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The Sony PlayStation has been the king of driving/racing games for the past couple years. Titles such as Gran Turismo, V-Rally, and Need For Speed III have offered racing fans high-quality gaming experiences. With the introduction of the Dreamcast, the graphics bar has been raised for racing games, but great graphics are not enough to make for a compelling title. The gameplay factor remains the same, regardless of the console and its processing power. Sega’s highest profile racing game, Sega Rally 2, is a good example of what gamers can expect to see in the future for the Dreamcast.

I was disappointed when I found out that Sega Rally 2 would not be a launch title. I was even more disappointed to hear that Sega Rally 2 would not feature online play in the United States. All of this disappointment has subsided now that Sega Rally 2 has spent numerous hours spinning away in my Dreamcast. While Sega Rally 2 is not arcade perfect, it does offer features not found in the coin-op version.

For those gamers who are unfamiliar with Sega Rally 2, it is a rally racing game featuring a style of driving that relies on a huge amount of drifting. Since paved roads are a small part of the courses, gamers will encounter all types of road surfaces and conditions. While Sega Rally 2 does not offer perfect car physics, it implements a driving model that is realistic enough to make for believable rally racing, while presenting the gamer with hardcore racing action that kicks butt. Read on to find out why Sega Rally 2 has become one of my favorite Dreamcast titles. Gameplay:

Sega Rally 2 is not for the impatient gamer looking for immediate success. The learning curve for this title is fairly steep. Sure, it is not that hard to place high in the first few courses, but after these initial courses the gamer will need to make use of some serious power-sliding skills. The difficulty issue was one of the reservations I had about Sega Rally 2 before playing the game. I was afraid that the developers would dumb down the difficulty to appeal to a larger spectrum of users.

There are four modes of gameplay in Sega Rally 2—Arcade, Time Attack, 2 Player Battle, and 10 Year Championship. The Arcade and Time Attack modes of play are fairly standard fare. The 2 Player Battle is good. The graphics worsen when playing against a human opponent, as the framerate dips and the pop-up becomes more apparent, but it is not enough of a problem to prevent this mode from being a positive experience. The mode of play that will occupy most of your time is the 10 Year Championship mode. The goal of this mode is to finish the final course each year and win the championship after 10 years of competition. If the gamer places first in any given year, a new car is made available. Additionally, if the gamer places first after the tenth year, a Super SS course will be opened.

There are a nice number of options in Sega Rally 2. Either three or five laps can be selected for races. The user can opt to try a free run in which unlimited time is given. An interesting option is the timelag setting. When using this option, the first car to pass through the checkpoint sets the countdown clock in motion. Other options include automatic/manual transmission, slower car boost, ghost car, and a multitude of car settings.

The car settings can be customized a great deal. Depending on the weather and road surface, gamers will want to make adjustments to tires, gear ratio, suspension, steering, and brakes. There are 19 car types and each type has a different type of handling. Therefore, tweaking the cars is a must to get the best times while racing. The developers did a nice job of mixing a fun arcade experience with elements found in driving sims.

The race itself is more of a race against time than a race against opponents. Much like Ridge Racer or Hydro Thunder, the CPU opponents are simply items to pass along the route. The AI of the opponents is not much of a factor since they seem to be “placed” along the way, as opposed to fierce competitors that you must jockey with throughout the race. This feature may turn some people off to the game, but I do not see it as a significant issue. The courses are the main thing to master and worry about. This game is hard enough without having to contend with CPU cars the entire way.

Once you hit the course, the racing is quite thrilling. Drifting, also called power sliding, is an essential part of Sega Rally 2. The courses are rated in terms of difficulty by stars. The harder courses have many more curves and hairpin turns than the lower-rated courses. Be sure to master the drifting technique if you expect to get far in this game. The gameplay is basically a function of learning the courses and knowing how to drift effectively in a wide variety of situations. Overall, the gameplay of Sega Rally 2 is fun and stays true to its coin-op relative.

Longevity:

I mentioned that difficulty was an issue of concern before I played Sega Rally 2. The longevity factor was the other main area of concern. Sega Rally 2 primarily differs from the coin-op version in that it has added tracks and modes of play. These extras allow for Sega Rally 2 to overcome the trap of many other coin-op conversions: lack of depth.

The 10 Year Championship mode is the main factor in giving Sega Rally 2 a high longevity rating. It did not take a ridiculous amount of time to progress past the first half of the 10 Year Championship, however the last five years are brutal. Gamers will have to drive near-perfect races to place first in the latter stages of the championship. Although it is tough to accomplish, winning these latter races is quite rewarding. Your pulse will be pounding as you near the finish line.

In addition to the 19 car types, Sega Rally 2 has a total of 17 courses. The courses are set in six primary areas—desert, riviera, mountain, muddy, snowy, and isle. Although 17 courses are not a huge number of courses, it is enough to keep the game varied and fresh. Twelve of these courses are exclusive to the Dreamcast version of Sega Rally 2.

Finally, the gameplay options add depth to the game. The time lag option makes for an interesting race, since the first-place car sets the pace of the game. The sheer number of kept records beg the gamer to keep coming back for more, trying to best the previous time. Overall, Sega Rally 2 has a fun factor that makes it an addictive title.

Controls:

Although wheels are supported, I used the standard Dreamcast controller while playing Sega Rally 2. Steering can be accomplished by using either the analog thumb pad or the directional pad. The analog thumb pad gives the best results in terms of responsiveness and overall feel. The L and R triggers are used for braking and acceleration. There is also a handbrake that can be used by pressing the B button. Of course, the button configurations can be customized and the analog controls can be calibrated.

Sega Rally 2 sports excellent control. While logging serious hours on this title, I never felt like I had poor control over the cars. Sure, the game is difficult, and the gamer may feel like the car is sliding a bit too much at first, but once the tweaking of the cars and the driving techniques are mastered, the control will be fully appreciated.

Graphics:

The graphics of Sega Rally 2 are solid. The cars look very close to the real thing. The scenery is excellent. The various backgrounds make the gamer feel like they are actually driving in the mud, in the snow, or through a town. Unfortunately, all is not well with the graphics. There is some minor pop-up during races, as well as some frame-rate problems. As with most racing title, these issues will be less noticeable once the game has been played for several hours. Also, in my biggest gripe with the graphics, the cars appear to float on the surface. When using the behind-the-car view, the tires of the car just never look like they are making contact with the driving surface. It is a phenomenon observed in other sports games, where the players look like they are skating above the field instead of running and making contact with the field. Folks who enjoy racing from the in-car view the majority of the time will not have to worry about this issue. Finally, the spectators and roadside items appear less than dazzling at times, but it is cool to see a person running out of the way of an oncoming car, observe a spectator taking photographs of the race, or watch a helicopter veer down close to the road.

The menus and record screens are easy to navigate and have a clean, easy to read appearance. Records are kept for virtually everything in the game. The best times can be viewed for individual car types. The replay feature has nice options in regard to camera views, but is not anything special.

Sound:

The sound in Sega Rally 2 is pretty much what is found in the arcade version. The cars sound good, with different engines emitting varying sounds. There are a lot of nice little touches in the sound department. For example, when driving over dirt, you can hear the little pieces of debris hitting the car. The co-driver in the car acts as the navigator and gives directions throughout the race. The voice of the passenger comes through loud and clear. I usually do not like the music in driving games, and Sega Rally 2 is no exception. While the music is not atrocious, it is not that inspiring either. On a positive note, the music is varied and the volume can be adjusted.

Overall:

I had high expectations for Sega Rally 2. Since the online element is not even a part of this title, I had already overcome disappointment for the lack of that feature by the time I played this game. I am pleased to report that overall, my expectations were met, and even exceeded by Sega Rally 2. The 10 Year Championship is a great mode. The graphics, while having a couple flaws, are attractive and add to the overall experience. Most of all, Sega Rally 2 for the Sega Dreamcast offers outstanding gameplay that fails to become boring. Anyone who even mildly enjoys driving games and has a reasonable threshold for difficulty should check out Sega Rally 2.