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Final Stretch-Horse Racing Sim

Final Stretch-Horse Racing Sim

List Price: $19.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Was it worth the money? I am not so sure
Review: I was soooo excited to pick up this game that I snaped it up very quickly. but even though I was impressed with the graphics I could seem to win a race(even when I bought a horse with good parent , training an health but I can never seem to win a race . I have run my horses in like 20 or 30 races and placed twice and never a 1st. It has many great features but it has made it impossible to get anywhere at all in the game.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: By far the best horse racing sim I've ever played!
Review: It's a great game! You can win and on a regular basis but you've got to do your homework(study the owners manual). The graphics are super but can be a bit choppy at times(hence the four star rating). I'd highly recommend this sim to all horse racing enthusiasts!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: pretty good game
Review: it's the best computer horse game out there, easily better than quarterpole plus or stable masters 2. the key to competing in this game is building boxes (stalls). people will pay you to board their horses; this will give you enough money to make it until you buy some real good horses. 200m = 1 furlong = 1/8th of a mile.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: You can not win!!!!!!!!
Review: Like one of the other reviews, great game but you cant win???
Easy and hard are the same! I got this game as a present from a friend but it had no information on how to play the game.
Can some one please tell me how to atleast come third and why does the energy level go so fast and the other horse's dont??
Please reply!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: OK but Sometimes Confusing
Review: Ok, when you read Final Stretch - Horse Racing Sim's description, it says you can build your own stable. That is 50% of a lie. I thought you could BUILD your own stable, like The Sims, but no! Yeah, sure you get to decide how to manage your career, but you BUY a structure, and people build it for you!! That's in CAREER MODE, anyway. I only tried CAREER and RACE mode so far, but BET MODE kind of sounds like fun. At first, RACE MODE might seem difficult, it was to me, but you'll get used to it. If you really dedicate your time to this game, I give no doubt that you'll get far!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Awful
Review: This game allows you to manage a stable, jockey the horses and bet or do any one of these things. Even on the easiest level, it is very difficult to make money at the beginning, though it becomes very easy once you have some good horses. There is sort of a critical mass situation, which is a problem in many other "economic" games (you have to have money to make money but then it becomes almost too easy). I have to admit to having to resort to some "creative" reloads after certain races or if the horse suddenly becomes ill right before the race you have been training so long for (which they often do, despite all your health management).

It's nice to be able to control the breeding and training and management of the horses as that seems to get left out of most horse racing sims. You can actually see your horses improving as a result of your training priorities. This is much more intricate than other games of its type, but there are still some limitations.

1. The jockey program is very hard to figure out, even on "easy" mode. I had more luck racing halfway well with the standardbreds than the throroughbreds, perhaps because they are slower paced...My ability to estimate how well my horse is doing , my reaction times and my ability to keep an eye on the screen while adjusting the buttons for speed and steering etc. are not as good as the computer's, obviously. I just can't seem to figure the best time to consistently hit the accelerator coming out of the gate (the computer always gets it right) and so nearly always break last, regardless of the horse's stats.

2. You are forced to rise to the level of your incompetence, in that you do not (as you would in ral life) have the option of staying at a level where you are doing well but not outclassing everyone. Once your horse has a certain amount of money, they MUST move up in class, even if they are outclassed at that level. You can never move down in class. Also, some of the race options are bizarre. There don't seem to be any races for two year olds (makes it hard to move your horse up to G1 class by the first week in May for the kentucky derby). And you can "accidentally" enter your flat racer in a steeplechase. And there are mounted trotting races (ow). Very odd. Not bad, but not super realistic.

3. These other things are minor issues, though. The main issue is that there is not a real goal in the game besides making money and becoming famous. There are tons of races of different lengths and on different surfaces. So you finally get to a point in the game where you have several good horses and you are famous and making tons of money and have upgraded your farm to the highest level in everything, and you are at that "what now?" stage. If they ever come out with a new version of this, having some kind of championship (perhaps invitational for different lengths, surfaces, genders, ages etc.) akin to the breeder's cup races and maybe a 3 year old "triple crown" for each nation and perhaps "horse of the year" awards and "halls of fame" would be a nice addition. Maybe an international championship too. I mostly follow U.S. racing, and very few of even the best horses from the U.S. go overseas to race (maybe because our purses are richest), but if international is going to be part of the game, maybe some world "breeder's" cup that is in a different place every year or something would be nice. Maybe they also should consider having races that correspond more closely to real races in terms of their rules for entry, at least at the G1 level. It seems odd that I can enter a 5 year old male horse in the "brader's cup filly". It's also a bit strange that horses continue to race after they have foals. Maybe it's different in Europe, but in the U.S. horses are always retired once they become breeders. Choosing whether to risk the health of a possible good breeder by keeping it on the track for another year versus retiring a proven winner (who may turn out to be a dud, or even sterile, at stud) is part of the game in real life.

I don't go im for online games, because of all the conneting, politics and coordinating that's needed with other players don't appeal to me, so maybe there's more to it if you play it on line against other humans?

Still, it's much better than other PC horse racing sims I've seen that mostly focus on just the betting and racing aspects of the sports and not the actual stable management, breeding and training. The graphics and simulations of what happens during the races are quite good and being able to upgrade your stable facilities and hire different staff is a nice touch.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome Game
Review: This game is the best I absolutley loved it wondeful graphics and great for a horse lover or racing fan. BUY THIS GAME

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: ANNOYING
Review: This Game is the most annoying software. The races are nearly impossible to win. Your horse is always the one that tires at the end. TOO many horses in each race. Save your money on this TURKEY!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Game!
Review: This game is truly great for those who love horseracing. And it also provides a great challenge for those who don't know anything about horseracing to learn. Although the game is difficult at first if you keep at it you will be able to do very well. A word of advice: read the manual because Final Stretch has some unique ways of doing things. The first couple of times you will probably losing money, but it is virtually impossible to go bankrupt.

Great GAME!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This game is unfair!
Review: This game is unfair!You never win races ,you loose money before the year is over and before the foal is born!At least you can get 2 horses.So,I give it 1star!


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