by Kyle - September 22, 2005

The story begins with you as a young racer trying to make a position in the social status, gaining fame by winning races and completing tasks. Club Glimmerati is where all the big boys hang out with their luxury cars, quick boats, and supermodels. Start with meeting places, people, and winning races to rise through the positions at Club Glimmerati.

Far From Realism

While playing Glimmerati, there is a large gap from racing and Glimmerati. Unlike most other racing games, Glimmerati leaves you sliding around turns instead of rounding turns comfortably. I�ve lost control of the vehicle more times than I can count in one single race.

Glimmerati only has three modes of play. These game modes include; story, quick race, and time trial. There isn�t much to do in the variation of gameplay in Glimmerati. Multiplayer is enabled for Bluetooth Wireless users.

The controls in Glimmerati are very basic. The 5 button is the gas where the directional pad maintains your direction. For a map of the course you press 9 and Glimmerati will pause allowing you to view the road ahead. To break and reverse the 7 button is used and 6 is your nitro boost. The controls have their positives and negatives. In one hand, they�re easy to remember and you can pause the game at any time. Nothing with the control setup is confusing, just the way your car responds to them. In the other hand there�s a slight, but noticeable, delay in the responsive time of your vehicle. Even though it�s not much, the slight delay can throw off a good driver very easily. This time frame is mainly noticeable while steering your car left or right.

A Lack of Detail

Of all categories in Glimmerati, the graphics were the most deprived. The only parts that were accurately correct were the pictures of a certain character as they were talking. Then again, their mouths don�t move or show any sign of expression or emotion.

While playing, your vehicle and its surroundings are just blurred together. There isn�t much variation even with the N-Gage�s backlight. The road of travel looks more like a mosaic of colors than anything that would actually be driven on. For a car going 200+ mph, the scenery would be flying by much faster than shown in Glimmerati. Along with faster speeds, slower reaction time would be a negative asset towards racing. Even the slightest movement in the wrong direction at a high accurately positioned speed would result in a quick collision.

Highest Altitude of Excitement

The sound was one of the nicest features included in Glimmerati. Every characters� voice was unique and different in its own way. Each person was very distinct and expressed thoroughly for their own personality. The audio visual connection would be complete if the characters� mouths moved or showed any emotion toward what they were saying. On the other hand, your vehicle doesn�t sound very convincing to be going 200 mph. There isn�t as much road noise as you would imagine in a street racing adventure.

Decline of Interest

Glimmerati isn�t the type of game you can sit down and enjoy for hours. It�s best kept in small measurements to not loose interest in it. Much more should have been included in Glimmerati to make it more appealing to the senses. With few modes of gameplay, Glimmerati doesn�t include much of a variation for separate interests.

Several critical flaws should have been taken care of before the publication of Glimmerati. The delayed vehicle response can become unbearable as the game progresses while your speed increases, slowing your reaction time even more. The scenery needed to be either more detailed or laid out better. There�s not much worse than straining your eyes by looking into a blurred scenery. This could have been prevented by using either less detail forming a more solid color or by adding more detail forming a more clear picture.

Simple Game for a Simple Gamer

Glimmerati was a decent game for its small detail. Far more could have been inserted to add to its attraction. I�d recommend this game for the type of gamer looking for a simple street racing adventure with more of a drift racing style. If you're searching for something more involved and in depth, steer away from Glimmerati.