Rallisport Challenge

"A superb game, only minus its tiny flaws"

This game is an excellent title to add to your game collection. However good this game is, it still comes with a few flaws.

Gameplay: 9/10
Ok, I'm a little mixed about this. While the racing aspect of this game is good, there are some minor porblems. First, the difficulty curve seems a bit odd. On time trial races, it seems really hard to get 1st place. However, in races where you drive against other cars, it seems easy to place 1st. A big problem I have with the gameplay, is the way in which the computer cuts you off if you go off the track, and places you back on the track. It keeps you from taking short cuts, which seem to be plentiful, but when you try to take them, the computer wont let you.

Sound: 6/10
Yes, I'm giving sound this low a score but in my opinion it doesnt keep me from giving this game an overall low score. Why do I give a low sound score? Simple. The soundtrack is pathetic. There are only about 10-15 songs, most of which suck anyways. Its good that you can add your own songs from the hard drive but this feature becomes useless when the computer usually chooses only about 6 songs from your list and repeatedly plays them. As well, the songs tend to skip all the time. Another problem is the Navigator. Going really fast, he blurts out lots of instructions at once, and it can get confusing. Other than that, the sound is great. The effects of everything from the cars to the spectators is good.

Graphics: 10/10
This is where the game absolutely shines. I dont want to start comparing games, but this game looks even better than Gran Turismo 3! The makers of this game went all out, from the rustling of grass and bushes, to the trees, to the cars and the environmental effects on the cars. The lighting is jaw-dropping, especially the sun in the ice and safari levels. I was amazed at the cars. They look real. And the ice....they really used bump mapping on this game. The ice looks incredible especially when the sun shines on it. Tire tracks get left behind, birds fly past, and even animals notice the cars drive by. There isnt one single thing I've seen wrong with the graphics.

Replay Value: 7/10
While this game is really fun to play, there isnt a whole lot to do. The career mode is pretty straight forward, and doesnt have a whole lot to unlock. Basically you unlock about 5 or so cars for every skill level you complete, which is usually about 20-30,000 points. Its good that theres a multiplayer too. However, there really isnt anything great in terms of replay. Sure, you'll come back to playing this game all the time but you wont be pushing yourself to unlock anything or finding any surprises..you'll just come back to play a fun racing game.

Overall: 9/10
This is close to a perfect racing game. Dont take my listing of its faults as making it a bad game. Im just nitpicking so everyone knows what to expect from this game. If you want a good fun racing game, with looks that will make your jaw drop, this is the game for you!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/31/02, Updated 03/31/02