is a

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...

developed and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

, first released on

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, later ported to

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

Description

''Auto Modellista'' distinguished itself from other games of the same genre with cel-shaded graphics, which gave a hand-drawn and cartoon-like appearance. The game plays similarly to games like '' Gran Turismo'', with the player picking a vehicle which they can modify and customize. There are six tracks in the default game, including the real-life

Suzuka Circuit The , the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. It is most well known by i ...

and the Mt. Akagi mountain pass. After middling initial reception, with criticism mostly centered around its short overall length and general lack of content, Capcom modified the game for its North American release. In Japan, the game was rereleased with these changes as ''Auto Modellista: US Tuned''. This version featured additional cars from American manufacturers, such as the

Dodge Viper The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge (by Street & Racing Technology, SRT for 2013 and 2014), a division of American car manufacturer Chrysler from 1992 until 2017, having taken a brief hiatus in 2007 and from 2011 to 20 ...

and

Ford GT The Ford GT is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company, Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second gene ...

, two new oval tracks, various UI improvements and a different handling model which saw cars having significantly less grip, resulting in slower acceleration and more loss of speed when cornering. The ''US Tuned'' version of the game was especially criticized for its floaty handling model and subsequently more difficult gameplay, though the improved car and course list were well received. The ''US Tuned'' changes were present in every following release of the game starting with the North American

release in early 2003, evidenced by the new cover art featuring the Dodge Viper. Many distributors predicted that sales of the game were going to be poor, and generally refused to carry it. In 2003, ''Auto Modellista'' received a followup in the form of '' Group S Challenge'' for the

, though it lacked any of ''Auto Modellista''s visual style and is generally not considered to be a direct sequel.

has not been involved with driving games since, although it did publish some games based on

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

developed by Milestone srl, and included '' Mega Man Battle & Chase'', a racing game based on the ''

Mega Man ''Mega Man'' (known as in Japan) is a video game franchise developed and published by Capcom, featuring the Mega Man (character), protagonist of the same name. The Mega Man (1987 video game), original game was released for the Nintendo Enter ...

'' franchise, in the '' Mega Man X Collection''.

Gameplay

''Auto Modellista'' attempts to be a technical racing game, with an immense amount of available parts and settings for the selection of cars provided to the player. Various aspects of each car can be tuned, allowing the player to tweak the performance of the car. In the ''Garage mode'' (the main single-player mode), the player is granted the ability to select one of four tire types which affect road grip in regard to the weather conditions on the race track (for example, the "Semi-Slick Tires" provide maximum speed and grip in dry weather, but suffer in rain). Other options include Brakes (which determine braking efficiency), Suspension, Turbines, Mufflers, Computer (determines the car's ability to accept upgrades later in the game), the engine, "Final Gear", and Weight Reduction. ''Auto Modellista''s customization options also extend to visual enhancements, allowing the player to choose from many different color combinations, hood and spoiler types, plus the ability to add badges, stickers and even create license plates. Engine swaps are also available, for example, the Subaru 360 can have EJ20T in place of its EK32. Swapped engines cannot be re-tuned in the game. A large aspect of the game was its online mode, with online races supporting up to 8 players. This functionality was not available on the

and European PlayStation 2 versions. The online mode of ''Auto Modellista'' has since been discontinued however, ''Auto Modellista'' is now playable online again on the revival

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...

servers called

Insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. An insignia, which is typically made of metal or fabric, is a standalone sy ...

Development

''Auto Modellista'' was a part of an initiative from Capcom's Production Studio 1 to develop three network focused games on the PlayStation 2. The other games were '' Monster Hunter'' and '' Resident Evil Outbreak''. Capcom's plan was that at least one of the games would become a million seller. Both ''Monster Hunter'' and ''Resident Evil Outbreak'' eventually became million sellers.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to video game

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' gave the PS2 version a score of 30 out of 40. ''Auto Modellista'' has in the years following its release garnered somewhat of a cult following, with players especially praising its unique

cel-shaded Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a Color gradient, shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often us ...

graphics.

References

External links

CAPCOM - ''Auto Modellista'' (official site)

CAPCOM - ''Auto Modellista'' (Japanese official site)
* {{moby game, id=/auto-modellista 2002 video games Capcom games GameCube games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 2 games Racing video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Tetsuya Shibata Video games set in Finland Video games set in France Video games set in Germany Video games set in Indonesia Video games set in Japan Video games set in Malaysia Video games set in Monaco Video games set in Singapore Video games set in the United Kingdom Video games set in the United States Video games with cel-shaded animation Xbox games