Rallisport Challenge

"Hang on to something... Your in for one crazy ride!"

Rallisport Challenge - The very first rally game for the Xbox... and a great rally game at that as well. Rallisport Challenge features you driving the latest rally cars through terrains of snow, ice, water, mud, and dirt! You'll compete in timed races, and team races as well. Also including 4 different game stage modes (Hill Climb, Ice Racing, Stage Rally, and Rally cross), and even with a 4 player multiplayer, Rallisport Challenge is sure to be one of the best racing games on the Xbox yet.

Graphics -
Well, the graphics, to simply put, are amazing! Staying in at least 55, maybe even 60 FPS, the game delivers as a smash hit! I haven't even seen a seen frame rate drops yet. You can even play this game up to 4 players, and the game doesn't take a single hit! Beautiful cars, that even include bump-mapping, with beautiful terrains in snow, rain, or dirt. Now this is what I want to see in a game.

Overall Score - 10/10

Sound -
Here we go. Something great in the game. Well, the sound of your rallycar sounds very realistic I might add. I was very happy to say this because in most rally games, you barely hear anything from the sound. Well, there's nothing else to say, until I found out the sounds of other rallycars. They sound very much alike to the car your in. Even when you change cars, and get a much more powerful car, its basically the same exact thing. I was disappointed by this. I wanted to hear the car's raw muscle power. I wanted to hear a huge bang when I start in a race, but unfortunately, this never turned out the way I excepted it too. Anyways, now to the default music. What I can say? Its alright. Nothing new. Its the same music you would expect in a racing game. But kudos for Rallisport using the xbox's harddrive so you can hear your own songs!

Overall Score - 9/10

Controls -
One of the best (and easiest) things about Rallisport Challenge are the controls. The controls is pretty easy to learn, and what you would expect in an average racing game. Only more. Rallispot Challenge includes a new feature - the drift button. The drift button relates very much to that of the handbrake, except that your on an all-terrain road, and that your vehicle might slide more then excepted. Rallisport also uses the right trigger as the gas button as most other racing games, and left trigger for the brake. Driving mostly with the analog stick, this game carries a quick learning rate of about 5 minutes. That's how long it would take you to get into the game. I was extremely proud of this and how easy it was to learn most of the features this game included.

Overall Score - 10/10

Gameplay -
Here we go, the gameplay. Once you start the Championship mode, you start the main gameplay mode. The gameplay modes sometime has you racing time trails, and at other times has you racing head to head with other cars. The one thing I felt that was wrong was the level difficulty. During head to head races, you would take an early lead, keep that lead, and finish in first place, mostly. At other times in the time trails, you would start off first, but it would be extremely difficulty for you to keep your lead, as it seems the other cars always finish first. I could understand that in time trails, most people do better, but by that much? Something that needs to be worked on for Rallisport 2.

Another problem I had with this game is the scenery. Now, don't take me wrong. But I loved the scenery. At times, I was tempted to take a shortcut through the scenery, but that doesn't happen. Whenever you would get too far off the road, the computer would reset you back on the main road. I was extremely upset with this feature. I mean, heck, you could just add a barrier if you wanted to keep the players out, but why reset them back to the track?

Ok, let's take a look on the positive side. Rallisport Challenge features a 4 player multiplayer! How cool is that? 4 players! But wait a second... During your 4 player multi match, the game takes away all navigation notes, and that voice you hear that tells you when to turn. Okay, alright, I could accept the voice, but the notes? Heh, well, that does add to the difficulty of things...

Overall Score - 8/10

The Ups and Downs (A Follow-up) -

On the Up side, I liked:
-The great graphics, in solo mode and multiplayer mode!
-The fun that most racing fans will experience during this game!
-The great sound of nature, and rally cars at its best!
-4 player multiplayer!!!

On the Down side, I disliked:
-The computer which doesn't let you go off the track!
-No navigation notes during multiplayer!

To rent or buy -
The main question is, is this rally game worth your 50 bones? In a way, I'd have to say yes. In fact, this is the best rally sport game I've ever played! There's always this fun look on your face while your playing it. Not to mention, this game also even includes a multiplayer! How insanely fun is that? If your a rally sport fan, this is totally your game. Racing fans as well, this game has got your name! But, if for some reason you may dislike racing games, rent it. Even though you wouldn't be wasting 50 bones, you'd waste 5, which is definitely worth your money.

Final Reviewed Score - 9/10 Great!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/02/02, Updated 09/03/02