Rallisport Challenge 2

"Fun, wholesome game."

I've been itching for a new game, since I returned Fight Night, and it came in the form of RalliSport Challenge 2. Normally I'm an average fan of racing games -while they can't really provide the same competition as a fighter in multiplayer, they do tend to have good reward-based goals in single player mode, far and above the average fighter. So, it was either Quidditch World Cup, this, or Tony Hawks Underground. I picked this.

The graphics are amazing, to put it bluntly - without question the best looking racer I've ever seen, including the shots I've seen of GT4. At first, the cars look a little dumpy, though I'm not sure if this has something to do with it being compressed onto my semi widescreen TV. The little things - mud or snow realistically fly around as you drive, water splashing against the camera, realistic puddles, the fact there is NO popup whatsoever. Your car gets dents, dings, panels fall off, windows shatter - in fact, everything on your car bar yourself, you can destroy. Flying through an icy barren wasteland, illuminated only by your headlights and some dim street lamps every turn possibly deadly, through to graceful sweeping curves up harsh gradients in lush green forests. It's simply AMAZING.

You are allowed full customisation of your HUD, and I strongly recommend removing the swivelling map - it sits right infront of where you're aiming the car, so it's quite hard to see around!

The sound is a mixed bag - while I'm happy to hear KMFDM's "Rabble Rouser" as the title track, most of the instrumental versions of some "popular" tracks are quite forgettable. The engines sound like they're redlining all the time, a high pitched whine instead of a throaty roar when you hit the gas at the starting line. When your team-mate gives you instructions, it's very fragmented... "easy left into .... .. checkpoint hard right no cut .. over crest" even if it's a fairly simple step-by-step transition from the curves. It doesn't help that his voice is quite droll and monotone, and hard to make out the words. - So, the sound isn't as impressive, but passable.

Gameplay is tight. Think Sega Rally and you're pretty much there. Unlike trying to wrestle the boar of GT3's rally mode, it feels like you're gliding on the back of a stallion - though obviously some realism is forsaken - double flips are rarely fatal and there's nothing you can do to your car to make it undriveable (though tearing the tires off makes it a little harder to turn!) . You still slide around like a one legged cat trying to bury turds on a frozen pond, but you never feel totally out of control, and with a few minutes I was able to stop myself careering into the barriers at every moment.

Another strange twist, linked to the above - is that there is literally no barriers - you are free to diverge from the course a short way (though of course too far, and the dreaded fade-to-black and restart) and even the crash barriers (in GT3 able to withstand several tons of car at 180mph) get smashed out of the way, so it's nigh impossible to just keep your finger on accelerate and pray. The side effect of this is that it's easy to lose the race with a wrong tap of the fairly sensitive joystick. A simple tap of the white button gets you out of the situation, but precious seconds are lost while you fly through foliage into the side of a run-down houses!

There are various modes (timetrial, single race, championship, multiplayer, live and career) and each has a sub-mode (uphill, ice, rally and a road-rally). In the case of career mode, literally hundreds of races over a HUGE selection of courses in different seasons, different stipulations and so on.

It has a LIVE mode which allows you to compete against your friends, but to be honest I'm not overly impressed - maybe it's because UK get lumped with the rest of europe, or everyone I talk to has had some kind of speech impediment, but I'm unable to even get into a game, let alone have a productive race or chat.

Overall, it's a wonderful game - excellent graphics, average sound, GREAT gameplay, oodles of longeitivity and LIVE connectivity if you'd use it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/04