Choro Q is a puzzle wrapped in an enigma. Is it, as the game's marketing says, a caRPG or should it be considered a racing game with delusions of grandeur? Ultimately each player who test drives this game will be the judge. Fans of RPG-style games may give Choro Q full marks for attempting to inject a little extra vitality into what would have been a pretty humdrum racer. Fans of racing games will probably have little tolerance for the game's text boxes and city exploration segments.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's crack the hood and see what kind of horsepower this game is really packing.
After pressing the Start button, Choro Q rolls a very imaginative opening movie. Taking its cue from the Q Story portion of the game, the movie focuses on a little yellow car that dreams of being in the Big Race. The dream segment shows off various track segments, mostly with video captured from actual race replays. In post production, numerous emotional words are flashed on screen in numerous languages, broadening the title's international appeal almost from the first moment it's played. Without being subliminal in any way, the words and pictures help get the player's juices flowing right from the get-go.
Choro Q offers three play modes – Q Story, Quick Race, and 2P Battle – along with Options. Except for Q Story, these are pretty self explanatory.
Q Story allows the player to select a car with which to start his or her adventure. The cars are all pretty ordinary, allowing the player a lot of leeway for customization. Once a car is selected, the player sits through a non-interactive set up segment that is, frankly, far too drawn out. Unfortunately, the player can't button through it, so avid Choro Q players should be sure to have a save cartridge inserted so they won't have to endure the segment more than once.
At this point the player enters Q Story mode's interactive section where he meets another racing car named Barat. The dialog here is almost as deadly here as it was before, but it's now possible to button through it. The following snippets from Barat's opening lines are submitted for consideration:
Hi, TC. My name is Barat! (X button)
Hear you're gonna be a racer. Everyone's talkin'!! (X button)
I'm going to be a racer too. I think it's exciting that we're in his together. Let's work hard! (X button)
I think we'll meet again in the Grand Prix! Do you think so, too? (X button)
When "No" was selected from the option menu, this was what followed:
What?! Hey!! You're supposed to tell me "Yes!" or else I can't continue with the race introduction! I'll ask the question one more time...
Yada, yada, yada... You get the picture...
Once Barat departs the player drives his car through the streets of the make believe town of Carsville searching for information, upgrades and other cars to race. Regardless of what vehicle is initially selected, the first races are extremely difficult to win. Once the player has upgraded a bit, they become more competitive and, therefore, less stressful and more fun.
Stripped down to the bare metal, Choro Q puts the onus on the player to make the proper upgrades to his vehicle and then to race well. There aren't any magic nitrous hotspots to activate or turbo boost arrows to hit. It's you, your car, and the road.
For general game fans (and general racing game fans as well), Quick Race is the most universally enjoyable section of the game, and the most immediate (followed close by 2P Battle). Quick Race allows the player to select from any of the game's environments, then to choose a vehicle with which to race. The choices in each section vary wildly. Some courses are all or mostly all roads. Others are mostly off-road. A couple of the courses are much more difficult because they're composed of snow and icy patches. Courses that are mostly off-road usually include some deep water sections.
There is a wide selection of vehicles, so finding a car, truck, or bus to match your need and mood isn't a problem. The vehicle selection screen recaps the type of course you've selected (so you don't have to toggle back to the course select screen if you forget) and then provides a picture and capabilities for each vehicle. The right and left d-pad buttons are used to move from model to model. Each has an appropriate value for Speed, Acceleration, Braking, and Steering. Tires are either Street or Off-Road.
Caution Flag: Players should be careful about selecting any car with a one star rating for steering, especially when first getting started with the game. Regardless of how fast such a car can accelerate or brake, one star steering makes it nearly impossible to win a race.
The cars themselves are an imaginative bunch. They range in size from a replica mini (called a John; go figure) to a huge crane, cement mixer, and yellow bus. There's even a three-wheeled jitney called a Flubber Gust. While you'd think the bigger, bulkier vehicles would be left in the dust by smaller, more nimble competition, this isn't the case, and, in fact, they're much better able to stay on course after being bumped.
While Q Story mode helps boost Choro Q's longevity, it's the Quick Race and 2P Battle modes that give it replayability. Most of the races are pretty fun, though the player who makes a bad car selection (or who can't get away from the rearmost cars that block and jam) has a difficult time remaining competitive.
Where Choro Q falls flat for most of today's game players is in graphics and audio. The vehicles are modeled and rendered very well, but the environments are amazingly simplistic, both in design and in artistic execution. Tracks have a decidedly PSOne feel to them. As a guide, check out Renegade Racers (a PSOne title developed by Promethean Designs and published by Interplay). And while Choro Q seems skewed toward a younger crowd, even the youngest game players today know the difference between good PS2 graphics and something that's warmed over N64. The game's sound FX and music are also not up to the standards of even a first generation PS2 title.
What stand out best in Choro Q are some funny and disjointed elements. The opening movie has already been singled out as being pretty fresh. The number, variety, and uniqueness of the player vehicles is also noteworthy, as is the way that they are rendered within the select screens and during gameplay (though some of the LODs tend to pop in and out with more than average visibility while racing, especially for cars with wind wings). What is singularly surprising in a game like Choro Q is the quality of the replay cameras. While playing some of the courses may be perilous (and sometimes a bit tedious), watching the replay is always a treat.
One other fun and funky aspect of the game is watching nautical propellers sprout from the tails of even the most bulky racer once the vehicle comes in contact with water. The vehicles also bob like corks as they cruise through the agua, even the crane, cement mixer, and bus. It's a giggle fit nearly every time it occurs.
Choro Q is a decent game, especially when you consider that it's aimed at a pre-teen audience and that it is value priced at just under $20. It's quite likely that as the price of the PS2 continues to drop, the market will see many more value-priced family friendly titles like Choro Q.
-Tom
Create an Account
Member Login
