Daytona USA

"A great racer, that lacks in replay."

This is one of the first games (if not the first game) for Sega Saturn. In my opinion sega's line up was great, I wonder why it ''failed'' as some people say. This is one of those games that will keep you occupied for a short amount of time... it's a shame. Well anyway, the game features 3 tracks, beginner, advanced, and expert. Beginner is a straight forward oval nascar track. Advanced, is still a pretty oval track but has some twists and turns, that actually require some skill and braking (especally the last half!). And Expert is a city turned into a race track, wich almost every turn requires braking and skill. That track, in my opinion, is the best in the game. When you beat Grandprix on normal, (the 3 different tracks, getting 3rd or better) you unlock more cars. Some are good (the black one), some are bad (the green one :P). Arcade mode is just plain straight from the arcade. Saturn mode gets rid of the timer (and some SFX) but you can also choose the cars you won in grandprix.

Graphics: 7
There is a ton of pop-up and and it's not even in the distance it's right in your face! But it does keep the frame rate up. The graphics have more poly's than the Virtua Racing (what doesn't?). But still it's not as good as Sega Rally or Virtua Fighter 2, both also Modle 2 boards (well Virtua Racing is model 1, but thats besides the fact). Everything would have been a whole bunch better with less pop-up, or maybe a higher res. And finally some spots the frame rate drops just the slightest (Expert track, the ship U turn and the begining divided city street).

Sound: 7.5
I guess the sounds are good, they sound realistic. the screeching tires the engine, all works very good. The music is very clear and catchy but the words make no sense.. and can be annoying. The only reason it didn't get higher was that you can't hear the guy that tells you stuff when you hit the wall. (if you have the game you know what I mean) Well also, you either love or hate the music, there is no option to turn it off. (personally I hate it)

*Reviewer's note: when you hit the wall the guy says ''Try to go easy on the car'', I just found this out! :) *

Gameplay: 9.5
The control is perfect, there is no glitches. Personally I think they couldn't have done better. The only thing I don't like is that you always land on your wheels no matter what. But then again, it would be bad if you just fell on your roof and died every race (atleast for beginers!)

Replay Value: 4
There is only 3 tracks and after you go threw them about 10 times your a master at them, no real need to go back. Maybe a two player game could have saved the replay. Not bad for a FREE pack-in game though. Also another helper was the mirror mode, time lap.. but they didn't really help. The only thing that really helped was the records list.

OVERALL 8 (not an average)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/01, Updated 03/06/01