differ.....I think that SNES Top Gear 2 was the best one....at least in my book.

But top down?  That'll make it Racing Gears DS or RC Pro Am DS....not Top Gear DS.  Top Gear has always had the "behind the car" view.