Stakes Winner 2
After one round of the horse racing game Stakes Winner 2, all gamers inevitably must ask themselves the same question: "What the hell was THAT all about?" A niche title on a niche system, Stakes Winner 2 has unusual gameplay that only horse-racing otaku could love. Premise: Horse racing games are quite popular in Japan and pretty much equus non grata in the U.S. Do you want to push buttons to make a horse gallop around a 2D track? America generally says no, but Japan and Europe say yes. But that's what Stakes Winner 2 offers--pushing one of three buttons to make your horse gallop fast, faster, or fastest. There's timing involved, as well as strategy. You'll not only need to weave through the pack, snagging speed and energy power-ups while avoiding collisions, but you must conserve your horse's energy as well. Players choose either a European or American circuit; the latter features such famed locales as the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
Gameplay & Control:
Compared to the original Stakes Winner, which was little more than a string of races that earned you money, SW2 has better gameplay and lots of additions. On-track power-ups are easier to snag, but there is no warning of when they're coming and they spawn in a set pattern, so if you're not lucky the first time around, you'll know exactly where they are for the immediate retry. That's boring. A new training mode offers mini-games that can permanently increase your horse's stats, and a stable shop give you something to do with that prize money, offering enhancements for sale like an electric prod to get you out of the gate faster or an aerodynamic suit to improve overall speed. Sadly, you can only buy one item before a race--even though you'll likely be flush with cash, you can't stock up, and the timer moves so fast, you might not get the chance to buy anything at all. These additions are all improvements over the original formula, but it's still difficult to feel like you're doing anything good on purpose, and the control, while responsive, is confusing and frustrating. Basically, you don't feel like you're much in control of the horse's actual performance at all. Much of the success comes down to grabbing the right power-up at the right time, and that's often sheer luck or memorization.
