(Digital Illusions)

RalliSport Challenge 2 (RS2) is the sequel to one of the top selling games of the Xbox launch. Unlike rally titles the alike of Colin McRae Rally, Digital Illusions have opted to take a leaf from the big book of Sega, doing away with the hardcore simulation aspects of rally sport and replacing it with the more broader appealing high speed arcade action thrills not unlike Sega Rally & Sega Rally 2. In many senses, if Sega were to release a third installment in the Sega Rally franchise, this is the game they would aspire to produce.

Racing titles are a tough category to keep fans happy. Swing too far toward simulation and you narrow the market down to only those that could give you the bore and stroke dimensions of Subaru’s EJ20 powerplant (in other words, a total grease monkey) while on the flipside of the same coin, create a game thats too “arcadey” and you’ll hear people moaning about how loose the handling feels. RS2 thankfully falls in between.

While the game doesnt go in the direction of being a merciless simulation, controlling the vehicles is an incredibly enjoyable experience. Going balls out at 150km/h and tapping the handbrake to hang the rear out and control the car through a long easy to mid corner is more then enough to get the adrenalin pumping, however tighter corners will still take some careful planning and quick reflexes to negotiate. Changes in road surface, weather, up or down hill gradients and car setup all affect the way you will approach each track, and just to make sure you know what surprises lay beyond each corner is the ever reliable co-pilot who will become your own private GPS navigational unit.

Like many other racers, the usual suspects of gameplay are all accounted for in RS2;  time attack, single race, career and split screen multi-player or Xbox live. Career makes up the bulk of the single player experience, and its a damn sizeable one at that. Career is divided into 4 categories, Novice, Pro, Champion and Super Rally. Players are required to move up through these championships earning a license to move onto the next level up. Each championship has multiple paths to reach the final stages, however each stage of the championship may vary into a number of different racing modes. Through RS2, you will compete in Rally’s, Rally Cross, Circuit and Hill Climb events. Each category of race has its own unique car classes available to compete; Circuit has semi on / off road rally vehicles, Rally and Rally Cross features WRC model cars many will be accustomed to and Hill Climb features the most powerful super bred sports cars available for off road use, notably, models like the Suzuki Pikes Peak Special and the Toyota Celica Pikes Peak Special. While the available and later unlockable model cars are all based on real life models, compared to other competition RS2 doesnt feature a great deal of car selection. What is available is more then passable and offers the player a choice of cars that have both advantages and disadvantages to their peers however it would have been nice to see more accurate teams, sponsors and a larger variety of cars in any sequels that may come.

Sound overall isnt the games strongest point. Each car has a different exhuast and engine note, with turbo cars each having a different waste gate note even, however the sound is never better then passable. You can hear the skittling of tyres as they jump from gravel to tarmac and back again, the soft thudding and ripping sound of tyres ploughing through snow and some meaty thumps as you kiss the railings, but the sound just never excels. The sound isnt bad at all, but its much like any other rally game on the market. What is horrible however, is the music. If you dont have any cd’s burnt to your Xbox harddrive make sure you do before picking up this title. Its downright horrible. Possibly this is a note Digital Illusions shouldnt have taken from Sega, the cheesey rock riffs just dont mix. Even if they were decent, it probly still wouldnt mix. The game does thankfully support Custom Soundtracks, so best use that.

Beside the awesome speed thrills this game provides, possibly the one aspect that steals the show are the graphics. Beside Project Gotham Racing 2, these are the best graphics of any racer. Period. Like the superb track design, the graphics are simply mind blowing. The car models are incredibly solid and bump map (reflect) the trackside detail around them, lens flare and glare affect visions driving toward the sun and water puddles and lakes will reflect the surrounding environment. The real shocker however, comes with the draw distance. If you begin a stage from the top of the mountain its actually possible to see the track running right down to the mountains base, into town and its finish. All while the game runs at 60fps. Yep, 60fps, solid with absolutely no slowdown or pop-up on screen. Just for good measure, theres even a damage model thrown in. Always a chuckle to hobble the car over the line minus a front and rear wing, rear bar scraping along the road sparking and the front wheel somewhere halfway back up the mountain. While this isnt a simulation of any kind, if you damage the car enough, the damage will begin to affect the handling (running 3 or even 2 wheels can do that) and its even possible to damage the gearbox to the point 2nd gear becomes totally smashed and the rest of the race becoming reliant on 1st straight up to 3rd. Sometimes the car not even able to pull any power in gear.

Beside the average sound and absolutely woeful soundtrack (sorry but it must be mentioned again it is just AWEFUL), theres little in this title to put anyone off its purchase. White knuckle action down the side of the mountain, breath taking graphics, possibly the largest career mode of any racing game and just good clean fun make this a title no racing fan should be without. Former king of arcade rally action, Sega Rally 2 has just been absolutely blown out of the water by RS2 (and this is coming from a Sega fanboy).

Oh and did I mention this game is $69.95 RRP?? No excuses not to purchase this one then.

Graphics – 5/5
Sound – 3/5
Gameplay – 4.5/5
Longevity – 4/5

(Xbox Live N/A)