Need for Speed: V-Rally 2

"V-Good. And you can even do Panizzi-style donuts!"

>>INTRODUCTION

Anyone’s who has watched the latest round of the 2002 WRC rally in Catalunya will have seen a supremely entertaining yet absolutely outrageous piece of showboating by French Peugeot driver, Gilles Panizzi. Whassat? What did he do? A precarious 2-wheel balancing act across the finish line at 150Kmh while humming La Marseillaise with both hands off the wheel thumbs aloft? No he just performed a donut, spinning the car 360 degrees for the spectators, mid-way through the race. It cost him 5 precious seconds but the King of Tarmac was well ahead of the rest of the pack anyway. In V-Rally you can do the same donuts without breaking a sweat – no wait, don’t grin like that (or smile-inwardly if you don’t show emotions that easily or are Japanese) – that’s bad. These cars will slip around if driven half-heartedly. Put your heart and head into the driving if you want a chance to unlock the many excellent secret cars in the game.
You see V-Rally 2 will reward skilled players who take the time to master their cars. As professional Rally drivers say: “you develop good feeling with the car”.

The V-Rally series is produced by the talented French developers Eden Studios. There are several games in the V-Rally series across different formats including the N64, PC and the Dreamcast.
The next game, the predictably titled V-Rally 3, is due out on the PlayStation2 this year and from the screens I’ve seen looks frickin awesome. After you finish reading this review, I heartily recommend doing websearch on the game and reading up on it. It features extremely highly detailed car models and tracks, advanced lighting and weather effects. If it can keep the playability and feel of V-Rally 2 then it’s a must-buy and Eden will have another hit.

The Rally genre is swamped by several franchises but the most direct competitor to this game is Colin McRae Rally 2.0. I’ve not played that game but it seems the most popular of the two and is certainly critically acclaimed. Rumour has it that Americans think Colin McRae is like Lara Croft, a virtual character made to promote a videogame, but I digress. Whether CMR is up there because of better marketing or simply being a better game I don’t know. Personally speaking, I have compared screenshots and movies between the two and I prefer V-Rally 2. The V-Rally GUI, timers and speed displays seems to be much more functional than the “prettied up” ones on CMR. The car models and framerate seem identical yet V-Rally’s tracks appear better designed and more detailed.
What I’m getting at is that if you’re the type to go for the under-appreciated, under-rated, unsupported underdog then buy V-Rally 2. It will not disappoint!

“--Rally Start--Rally Start—-“

>>MAIN

In my opinion the most important aspects when considering the merits of a racing game are the graphics and the control. I’ll write about those first.

Graphics – I’m pleased to report that we have a fast framerate but at the cost of low screen resolution. However once focussed totally on the race you’ll not notice that so much, in fact you’ll see the wisdom of that decision because a higher resolution means slower frame rate. Slow frame rates can ruin the game and control of the car… you hear me out there Nintendo and the Stunt Race FX development team?! Ahem. Although it’s a shame the sharpness and resolution of the car “Try Out” mode is not carried over to the main game. A technical impossibility perhaps Eden Studios?
Still, the drop in sharpness leaves those extra CPU cycles and hardware headroom for better lighting effects and other special details.
Races take place at differing times: sunrise, noon, sunset and night (with a full set of Rally-strength headlights lighting the way ahead in the dark). On top of that there are weather effects such as rain and snow that change the grip of the surfaces and add some graphical variety to familiar courses.
A nice touch is the way your car gradually accumulates dirt, dust and mud as the race progresses. Unlike Gran Turismo your cars most definitely do not finish the race in gleaming waxed Showroom condition. Damage is shown in all it’s glory – dented side panels and roof, twisted bumpers, a loose bonnet flapping away. The cars internals will also suffer. As the engine, suspensions and tyres take a battering the overall performance of the car will dip drastically. Don’t fret too much, relax and take a sip of Lucozade from your drinks tube because you’ll have the opportunity to fix damage during the service interval.

Control – in my opinion analogue is too fine control for this sort of racing. This is not urban driving on tarmac ala Ridge Racer. Digital control (the directional pad) steers the car as much as you need and after a few Rally sessions you’ll be used to this method and have confident control over your vehicle. A good tip is to master use of the handbrake for powersliding around those sharp 90 degree junctions and hairpin bends. Vibration is used to good effect in crashes of course, more usefully though it’ll give you feedback when your steering is too aggressive and the car swerves out wildly. You can really feel the stress on the chassis, screaming in protest at your mistreatment.

The surfaces handle very differently. Drivers will have no problem telling the difference between snow and gravel – it’s much, much more than just the colour and a different graphics texture. You’ll have to adapt your driving style and car settings for each round and even each stage if the heavens open.

How’s this game on the ears then? Lets start with your co-driver. He directs the way ahead in a clear sounding and perfectly understandable British accent. I don’t think he’s Nicky Grist or anyone else well-known in Rallying though. I’m quite surprised my US version of the game has no wacky Jim Carrey-style co-driver since American localisation often results in all sorts of changes creeping in. Happily it looks like VR2 escaped with everything bar the cringeworthy “Need for Speed” suffix, but I digress again.
Listen close as he will let you know the type of corner and the approximate speed you should approach it with. This is important with Rally driving since you’re fighting the car and track all the time and a quick glance at the map is risky.
Apparently the UK version of this has a husky-voiced female co-driver. Don’t get disheartened at that loss though. The professional rally driver does not need such distractions. An option to have the chirpy Penny Mallory as your co-driver would have been a nice unlockable to go for though (British WRC fans will know who she is!).

The rock soundtrack by French band Sin is just generic cheesy rock. Personally, I find it too much of distraction, turn it off and enjoy the realistic growls and roars of the engine, the squeal of the brakes and the co-driver illuminating the path ahead with words. Lets face it, only the Ridge Racer games have managed to fuse music with racing games successfully.
If you must have music playing then please do as UK TV station Channel 4 have done. They play a funky kick-arse dance-version of <some classical music tune that I dunno the name of> as the theme of it’s WRC coverage.

You have several racing modes available to you. Arcade – just a series of races against other cars, winner decided on points. V-Rally Cup – same as Arcade but winner decided on overall time and there are 2 races per round. Time Trial – self-explanatory. Finally, the Championship itself which is a rough approximation of the real WRC. In the real thing, each round consists of around 15 stages, 1 run of each lasting 10 minutes or so. In V-Rally, there are 2 stages per round and 3 runs of each stage lasting about 5 minutes. It may sound strange but it works very well. I can’t imagine 1 round lasting 15 x 10 = 150 minutes (2.5 hours) can you? If you can then you’re a masochist or play Gran Turismo more times than is healthy.

Prior to racing each round the game gives you a chance to customise fine aspects of the car. Oversteer/Understeer, Brake Strength, Brake Repartition, Tyres, Chassis height – those of you with a Masters Degree in Rallying or just want to get into the nuts and bolts detail of Rally theory will be in your element here!

The Arcade and V-Rally Trophy modes are fun but racing against other rally cars is just a novelty and dare I say it: not really rallying. I can understand why Eden saw fit to put it in though. It adds to the longevity of the game, a nice bit of variety when you wish to a break from the Championship and it’s just plain fun. The Expert and World level contests particularly are great challenges to test your V-Rally prowess. I recommend you engage in some of that between your Championship sessions to unlock another goodie in your roster of classic rally cars.

>>SUMMARY

I have not mentioned some of the games other features through lack of use – the 2 & 4-player mode and the Track Editor (via an easy-to-use interface). It’s nice to have such options though is it not?

How is the AI of the competing drivers? I would say it’s set to a reasonable challenge and you’ll be able to tackle the best of them after 1 week with the game. There is nothing in the game like the extreme difficulty of the “Extra Trial” Devil Car challenge in Ridge Racer Type 4. True lastability comes in unlocking all the classic rally cars, beating your best times and engaging in “Time Attack” contests with other players. Check the V-Rally 2 Playstation board on this website for the current status of the Time Attack contest – it’s just a friendly l’il contest and everyone is welcome!

As the game progresses and you notch up wins, trophies, money and women – you’ll be awarded an extra vehicle from the roster of classic rally cars buried in the game. These are available for use in any of the game modes and there’s nothing quite like flying along in a lightning-quick Audi Quattro or retro-chic vintage Renault Giodini.
You’ll also accumulate Drivers Points, the ultimate prize going to the elite drivers with 10,000 points or more. What’s the prize? Sorry, you’ll have to find out the hard way! It’s an unexpected treat for Rally fans when you see it though.

Criticisms – some things have slipped through the quality control net. Invisible barriers occasionally “appear” on the edges of the track. Once second you’ll be hurtling down a straight and the next you’re either at a dead stop sitting in stunned silence or you’ll be cartwheeling through the air like KITT from Knight Rider during a Turbo Boost gone horribly wrong. This happens very rarely but it’s worth mentioning. The QA testers that missed that should be given tree modelling duty instead, invisible tree’s don’t harm cars. Unless they’re in the middle of the road. Hmmm.

Another minor, not-self-indulgent-at-all and yet very important criticism is that I would have liked to see my brake discs glowing with friction during the night stages.

I’ve been honest in this review and I hope my intended audience, the PlaystationOne owning Rally fan on a budget, will read this and be inspired to pick up and enjoy the game. Look around the used-sales emporiums and you can find it extremely cheap. I bought it for 5 UK pounds and at that price it’s just a steal!

V-Rally 2 - put some filth on your screen.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/02, Updated 04/02/02