Sega Rally Championship 2

"Racing Games Don't get Much Better...."

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of racing games, especially rally ones. I have been waiting for a really good rally game to come along for a long time, but time and time again they fall just a bit short of greatness. I am pleasantly surprised however to say that Sega Rally 2 is the best rally game to come along in a long, long time.

The game modes are all rather basic, with the exception of the 10 year championship mode, you compete in 10 different years, each year consisting of 5 races. The races get considerably more difficult as you progress through the years. Each year that you place 1st in, a new car is opened up. The 10 year championship mode is the ''meat'' of the game, and is the most enjoyable mode. Other modes include Arcade mode. The most basic mode in all racing games, where you try to zip past the other racers in a variety of different tracks. The 2 player mode is quite enjoyable, but the staggering frame rate puts a hamper on the fun. I would have loved a 4 player option, but I guess the graphic limitations eliminated any possibility of that.

The visuals are quite superb. The cars are very detailed and look great, you can even see the driver and passenger in the car. The environments are also very detailed, and all the textures are smooth and look great. There is one glaring problem though, and that's the frame rate. It's the most noticeable when you are in the process of a long turn, the frame rate will sometimes drop below 30 frames per second. However when the game is running at a consistent 30, the game simply looks beautiful.

Control in this game is quite simple, R trigger to accelerate, and L to brake. The cars handle like you would expect a rally car to handle. The analog stick works great but I tend to use the digital pad in racing games, it seems to control the car more easily than the analog stick, or I might just be insane. You can customize your car to whatever the road conditions might be. Snow, rain, mud, and sand are some of the road conditions you'll have to face.

The sound is very basic. You probably won't even pay attention to the background music, and the sound effects, like car crunching, skid sounds are all basic racing game fare, nothing to really marvel at in the sound department.

If you're only going to buy one racing game for your dreamcast, Sega Rally 2 is a no brainer. With excellent controls, a challenging 10 year championship mode, and cool 2 player mode, this game will keep you occupied for quite some time.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/20/01, Updated 11/20/01