A racing game that literally fits in your pocket yet delivers a sense of speed you would not expect from a handheld. That was Top Gear Pocket, a racer for the Game Boy Color that set out to bring brisk arcade driving from a behind-the-car perspective to the small color screen.
The Top Gear series has its roots in the well-known arcade racers, and this handheld offshoot tried to preserve their spirit. The player tears along the tracks from a view behind the car, overtakes rivals and tries to keep up the highest possible pace through the corners. The emphasis is on brisk, readable driving rather than a realistic driving simulation.
The title arrived at a time when the Game Boy Color was expanding handheld gaming with color, and Top Gear Pocket tried to use that possibility for a livelier depiction of tracks and cars. For players on the move it was a chance to experience a fast arcade racer without having to sit at a home console, which back then was the chief virtue of handheld gaming.
From today's perspective, Top Gear Pocket is part of a long tradition of racing games that tried to strike a balance between instant fun and the technical possibilities of a given platform. On the Game Boy Color it was an attempt to give players a sense of speed and competition in the most accessible form possible.
For lovers of retro racers and Game Boy Color collectors it is a title that recalls how developers reined in the ambitions of big arcade racers within the confines of handheld hardware. It is a piece of the history of portable racing, back when the color screen was only just becoming the standard.
Why play it: A brisk pocket-sized arcade racer for the Game Boy Color that offers a sense of speed and competition anywhere on the go.
Game 46 of 129 for Game Boy Color
