NCS
Game Synopsis
©NCSX▪ As an up 'n coming horse racing
magnate, purchase your first horse as well as a
ranch and sow the seeds of your empire. At the
outset of the game, the ranch may be situated in
four possible locations, including a small island.
When it's time for a high stakes horse race, the
jockeys and their steeds thunder along on 3D tracks
while a versatile camera
takes in all of the sights, sounds, and excitement
of a high powered race. New to the Derby Tsukuru
series is the Sha Tin Race Couse which is located in
Hong Kong and is the larger of two race tracks in
the New Territories. Gamers may participate in
premier races at Sha Tin including the Hong Kong
Cup, The Hong Kong Sprint, The Hong Kong Mile, and
others. Another important race featured in the game
is the 2000m (10 furlongs) Audemars Piguet Queen
Elizabeth II Cup which kicks off the World Racing
Series each year with a total purse of roughly
US$1.8 million dollars.
As your kingdom grows, horses may be bred to produce
new foals and raise them from spindly legged
fledgling to thundering stallion capable of winning
prize money and earning millions. Breeding a stud
champion with a pedigree mare will increase your
chances of producing a world class steed. Producing such
world classes horses takes resources and the baron
assembles a team and invests in managing the ranch
to create trophy horses.
A built-in melody maker allows a horse loving musician to create a
short ditty which may then be played at a race and
also saved to memory card.
NCS Game Notes
* In the intro to the game, a live horse race is
depicted on a big virtual screen as the camera
slowly drifts in from the right side and then takes
in the action dead center - as the lead runner
reaches the finish line, the title screen appears.
* When a race begins, the camera checks out the
action in front of the stalls. As they open and the
horses thunder out, the camera keeps track of their
progress as the horses make their way around the
track. An announcer intonates the action and his
voice rises in treble and excitement as horses make
their move and push towards to finish line.
* The animation of the horses during a race isn't as
lifelike or realistic as Gallop Racer but the sound
effects of the hooves and the overall motion is
acceptable. Vantage points of the camera shift
quickly during a race to take in the horses from
various isometric angles and an overhead scope of
all of the horses as clear leaders fly ahead of
stragglers. Occasionally birds will fly across the
screen to add to the realism of random events that
occur during a race.
* After starting a standard game, an still image of
a horse grazing on a pasture appears with a tree in
the foreground. A horse handler in blue cap appears
on the left side of the screen and introduces the
player to the action while canned fluff music plays
in the background. A procession of different
characters appear to take down your name for the
horse and to introduce themselves. After choosing
the location of your horse kingdom, a jockey outfit,
and a steed, the game prompts you to save your
progress to memory card.
* It's raining when you reach your ranch as a gal
greets you. The horse that you selected is grazing
in a field while it rains. If you leave the joypad
alone and simply watch, it will neigh a couple of
times. To shift views from the middle field to the
two adjacent fields on either side, move the
L-analog left or right. Overall navigation around
the ranch is performed by menu-based selections
which allow you to visit different areas quickly. An
overhead map of the ranch may also be viewed and the
locations therein visited by using the L-analog to
move a blue cursor around.
* In the Now Loading screen, colorful silhouettes of
horses race across an track.
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