G1 Jockey Wii
Flat-footed
My last encounter with horse-based leisure entertainment was the 2p coin-operated horse racing machines of my local seaside arcade. I have many happy memories of eking out £2 of pocket money over the course of an afternoon's illicit gambling, while my mother trawled the shops for bargains. Happily, by my lack of interest in the gee gees, I have proved the arcade-bashers wrong, with their claims of it being a gateway drug to more hardcore gambling experiences.
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That said, I don't think I have completely forgotten the fun I had as when G1 Jockey arrived on the doormat the other day, I was all a-flutter. This Wii game takes an existing product from the PS2 and brings it to Nintendo's monochrome encased mechanical wonder. Whilst it has not been a huge success on these shores it is a franchise that has done pretty well for itself in Japan. The game largely focuses on that pursuit of the rich and famous: raising and racing a stable of thoroughbreds. Every aspect is catered for; stabling, purchasing, training, grooming all flesh out a game built around a central horse racing simulation model. This is a simulation game first and foremost, a million miles away from the pickup and play fun of Wii-Play's cow racing. It will be interesting to see how this fits with the Wii's perceived 'casual gamer'.
The game's visual style takes its cues from the raft of Japanese simulations that are hitting our shores with increasing frequency. These games, such as Trauma Centre and Rail Fan, employ a clean cartoony (dare I say manga-esque) art style, with plenty of talking head character work that is usually improved by well localised dialogue. Whilst this all serves its purpose, it does make the game feel a little like a DS title made large. This highlights the simple fact that technically G1 Jockey could easily have been produced on the popular little handheld. This is eased somewhat when you hit the main horse racing action and the visuals switch to 3D. But even here we find that the sometimes choppy graphics, and flickery refresh rate hammer home the fact that this is not a true Wii game, but a port. The difference between a cart horse dressed up to race and a thoroughbred chomping at the bid to fly round the course.
As we have mentioned, at the heart of the game is a racing simulation that delivers a considered and believable approach to the whole jockey experience. The simulation essentially demands that you balance the emptying and filling of a collection of gauges, something which is much more fun than it sounds. At the start of the race your horse has a full Stamina meter that depletes as you hare round the course. The rate at which this is used up depends on how willing they are to run, something that is depicted in the Willingness meter. You can control this gauge by changing the jockey position to ensure that it remains in the green zone for the duration; too much willingness and you will use up your stamina before the first fence, too little and you will quickly drop to the back of the field. Achieving this balance is rewarded by the slow filling up of the Potential meter; this represents how much running your steed has left, once their stamina has been depleted. To win a race you need to work to fill your potential so that you can make a strong final surge on the home straight. Add to this the variety of 'styles' that each horse has: fast start, quick finish, endurance, and there is plenty to think about.
Although the controls have obviously been reversed into this game, they have struck it lucky as the two controllers lend themselves well to representing the reigns (Nunchuck) and whip (Wiimote). This enables you to steer and cajole your horse with a fair degree of subtlety. The Nunchuck's directional control is probably the low point of this scheme as it seems to translate your analogue movements into digital turning that results in quite a choppy feel. Probably the biggest indictment of the mechanic is that there is no sense of riding something that is alive, or that has its own will. The wonderful riding experience from Shadow of the Colossus, where you had to work with your ride rather than dictating the direction, would have given this game the spark of life in the control department that it so badly needs.
Around this racing, you can develop a stable of horses and play through a number of racing seasons. This certainly fleshes out the core experience, and adds something like a football manager aspect to proceedings as you buy, sell and train your horses for the big time. There is also a two player head-to-head mode which turns out to be a lot of fun. Grab a few friends, some snacks and beers and a fun few evenings can be had. Particularly if you introduce the added incentive of a bit of money on the table for each race.
G1 Jockey is a game that is unlikely to excite many gamers. That said, it should have more of a chance with the Dads of the touch generation's families that are swarming to the Wii. The cynical among us could easily bash this for being a blatant cash-in port of an existing game. However, spend a bit of time with it and there is plenty to entertain for a good few hours. Not a glowing endorsement, and probably not a game to buy at full price, but certainly one worth looking out for in a few months when it starts hitting the £20 mark.
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