Rallisport Challenge 2

First off, you should know that this is a racing simulator, not an arcade-style racer, but even given that, DICE has still worked to make the game enjoyable for all skill levels. Unlockables like new cars and tracks for example, are awarded just by playing the game -- you do not have to finish in first place to get them. This alone, makes the game far more enjoyable. Also, simply by driving a car and "putting mileage on it" you'll unlock custom paintjobs for each vehicle. That is until you reach the final stage, SuperRally, where you must place 3rd or better to progress.

STRENGTHS:

The first thing you're going to love about RalliSport Challenge 2 is the graphics. The predecessor (RalliSport Challenge) created the standard for a new level of amazing graphics, but this game improves on that with dynamic graphics, like dirt trails that cloud the view of the people behind you and leaves that kick up from under your tires. Birds resting in your path will take flight as you approach and the scenery can be described as nothing less than picturesque.

The race levels are well designed and well thought out. Each has their own interesting twists and turns and elevation changes have been added so that you can suddenly lose control on a jump or bottom out after a wicked turn. Also, tracks have interesting combinations of sand, mud, dirt and tarmac which all perform differently as you slide through them. Although I may not know from personal experience how it feels to go out of control on snow at 100 MPH, this game gives me a realistic feeling of how bad it would be.

Speaking of which, the damage system works well so that you can't simply play "crash 'em derby" through the races to take out opponents and drive through obstacles, but also doesn't hamper the gameplay by making you drive too cautiously through every turn. You can lose a tire in the game, and believe it or not you can finish by driving on the rims, but your track times will certainly suffer. The game keeps you informed of problems with a damage indicator that is extremely easy to read even at high speeds. In addition, your car will "deteriorate" as you take damage, including blowing out the windows, bumpers dragging behind you and even the hood flying over your head! (Yes, I've instinctively ducked a few times.)

Soundwise, the game is top-notch. The car sounds, special effects and other elements of the game all add to the realism. Although many have complained about the music included on the game, I've enjoyed the thumping tracks as I make my way through the levels and, since the game supports custom soundtracks, you can add your own music anyways.

WEAKNESSES:

Alas, the worst part of playing this game is the off-track camera angles. Because of the elevation changes and other 3D elements of the game, you almost have to play this game in third person view (where your point of view is directly behind the car). Sadly, once you drive too far off track, the camera angle rotates and makes it almost absolutely impossible to get back on track without hitting obstacles and bringing the car to a dead stop. This is worsened when your co-pilot tells you "easy left" and it turns out to be a hairpin turn. You realize that your partner and the game appear to be cheating to work against you.

In addition to the camera angles, the display also can be the cause of a crash. In the RallyCross and Ice Racing competitions, your course map is on the bottom of the screen. As you hit checkpoints, the display changes from the map to show your position in the current race. Obviously, this can be deadly if there's a hairpin turn approaching and you were just glancing down at the map to see how far away you were. In addition, there are a few instances where DICE has placed a "dead end" turn immediately prior to the one you're supposed to take, or a second turn that is sharper than the one your supposed to take. These little "tricks" seem like an additional unfair challenge that the computer cars will not fall for, but also add to the excitement when you outsmart their level designers.

Finally, your opponents do not seem to be affected by darkness or some of the inclement weather conditions. This will certainly frustrate you if you're the kind of player that has to be first in every race.

SUMMARY:

In short, I would recommend this game as a "must have" for anyone who enjoys a true on-road/off-road racing simulation. It should be considered by most a "best of class" game for the Xbox console, despite some of the frustrating shortcomings of the game.


They tried too hard, and lost a fan.   July 5, 2004
Zig Zog (Long Island, NY)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

So, Rallisport 1 was the best game on the X-box. Still is. While many other racing games touted realism, Ralli touted fun. And FUN it was....cars with clear difficulty differences, bright, airy tracks, great sounds and wonderful falls. This was a forgiving game for the novice and a challenging game for the expert. Words cannot express how much I was lookin forward to this new game.....

...and unfortunately I am quite disappointed.

Yeah the graphics are better...the sound is a little bit better, but the gameplay really kinda sucks. The original game was challenging and had your palms sweating when you were racing for the title, and of course I swore at the screen many times, but it was all in fun and I really loved to repeat a course to beat it. In the new game I am swearing for other reasons....

1) Landscape - oftentimes it is impossible to tell where the track ends and where the outer bits begin. That is cute at first, but it just sucks after a while.

2) Collisions - things that I hit, that should be glancing blows, just simply STOP the car. You cannot use tactics where you bounce off a wall, or a small tree or something. There are no times where you flip over a rock and go WOO! Nope. You just...stop. It is horribly annoying.

3) This "ghost" thing. In the original game it was really fun to bang into other cars, especially when you re-appear after an accident. In 2, you have this "ghost" factor where for the first few moments after you appear, you are essentially not there, so people drive through you. It throws your timing off...it should be a tactic to bounce off other cars, etc. In this, you drive through a car, and hit a rock, and STOP.

4) There was a cute English voice yelling at you in the first game...apparently some people did not like it, so now there is a generic video game voice giving you directions.

5) Damage. Yeah it sounds whiny, but in the first game you could beat the snot out of yer car and still roll along happily. In this game, if the wheel comes off, you cripple the car. You know what? I don't care about realism...there are enough realistic games out there.

In short, the fun-ness of the game is severely sacrificed for the sake of "better" graphics and sound. Yeah there are cool parts where you can really customize your replies, etc...but after a race I never find myself caring enough to watch.

So, the way I see it, I have another bazillion hours of fun left on Ralli. I don't have to play Ralli 2 at all, so I'll just put it on the shelf. Boy howdy I hope Halo 2 does not follow the same dark path.

I give this game 2 stars because they should have known better. They HAD the formula. If they made longer tracks, more cars from which to choose, and a couple more races, I would have been psyched, just like Doom/Doom 2.

Why mess with a winning formula?????????? Sadly it happens all too often.


The best Rally game out there...   May 24, 2005
Vonworm (USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I had to write a review entirely because the spotlight review was written by someone who hadn't 'got' this game or taken the time to explore the settings.

Actually, I see reviews all the time claim this game is an 'arcade' rally game, indicating that perhaps the game lacks depth, maybe has unrealistic physics, or even simple fake graphics.

All of these points are wrong. Completely false. The cars handle extremely realistically, and most folks who play this agree this is the BEST looking racer available. Better than Forza? Not sure, but better than PGR2 by a hundred - double the frame rate for start. You see, not least of which is the 60fps you get with a HD TV, but add to that the amazing reflections, muddy splashes, infinite distance view (with a tiny amount of inconsequential pop-up trees) and you have a showcase game. I've had more than one PS2 owner go out and buy an XBOX for this game after playing it in my house - testament indeed to the incredible realism this Rally racer offers.

Previously, the 'easy left' that you co-pi states was mentioned as a fault... When your rally co-pilot claims 'Easy left' or 'hard right' then you have the game on arcade setting.

A simple click in the settings would result in '3 left opens to 4' or '1 right, opens to 3. Bump onto straight through tunnel. Hairpin right' offering a much more useful, accurate indication of the upcoming road conditions.

Ultimately - this game is stunning. Worth every penny of the budget price it's currently at - if you're hesitant due to lax reviews, don't be. I've put in hundreds of hours on this amazing game and it's a real as the Xbox can get.


Best Racing Game on XBox!   May 11, 2004
J. Novoselsky (Chicago, IL United States)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

This has to be the single greatest racing game ever. I am a huge fan of Project Gotham 2, which before this came out held my title of best ever. This game blows it out of the water. Even if you are not a rally fan you will love this game. There are 5 different styles of racing in this game, all of which are available for online play with the corresponding cars. The controls for the game are pretty much identical to PGR2, which makes it easy to learn for all PGR2 vets. But what sets this apart is the crashes. Normally I get angry when I crash, but in this game (much like NASCAR) the crashes are half the fun. Because of the superior graphics, yor car can go from mint to junk heap before your eyes. Parts fly off, your windsheild and windows will blow out, generally it looks like what would happen if you actually rolled a car at 100mph except for no blood. Heck, you can even take out the bystanders if you really mess up. But seriously, my review probably doesn't do the game justice, buy it you won't be disapointed.


Rallisport Challenge 2   June 8, 2004
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Overall / Summary: Easily much better than the original. Better graphics, better sound effects, better hadling, better everything (except music). This one even has EXCELLENT 16 player XBox Live support! Compared to Project Gotham Racing; RalliSport Challenge, 2 has better graphics, better environments, better lighting, equal Live support, but even though the two games are totally different in terms of game play, PGR2 comes in first when it comes to \"ease of play.\" Both PGR2 and RSC2 are the best racers on XBox, and both shouldn\'t be missed!

Gameplay: The career mode is fun, but a little easy at the start (naturally). As you progress it\'ll get harder, and most of the tracks become hard enough to challenge any skilled racer. The physics are much better than the original RalliSport. The cars don\'t seem to be so light any more, they actually hug the ground this time around. And the y interact with the environment a lot better too. So if you flip your car and it\'s going to roll around...it really IS going to roll around, and doors, bumpers, hoods, tires and just about everything but the driver flys off as the car tubles down the hill. One complaint is that on the ice tracks or a track were there could be little traction, your car my uncontrollably spin out and it\'s very hard to counter. But whatever. XBox Live support is AWESOME. Playing with 16 players is really fun. You get to see them fly around the track, and mess up just as well :D It really is a great experiance. 40 cars to choose from, and something like 90 tracks (some variances of others).

Visual: Top notch! The trees look totally realistic, and everything is MUCH better than the original game. The environments are much more interesting, and there\'s a lot more to look at and enjoy. The cars look better too. The sky textures have been improved from the original, and so has the overall texture quality.

Sound: Now comes the good and the bad area. The bad: the music sucks pretty bad, but luckily there are custom sound tracks. The good: the cars sound good, and that\'s all that matters when you have Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.