Sega Rally

Great purchase...

Sega Rally defined arcade gaming: a title instantly playable and greedy for your cash. When I was at university there was a Sega Rally unit in the midde of the dance floor (I'm sure it was supposed to be some off the wall feature that students found post-modern or some trip) but for my merry band of delinquents it was the part of the reason for attending. It's not like we didn't dance or get pissed, it's just that this was as responsible as the alcohol for ensuring we had a good night out (there was one dark night when someone filled the coin slot with chewing gum, but let's not dwell on such devilment).

The point is that despite the distraction of women, music and Sambuca, Sega Rally's playability meant that playing it for two minutes forced another 50p into the slot. All my friends enjoyed it as well - especially those who were positively anti-gaming. Sega Rally succeeded in delivering a game that was playable to all, but challenging enough to keep seasoned gamers coming back.

Since then, Sega Rally has become something of a mini-franchise with games spreading between nearly every console since the Dreamcast. None have managed to recreate what the original provided, and all faded into obscurity, so much so that most gamers seem unaware of their existence. There's no real point in paying much attention to them in any case, they were underwhelming and devoid of the Sega Rally spirit.

This release isn't though. It's called Sega Rally, like it's namesake of years ago, and even the packaging pays homage. Likewise, the cars within the game also doff their caps towards the arcade - the old Toyota Celica remains, alongside more up-to-date motors. Despite the aesthetics, it's the way the game plays that brings the home-town feeling shining down. It's instantly accessible. On your first lap you'll be smashing around the track at full throttle, sliding round corners, hairpins and long medium-right maybes. Gliders will fly through the air above, and elephants will salute you as you pass. This is all in the first lap. It's not uber-realism at all. Elephants don't salute rally cars - in fact I'm pretty sure that an animal as dangerous as an elephant would be escorted, in a tidy and appropriate manner, away from a Rally meet.

On the track, realism fails early game. You can clear a round pretty much without taking your finger of the accelerator - hairpins can be negotiated with ease and walls assist harsh cornering rather than hindering it. Really these opening tracks work as a tutorial for more complex courses, and to get you used to the 'destructible tracks' - Sega Rally's ace card. Destructible is perhaps the wrong word. The track doesn't explode, there's no rockets or bombs to avoid - it's much more subtle than that. The racing surface is affected by the cars that race over it, so while most racing games force you to learn racing lines and be as accurate as possible to achieve the fastest times, Sega Rally actively forces you to find a faster line as the track changes. It works well as the effects are gradual and aren't essential to winning the race. It would have been a shame if it was a requirement, where you could only succeed if you took advantage of level patches in the road. This is a rally game, not Gran Turismo - it's about sliding round corners, smashing through puddles, and, if the opportunity presents itself, using the new racing lines to open up a lead and catch an opponent (although it's quite possible to go through an entire race without being granted such an opportunity).

For all its arcade appeal, Sega Rally bears a fair amount of depth. The more difficult tracks abandon the hardcore arcade approach, and a more measured, although consistently high-speed, approach is necessary. Eventually the game opens up into a challenging, but never unattainable experience.

The online experience holds similar positives to the singleplayer game; accept the importance of track damage. Human opponents are infinitely more random than a computer so the tracks take a severe beating - so much so that hazards form as the race continues. You have to be constantly alert as avoiding said hazards is more essential in multiplayer than it ever was when playing alone. The effects are satisfying as water hazards become larger and deeper as the race progresses, adding a tactical element to play as making a hazard more dangerous by driving through it is a risk; you might get stuck yourself. It's a tidy little feature that works well and is more than just a side thought as you slide round corner after corner.

This version of Sega Rally isn't as good as the game that stole my heart and money all those years ago, however it's more than a worthy homage. Sega have made it more realistic, even at times forgoing the high-speed power slides that are synonymous with the original game. Still, there's more about Sega Rally than most racers and a worthwhile arcade mode as well as an excellent multiplayer experience makes this Sega Rally an excellent purchase.

85%

By Gary Flavell