GC 2008: GTi Club Hands-On

While the PlayStation Network has seen its fair share of old console ports and updates, it's rare for arcade games to receive the same treatment. GTi Club, the popular but perhaps underappreciated arcade racing game is bucking that trend with a PSN release this November. We got to play the game in a full driving rig at the Konami stand at Leipzig, and we're happy to report that it retains all the charm of the original.

Clearly taking its cues from the original Italian Job movie, GTi Club is all about Minis racing around Italy. It was an idea that hadn't really been seen in arcades before the original arcade game because racing games either focused on top-of-the-line sports cars or dirt-track rally racing. However, the cars were perfect to wind through the city streets and up the hilly mountains, while jumps and alternate routes reward repeated plays.

The update itself is being handled by Sumo Digital, the same team that helped Sega with the Outrun 2 update, as well as other titles, such as Virtua Tennis. The update isn't major in terms of visuals, although the resolution of the cars and backgrounds has definitely improved. Vitally, though, the cars handle exactly the same as they did in the arcades. They are nimble and light enough to perform sharp handbrake turns around the winding city courses. While most people won't have access to the setup we had at Leipzig, the Logitech wheel and proper racing chair perfectly re-created the feel of the arcade original for us.

GTi Club is set to launch on the PlayStation Network in November 2008, and we're told it will cost somewhere in the region of £10 in the UK. Stay tuned for more information as we get it.