Software:Road Trip Adventure

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Short description: 2002 video game
Road Trip Adventure
Road Trip
European cover art
Developer(s)E-Game Inc.
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Etsuhiro Wada
SeriesChoro Q
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: January 10, 2002
  • NA: October 26, 2002
  • EU: May 2003
  • AU: July 2003
Genre(s)Racing / Adventure
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Road Trip Adventure is a 2002 racing adventure video game for the PlayStation 2, released as Choro Q HG 2 in Japan by Takara and as Road Trip (or Everywhere Road Trip) in North America by Conspiracy Entertainment.[1] In 2003 it was also released in Europe and other PAL regions by System 3 under their Play It label named Road Trip Adventure. It was developed by E-Game, a small Japanese developer.

The game combines elements of open world racing and adventure games, and is widely considered to be the best of the Choro Q series due to its large seamless world which the player can freely explore. The game takes place in a world of anthropomorphic cars that interact like humans. A successor game, Software:Road Trip: The Arcade Edition, was released on the GameCube in the same year. As part of the PS2 Classics release, Road Trip Adventure was released on the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 in Europe on February 15, 2012; however, it was not released on the American PlayStation Network.

Story

A typical snapshot of Adventure Mode gameplay.

When starting a new game in Adventure mode, the player can enter their name and preferences, as well as a name for the game's currency. Upon entering these details, a cutscene begins inside the office of President Forest, who has become weary of his role in office. He declares that he will hand over the presidency to the winner of the World Grand Prix, a seven race series for only the most elite and talented racers. The president's secretary leaves, ready to broadcast this news to the world.

Next, the player appears inside the Q’s Factory in Peach Town, a small town named after the surrounding peach farms. Each town's Q's Factory is where the player changes car parts they have collected and bought. The worker in the Q's Factory informs the player that he or she may become president, if lucky enough to win the World Grand Prix.

After these starting scenes, gameplay is almost entirely open-ended, loosely centered around the goal of winning the World Grand Prix and becoming president. To qualify for the World Grand Prix, the player must have two teammates and a Class Super A License, earned by finishing within the top 6 in every race of each license tier: C, B, and A, respectively. To acquire teammates, one can simply talk to other cars; if they can be recruited, they may ask the player to add them as a teammate, provided the player has previously won a race. Each race rewards the performance of the player's teammates, as well as the player’s. As a result, it is important for the player to equip their teammates with adequate parts for each race.

To measure a player's achievement, there are 100 "stamps" which they can earn, one of which is becoming president. Stamps involve activities ranging from mini-games to doing small favors for other cars, and upon earning all 100, the player is eligible for a special surprise. As an example, one of the 100 stamps requires completing the player's picture album. To take a picture, the player can visit any of the 100 Quick-Pic Shops, denoted by black marks on the mini-map; after taking a picture, the owner (always a pink Toyota Vitz) will inform the player of the next shop's location. Another important stamp entails collecting all 100 Choro Q coins hidden in the cities around the world (with the exception of Cloud Hill). One of the residents of My City trades various parts and objects for Choro Q coins, and many of these parts can give the player a distinct advantage in other tasks, including winning the World Grand Prix. Each city contains a bar, whose owner can give hints as to the whereabouts of nearby coins.

Additionally, a major recurring theme is populating "My City," the city which the player founds as the first resident. To build up My City, the player must talk to many different cars throughout the world and find those interested in starting a new life or building new homes or shops. As more and more residents move to My City, those residents' houses and shops appear throughout the city, each building being themed after the architectural style of its resident's hometown. Once complete, My City contains a school, fire department, police station, Q's Factory, Body Shop, Parts Shop, Paint Shop, parks, residential houses and more.

Gameplay

Economy

At the start of the game, the player is asked to specify a name for the currency used for the rest of the game. Money is central to Road Trip Adventure, as it is necessary to purchase most parts. To win money, one can race, advertise for various shops, sell parts to a resident of My City, or even play roulette. Five shops can provide a small above-car billboard to advertise with: the coffee shop in Peach Town (10 currency per km), a noodle restaurant in Fuji City (20 currency per km), a cake shop in Sandpolis (30 currency per km), a wool shop in White Mountain (40 currency per km), and a coconut shop in Papaya Island (50 currency per km). Each shop gives you a certain amount of money per kilometer driven while equipped with its respective advertisement sign. The player can also put one sign on each teammate.

Minigames

There are around 20 minigames in Road Trip Adventure. Completing them earns money, stamps and parts. These minigames include soccer, roulette, and drag races.

Locations

The following is a list of cities in Adventure Mode in the order in which they are typically first encountered. The world in Adventure Mode, with the exception of Cloud Hill, is cyclic, meaning that one can driving through all the cities consecutively and return to the original location of Peach Town.

City Description Street style Race tracks
Peach Town Themed after the archetypal small town, surrounded by countryside Tarmac, earth, grass Peach Raceway 1 and 2
Fuji City Japanese-themed city Earth Ninja Temple Raceway, Temple Raceway
My City The player's own, which they advertise to gather diverse new residents Tarmac Endurance Run
Sandpolis Modeled after Las Vegas, largest city in the game Tarmac, earth Desert Raceway, Night Glow Raceway
Chestnut Canyon A Grand Canyon-esque town atop a hill Rock, earth Miner 49er Raceway, Lava Run Raceway
Mushroom Road A mushroom-themed town in a forest, smallest city in the game Earth, mud River Raceway, Slick Track, Oval Raceway
White Mountain A snowy town centered around a mountain Snow, earth Snow Mountain Raceway
Papaya Island Tropical island, reachable by driving through the ocean Earth, sand Lagoon Raceway, Sunny Beach Raceway
Cloud Hill A collection of floating islands in the sky, accessible only from a house on Papaya Island Tarmac, metal Tin Raceway

Soundtrack

In the US and European versions, there are two radio stations to choose from. The Japanese version's radio feature is more extensive, featuring an additional station with voiced DJs.

The first station includes slight remixes of the following songs:

  • The Push Kings - The Minute
  • The Push Kings - Sunday on the West Side
  • The Push Kings - Wild Ones
  • The Waking Hours - Jade

The second station consists of instrumental tracks, some of which are uncredited arrangements of songs composed by Michael Walthius. The game's overall music and sound are credited to Fumio Tanabe.[2]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic80/100[1]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer7/10[3]
Famitsu26/40[9]
GamesMaster65%[4]
GameSpyStarStarStar[5]
GameZone7.5/10[6]
OPM (UK)6/10[8]
OPM (US)StarStarStarStar[7]

Road Trip received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[1] The game was praised for its wide world to explore and great depth, but criticized for its sound.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Road Trip (2002) - Metacritic". Fandom, Inc.. https://www.metacritic.com/game/road-trip-2002/. Retrieved October 12, 2023. 
  2. ↑ "Choro-Q HG2 Staff". Game Developer Research Institute. http://raido.moe/staff/ps2/ps2_choroq_hg_2.html. Retrieved December 6, 2020. 
  3. ↑ Taylor, Martin (August 14, 2003). "Play It budget titles (Page 4)". Gamer Network. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_playit_ps2?page=4. Retrieved March 8, 2018. 
  4. ↑ "Road Trip Adventure". GamesMaster (Future plc). 2003. 
  5. ↑ Meston, Zach (March 9, 2003). "GameSpy: Road Trip". Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051217211815/http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/road-trip/497709p1.html. Retrieved March 8, 2018. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Surette, Tim (November 20, 2002). "Road Trip: Arcade Edition [sic - PS2 - Review"]. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090122053515/http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r20507.htm. Retrieved March 8, 2018. 
  7. ↑ "Road Trip". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis): 150. October 2002. 
  8. ↑ "Road Trip Adventure". Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine (Future plc). 2003. 
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20130630233738/https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=9251
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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