Fans of Seabiscuit will soon be able to relive the horse racing experiences of Toby Maguire as Tecmo brings the fourth installment in their Gallop Racer series to the PlayStation 2. While some may wonder what happened to the first three installments in the series, if you haven't experienced Gallop Racer, it's safe to say you're missing out. Gallop Racer 2004 is shaping up to be one of the most realistic sports simulation games on the market.

For those familiar with the previous Gallop Racer titles, the betting mode and the classic season mode will be making a return in Gallop Racer 2004. What that means to those of you who have overlooked Gallop Racer's of the past, is that you can have all the fun and excitement of betting on horse races, without the fear of losing any money. Of course, you won't be winning any real money either, but you can place bets on a horse that you created.

You heard correctly, in Gallop Racer 2004 players will have access to a new breeding system that will allow them to create up to eight horses at once. The custom rides will then be available to use as your horse of choice, or as your rival's horse. Imagine yourself in Tony Soprano's shoes as he strokes the mane of Pie o' My. Think of it as owning your own racing horses, and leasing a few out to your competitors. The end result is that you have complete control over your horse.

As previously mentioned, the season mode will also be making a return appearance in the new Gallop Racer. This time around there will be a total of 17 characters battling it out to become the top jockey. In addition to the season mode, there will also be heavy competition among rivals that will help to keep things fresh. Plus, players will also have the ability to negotiate with trainers, completing the horse racing experience.

Graphically, Gallop Racer 2004 is a very good looking PlayStation 2 title. With an improved use of shadows and color depth, the horses look more lifelike than ever before. High-resolution textures and enhanced effects have also been included to give the title a very lifelike feel. A new camera system has been implemented that provides a view of the horse from almost any angle. All of these things really help to immerse the player in the overall feel of horse racing.

If all of this weren't enough, Gallop Racer 2004 kicks things up one more notch. When the final product ships this September, the title will feature over 4,000 new horses and 42 different tracks to race on. This is just one of the many ways that Gallop Racer 2004 is quickly becoming one of the most realistic sports simulation titles on the PlayStation 2.

From what we've played of Gallop Racer 2004, we can safely say that this is a title that will surprise people. We went into the preview build thinking that this was your basic horse racing game. However, after only a few hours with the title, it was apparent that this is not some boring horse racing title. Instead, Gallop Racer 2004 offers quite a unique gaming experience that even gamers who are not into horse racing will likely enjoy. The betting system alone is great fun, and the season mode helps to add to the replay value. We'll have more on Gallop Racer 2004 in the near future as we dig deeper into this unique simulation.