
<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform Dreamcast Genre Racing Publisher Sega Developer AM2 ESRB E (Everyone) Released Q1 2000

- Dazzling, high-resolution graphics - Excellent physics - Nice track design - Plenty of cars to choose from - Lots of car setting adjustments to be made

- Will be too difficult for many - Very annoying music

Review: Test Drive V-Rally (Dreamcast) Review: Sega GT (Dreamcast) Review: Test Drive Off Road Wide Open (XBox)
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Sega Rally 2

Score: 7.9/10

The moment I completed my first lap, playing this game it became quite clear that this game is very hard. It demands a lot from players, and is definitely not for the weak. But that's just fine as the physics, handling, and graphics are more than enough to make the game a winner. You might want to turn off the volume though as the music is incredibly annoying.

Sega Rally 2 is definitely one of those games that should be played with a mop and bucket close at hand. The beautifully detailed, high-resolution graphics are a drool-inducing sight to behold. The cars, tracks, and backgrounds are all incredible sights to behold. Little touches like the cars getting dirty when driving through mud are great additions. The game does suffer from a little bit of slowdown from time to time which is distracting, and certainly doesn't help the concentration that is essential to winning in this game.

The game also has some of the most annoying music that I've ever heard. It's all Japanese arcade game music. If you're into that stuff, great, but for a lot of people the tunes will be maddening. Just pop one of your favorite CDs in the stereo to listen to while playing. Sound effects are standard fare, but the voices of the navigators are very irritating, especially the female voice.

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Sega Rally 2 is still an arcade game at the end of the day so it's in that direction that the physics and handling of the cars lean. It's all about sliding around, and swerving to take the corners. The way it plays out makes the game quite fun with the crazy, intense action that the driving style brings.

Multi-player is limited to two players and can play somewhat choppily. The field of view is more than adequate for seeing far into the distance. It isn't terrible, but it isn't great either.

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The one sticking point that really hurts the game is its incredibly high level of difficulty. There is absolutely no margin for error in this game, zip, nil, forget it. If you want to win you pretty much have to take the corners just right, while finding the ideal car settings to take of the tracks. Oddly enough the opponent cars don't put a fight when trying to pass them, and if they're in the way they're easy to push over. They serve as placeholders and nothing more.

What also serves as a letdown is that there is no internet play. All the way up to launch the Dreamcast has been touted for its on-line abilities and Sega Rally 2 was supposed to a shining example of that. But what we have here is a game that doesn't have on-line abilities, only a two-player mode.

While extremely difficult, the game doesn't do so in any cheap sort of way. While playing it's easy to tell that if something goes wrong in a race it's the players fault. As such the game challenges its players to improve their skills so as to beat it. When all is said and done the game has fun gameplay and a wonderful aesthetic that make the title fun to play, even though it's difficult to master.

Reviewed by Mr. Nash

(September 1, 2000)