Karnaaj Rally

I'm surprised nobody has reviewed this heavily discounted rally game for the GBA. I guess it's because rallysport is just not a big thing here stateside. In Europe and Asia it's huge... and even though as an American I have no taste for soccer or cricket, I think rallysport is much more fun to watch (and play on consoles) than doing rounds in Nascar. This obscure title is actually a good rally simulation. You get decent cars and circuits, and the physics model is surprisingly good considering the capabilities of the GBA. If you are into rally games, you shouldn't pass this up.

I like Karnaaj because you have a lot of different cars and tracks to pick from. You can also pick which character you want. It is also very fun because if someone passes you, BOOM! Launch a rocket! And if someone is tailing you, CRASH! You can lay a mine right behind you! The best feature about Karnaaj is that if you beat Easy, go on to MEDIUM, then HARD!

Though this game can be frustrating at times, the frustration I find stems mostly from not thinking strategically about how to win. When you start out you are asked to pick between three different cars. Each of the cars is rated based on their abilities in three areas: power (speed), grip (tires), and armor (ability to withstand rocket blasts and mines from the other vehicles, which I will get to in a second).You start out with just a little money, but you have to be careful to choose wisely how you spend the money you are given. If you initially chose the type of car that has good grip but not much power, best to invest in a nicer engine to compensate.You also have the option of placing a bet before each race, but the bets are random - sometime they are that another racer won't finish the race (these bets typically have the highest payoff if you win) or sometimes you just have to pick the correct order all the racers will place at the end of the race. My advice: If you know you don't have a chance to win, bet on the other guy to win. If you know the other guy will win, best to make a little dough off it than bet on yourself to win and then lose that money.Now it's race time and real fun begins. The graphics are amazing in this game. I prefer the over-the-top view of the course this racing game offers to most of the racing games out on the market where you get a view from behind the vehicle. You start out with 8 rockets and 4 mines that you can use to disable other vehicles during the race and you also have a turbo bar that is randomly charged as you pass the finish line each time going around the track.My recommendation is to try and use the turbo right out of the gate so you get ahead of the other three cars. They will try and shoot you from behind with rockets, but as long as you drive in a criss-cross pattern they won't hit you. The idea is to put as much distance between you and them as early as possible.I consider myself to be pretty good at this game, but sometimes I get sloppy and it costs me a race or two and then it's too late in the grand scheme. Once you become the champion of one circuit, you move up to the next circuit and get a better car and more money.This is a thinking man's racing game, so conserve the weapons as much as possible (as they cost money to replenish) and you'll be a champion before you know it. You even get your ugly mug on a trophy at the end of the circuit if you end up champion.I have about 40 Gameboy Advance games and I think this is the one I play the most because it's challenging and fun, while having amazing graphics and it's not impossible to figure out, which is what I find is the downfall of a lot of Gameboy Advance games.