The arcade incarnation of Jaleco's GT 24 was one of the few games NOT 
made by Sega to run on the revered Model 2 arcade hardware.  Dead or 
Alive by Tecmo was another of these rare games, and the Saturn 
conversion set the import scene abuzz with some people calling DoA 
better than the classic Virtua Fighter 2.  DoA came to Playstation and 
even caught the eye of the US gaming community, going so far as to 
capture the cover spot on US videogame magazines.  Will GT 24 follow 
in the footsteps of its cousin?  Well, I doubt it will get any US 
magazine covers, but it's a surprisingly solid racing game. 

First, a couple of warnings.  You saw the pictures of GT24 on the web 
(NCS, Seganet) did you?  They looked absolutely stunning, but the 
actual game is not as beautiful as the shots may lead you to believe.
It is still a very good looking game and the visual quality is nothing 
like the drop in graphics suffered by Sega Touring Car Championship or 
House of the Dead.  The road textures are cleaner than STCC, the cars 
look nice, and the background graphics are solid.  Screen draw-in and 
some pop-up are present but they don't affect anything. To tell the 
truth, with the action of the game you don't have much time to look 
for pop-up.  Warning number two: there is apparently NOT a two player
vs. mode or any sort of split screen.  There IS a very unique two 
player mode, which I'll get into later.  Some people may be very upset 
over the lack of 2P, but considering most racers hard to see 
split-screens and big drops in graphics and frame rates I don't miss 
it too much.  Who REALLY loves playing Raly, Manx, or STCC in split 
screen anyway? 

Now onto the game features.  The options are mainly standard fare, but 
with a couple twists.  There are only three tracks (short, middle, and 
long) playable from the start in regular and reverse mode.  The game 
was promoted as having 6 tracks, but it's really only 3 forward and 
backward.  We can hope for hidden tracks that have to be won.  The 
cars are decent designs, but nothing too memorable.  Six cars are 
available at the start, each with varying characteristics of 
Acceleration, Top Speed, and Handling.  Three cars are labelled 
"Beginner" and three for experts.  You should be able to make the 
transition to expert in a short time though, they aren't too hard to 
drive.  Speaking of control, it is first rate.  You will be navigating 
with ease after a short learning period.  The style is on the "arcade" 
side, none of the super tough physics in STCC are here.  The cars are 
more like Daytona/Ridge Racer driving style.  There are powerslides, 
which look to be quite helpful (and tough to control - you will spin 
out a few times), but they are not as important in GT24 as in other 
games like Ridge Racer or Daytona.  Also, the NiGHTS Analog Pad is 
supported and is really perfect.  Jaleco really got the game to work 
nicely with analog.  I would almost call the pad a necessity just 
because of how amazingly well it controls.  The frame rate is smooth, 
much better than D:CCE or STCC.  This was my big fear, as the choppy 
control of some racers is hard to overcome.  I'm glad to report that 
GT24 has excellent arcade-like control. 

The ever present Time Attack mode is here for you to practice a track 
with the now common ghost mode.  Grand Prix is the standard race 3-5 
laps (5 for "short", 3 on the other tracks) on one track against 
several computer opponents.  Be warned, the computer is tough!  You 
will need practice to get first place.  If you have just played these 
modes you would think the game is decent, but kinda generic and 
slightly dull. But you will change your mind after trying the 24 Hour 
Race mode.  The race actually lasts 12, 24, or 48 minutes (selectable 
in options) but is a simulation of endurance racing.  Time actually 
passes, kind of like Ridge Racer Revolution for PSX.  You will start 
in the day, see the evening, night, and eventually morning.  The 
transition is kind of sharp, all of a sudden the sky will change from 
the pink and orange of sunset to a nighttime blue.  Still, a good 
feature.  Once you select 24 Hour Race you will not only pick a car, 
but one of five PIT CREWS!  Each one has different strengths in speed, 
quality of repair, and other areas.  It really adds to the game, and 
good pit stategy is VITAL if you want to capture the checkered flag.  
There are gauges for car damage and fuel, and you will need to monitor 
them.  Damage will affect your driving, so it's a good idea to keep 
the car in good shape and check into the pits if you're in trouble.  
After selecting your car, track, and crew you will see a really cool 
feature - a course preview.  It's a nice littly fly-by of the entire 
track and is a nice feature.  As for the race, this mode is the bread 
and butter of GT24.  Outlast your opponents, use the pits, and when 
the clock hits zero be in first.  It's fun to try to top your records, 
as they are kept by number of laps completed. It really is a fun way 
to race, and it's a fresh concept.  

Now that two player mode I mentioned...  During a 24 Hour Race when 
you enter the pits, you can get fuel, repair damage, and change 
drivers.  However, when you change drivers you actually change 
controllers!  You can be 1P and race for a while, then your partner on 
the 2P side will actually take over the race.  A cooperative mode in a 
racing game, how cool is that?  I actually like it better than a 
watered down versus mode.  You can still compete for times in 1-on-1, 
but a whole new way of playing two players in a racer is introduced.  
Overall, GT 24 is a great buy for racing fans.  It is quality stuff, 
like the great Sega racers.  It's not a Sega Rally beater (I haven't 
found one of those yet), but it adds nicely to any racing collection. 
If you hated the demanding precision of STCC, this game is for you.  
Or even if you like STCC, but want to pull out a fun arcade style 
racer, give GT 24 a try.  The main strength of the game is little 
subtle things.  These include things like the course preview and time 
of day changes.  Direction arrows show you which way to turn, but are 
unobtrusive - no Sega Rally stlye "LONG EASY RIGHT, MAYBE" stuff here. 
Another great subtle feature is the way you track your opponents' 
positions.  If an opponent is in front of you they will be in yellow, 
behind you they turn red, retired (or in the pits - I think) they will 
be blue.  A great feature to tell if you are going to pass someone or 
just lap a slow moving car.  Also, a display shows you a little 
picture of rival cars as they enter the pits. Subtle features like 
that make an enjoyable game, and some of them could even be a lesson 
to companies like Sega!  There are some down sides, like lack of 2P 
versus, 3 tracks, and a slight disappointment in graphics from the 
still shots.  However, overall the positive features win out.  If you 
are a hardcore racing game fan, you need to at least see the 
innovative features in this game.  Casual players will like the easy 
to learn controls and fun arcade gameplay.  

In my opinion, it looks like we have another 3rd party Model 2 port 
that will give a lot of home enjoyment.  You may not see a lot of 
hype, but it's a solid game.  Who knows, maybe in a few months a PSX 
port will come out and bring broader interest in the game.  But for 
now, enjoy the Saturn import.  It's probably the last really good 
racer for the system, and it should satisfy any racing fan.....