5.8 /10 1 Votes
Initial release date 28 August 2003 Genre Racing video game | 57% Metacritic Publisher Capcom Platform Xbox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date(s) JP: August 28, 2003EU: September 26, 2003NA: November 11, 2003 Developers Capcom, Capcom Production Studio 3, DigitalStudio Inc. Similar Chase: Hollywood Stunt Driv, Furious Karting, Maximum Chase, Auto Modellista, Grooverider: Slot Car Thunder |
Group S Challenge, known in Japan as Circus Drive (サーカスドライブ), is a racing video game developed for the Xbox. It features 87 fully licensed cars, including cars from Ford, Chevrolet, and Ruf. The game lacks Xbox Live capabilities, and does not support custom soundtracks or high quality video.
Contents

Arcade mode

Group S Challenge features four styles in arcade mode: Single Player, Two Player Versus, One Make and Time Attack.

Single Player allows the player to race against AI (artificial intelligence) drivers. In Two Player Versus, two players race on a split screen. One Make measures who possesses the best driving ability, with the player choosing one car for both his or her use and the use of all AI drivers. In Time Attack, the player focuses on trying to post the fastest lap-time.
Circuit mode

Group S Challenge also offers a career mode. Unlike many games featuring a career mode, Group S Challenge contains no cutscenes and lacks a developing story. Instead, the game offers three different racing types: Championship, Line and Dual.

In Championship, the player races his or her car to unlock different classes of cars and earns money for upgrades or a new car. Championship has four different "classes" or "tiers", for cars, with higher tiers offering faster cars. Group C is the lowest tier containing the slowest car. Groups B and A contain progressively faster rides. Group S is the top class and it contains supercars and hypercars. (Note: A car from a slower group is allowed in a higher class race, but faster cars cannot enter a lower class race.) The player can earn money by driving in the racing line on the track during Line mode. Dual mode allows the player to unlock special cars that cannot be bought. In order to acquire these cars, the player must race and win against the car he or she wishes to unlock in three different cars that the player already owns.
Tracks

Three different race courses appear with six variations per course: Part A, Part B, Full Track, Part A Reverse, Part B Reverse, and Full Track Reverse. The three different race tracks are Monaco in Europe, Surfer's Paradise in Australia (found in Queensland, Australia), and Shibuya in Japan.