I don't see what is so special about what I wrote. I was just explaining a bit the reason why I think this TAS is good. But I don't mind, you can quote whatever I say. Anyway, for those who have never played the game, I'll explain in a bit more details.
Basically, in Top Gear 2, there are 16 "countries". Each country consists of four(?) tracks. I am unsure if it's exactly four, or if it varies between countries, as I haven't played in so many years. You get a new password after you beat a country. I like to compare it to Zombies Ate My Neighbors, where you get a new password every 4 or so stages.
As you gain money, you can upgrade your car's engine, nitro power, armor (collisions weaken your armor, and weaker armor = poorer max speed, probably cornering and acceleration too, I forgot), and so on. However, the opponent cars upgrade as well, as you progress through the game. I know for a fact that their upgrades do not necessarily match yours, as I tried low upgrades before, and they were getting upgrades and overpowered me quickly enough, but I assume it's by country. I would like to think that each racer gets upgrades separately depending on the money that they gain in races, but I doubt the game would be that indepth.
If I recall correctly, you need to be in the first 10 to be able to go to the next track at all, and you need to be in the top 3 scorers to pass to the next country. Correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't played in so long.
Like I said, it is absolutely essential to upgrade your car to keep winning (or qualifying, as finishing first isn't mandatory). Of course, you do get money, so it's not difficult to get a few basic upgrades while playing normally. But if you don't win enough or don't get the optimal upgrades (like getting armor upgrades first instead of engine or whatever), you find the opponent cars overwhelming quickly enough.
This isn't like any regular platforming game or shooter game or whatever. You aren't invincible due to the TAS abilities to dodge any incoming attacks and hit the enemy everytime. Due to starting on the very last country with no upgrades, the opposition is overpowering. It's your underwhelming, unupgraded car against fully geared opponent cars. It's not about showing skill, as skill alone cannot win these tracks. It's about using every trick available to win and move to the next track. In this case, using other cars, along with other carefully planned strategies.
I want to compare it to an F1 race. What if there was one car that went 25 miles per hour slower than everybody else? He wouldn't stand a chance would he? Real life needs tool assistance too.
I think that a full game TAS would be uninteresting because it would be easily over 50 races (16 countries * 4 races = 64 races), it would get dull quickly. Don't get me wrong, I'd still watch it and enjoy it, but a lot less people would feel the same way. This TAS has a great twist. Many racing games (then again, it depends on the game too) get boring and dull quickly, due to the repetitive nature of a racing game, where it involves multiple laps of the same track. For games where laps are quick and/or show many impressive tricks (Super Mario Kart for example), it's not dull. But for game that are closer to "simulation" kind of racing, which is a lot slower-paced, it's not as interesting in general. That is basically why I think that a full game would not be received as well, for this particular game. The twist is great. Last country, non-upgraded car. I think it's the best setting for a TAS, for this particular game.
