MINI TRANS-CANADA REVIEW

January 1st, 2004 - We had a chance over the holidays to have a look at Omnigsoft's Mini-TransCanada game for the pocket PC. It is a racing game that allows you to choose from 11 different virtual racing tracks from across Canada. You are also allowed to select from 17 different vehicles from a variety of makes and models. So does this make for an exciting racing game that is worth parting with your hard earned money? Read on to find out....
 

     I loaded the game onto my Ipaq 5450, and the installation was very simple and straightforward, no problems. When you first fire up the device, you are prompted to select a track from the following options;

     You also need to select your vehicle. You can choose from a variety of vehicle types, as well as specific models within each type. The library is fairly extensive, as well you have the opportunity to download additional vehicle libraries into your device.

     Now I had selected everything that was required and it was time to start out the game. It takes about 6 -8 seconds to load various elements of the game, and then it comes on. The game switches to landscape mode, which makes the display more than enough to get a good look at everything you need to see. I was immediately impressed with the graphics, as I had never seen a game look this good on a Pocket PC device. The scenery and the vehicles both look extremely realistic, and the 3D rendering makes the game feel look more like its being played on a gaming console rather than a Pocket PC device.

     As I started to play the game I found the vehicle extremely difficult to control. Now this could be caused by a variety of issues;

1.) I just started playing, so I am not very good.

2.) The control pad on an Ipaq 5450 is horrible. I have difficulty scrolling a spreadsheet in Pocket Excel, let alone controlling a vehicle at high speeds.

3.) It is an issue with the game.

     I tend to believe it is an issue that is primarily driven by a combination of all of the above. I do believe that if I was playing on a different device, this probably would not be a major issue. As it was for me on the 5450, it made it frustrating. Even after a lot of practice I had difficulty controlling the vehicle direction. There is an adjustment you can make to the steering sensitivity, but this did not seem to make much of a difference.

     The one other thing that seemed odd was the driver information such as Lap#, time, and km is displayed at the bottom of the device in portrait orientation, even though the game is operating in landscape mode. Weird.

     Here is a recap on my thoughts of the game;

Pro's

• Simple and straightforward to install and use.

• Extremely good graphics.

• Variety of options for game play.

• Additional vehicle libraries available.

• Free upgrade for minor revisions for purchasers of full version.

Con's

• Vehicles can be difficult to control

• Driving information difficult to view while playing.

      I would suggest downloading the trial version prior to purchasing the game, to ensure your device is one that will not have the steering difficulties that I experienced.

The  game can be downloaded by clicking here.

Visit Omnigsoft's web site for more info by clicking here.

(Rating System 0-5 with 0 being worst, 5 being best)

Overall Rating-  (3.5)