Less than 13 months after the first GT Advance was released at the launch of the GBA, THQ has unleashed a sequel that trades in the smooth pavement of road racing for something a little more rugged.  The result: a slippery, power-sliding racing game with a decent selection of tracks.

To give the player the illusion that they are playing a rally racing game, MTO loosed the controls a bit.  The terrain is a little more varied (there are tons of turns and a few hills) as well.  An extremely simplistic power-sliding technique has been implemented to help you navigate the turn-heavy tracks.  To power-slide, simply press the break button (B) while turning.

There are 42 courses in GT Advance 2, but they only have one lap each, and most of them are pretty short.  The tracks are divided into 14 sets of three.  Each stage takes place in a different country: Sweden, Australia, Italy, etc.  At the start of the game, this appears to be great.  But the difficulty (or lack thereof) is not as high as the first game, making it very easy to speed past your opponents and cross the finish line first.  GT Advance 2 is the first racing game I've played in a long time that didn't have a learning curve.  You must beat 11 racers to win the Gold Cup, but that isn't very hard, since your place carries over from race to race.  If you make seventh place on the first race, and fourth place on the second, it won't be too hard to win the last race.  I beat the first 13 stages on the first try!  Some gamers may think that this is a good thing, but I don't.  I like to be challenged.

Although a bit too easy, I did enjoy playing GT Advance 2.  The speed is pretty good, especially when you have a long, turn-free path to race.  New cars are unlocked by winning races, giving the player something to shoot for.  Certainly, it's not nearly as long, as deep or as action-packed as the console rally racers that inspired it, but I didn't expect it to be.  However, I did expect it to be as good as the first game.  If this were the first in the series, perhaps it'd be a little more impressive.  But as a lower-quality sequel to one of the best GBA launch titles, it's a disappointment.

GT Advance 2 is not the most visually impressive GBA game around, but for a 2D racer, it's not too bad.  Despite the fact that you have 11 opponents, you never, ever see more than one on the screen at the same time.  The backgrounds are merely a bland 2D painting (of trees and/or mountains).  During the courses that take place at night, it's very difficult to see the track.  An average light source will not suffice -- you must have a desk lamp or some other bright light pointed over the GBA to brighten the picture enough for you to see the track.

Gamers beware: GT Advance 2 does not save automatically!  The memory is built-in, but it works like a PlayStation 2 memory card.  To save, you must exit your game and go to Options via the title screen.  From there, you can click the Save icon and secure your progress.

GT Advance 2 is not a must-have game like its predecessor, but it is definitely worth a rental.  I'd recommend it as a purchase, but it's too short.  $30 isn't too much to pay for a game, but it is too much to pay for a game that's over in less than two hours.  Two hours seems to be the average amount of time it takes to finish a game these days (on the GBA).  At this time last year, the average length was 4-5 hours.  Granted, games cost $10 more back then, but the price was usually worth it.  Regardless, I still think that you should give this game a shot.  It's fun...while it lasts.

Gameplay: 7.7
If "rally racing" stood for "extremely-loose handling," then GT Advance 2 would hit the nail on the head.  Don't get me wrong, this is a fun game.  But it's very repetitive.

Graphics: 7 
As the bar continues to rise at an unprecedented rate, 2D racers continue to drop off the "most impressive-looking GBA game" list.  With that said, GT Advance 2 is a good-looking game.  There aren't any polygons and it isn't as flashy as the first game, but it looks pretty good for a 2D racer.

Sound: 5
The sound is slightly above midi-quality tracks, but not by much.  Cheesy engines and so-so music are all you'll get out of GT Advance 2's sound.

Difficulty: Easy
Don't expect to be overly challenged by GT Advance 2.  Racing pros will whip through this game in one sitting; good players will beat it in a day or two; and newbies will take no longer than a week.

Concept: 5.9 
There is only one major difference between GT Advance 1 and 2 -- the first game has tight controls, the second game is slippery city.  Regardless, GT Advance 2 is fun, but I can't help but wonder why developers continue to fix games that aren't broken.

Multiplayer: 6.5
GT Advance 2 is another "buy multiple copies!" multiplayer game that's too expensive for most people to enjoy.  If you can afford to buy more than one copy or convince your family and friends to buy the game, you'll have fun wherever you go!

Overall: 7.4
GT Advance 2 is a good game that ends before its time.  Now that it's over, I want to go back and unlock all of the cars that I missed, but I don't have any desire to play through the entire game again.