One of the best console rally racing titles ever created.
There has not been many truly “great” next generation console rally racing games as of yet. I still contend that Sega Rally 2 for the Dreamcast was the last title in the genre worth putting serious time into, but that fact has finally changed. Microsoft has unleashed RalliSport Challenge for the Xbox, and everything we initially spoke of in earlier impressions, still holds very true. The game is a fantastic and gorgeous “arcade style” rally racing game.
Yes, RalliSport is not a sim, nor does it try to be. The game features a nice handful of cars and very authentic courses and race types, but there is not much in the way of vehicle customization at all. RalliSport Challenge is certainly not Gran Turismo 3, purely on dirt, tarmac, snow or mud. The fact that the game does not attempt to be a simulation in any way, is definitely a good thing.
RalliSport is a game that has finally bypassed GT3 in terms of visuals. While the differences are not huge, and we are well into the area of “diminishing returns”, there are some little details that put it over the top. What did it for me personally was the absolutely huge and solid environments, complete with fully rendered hills and mountain ranges, all dotted with individual trees and shrubs, seemingly miles away. Phew. The developers utilized some of the best and most organic textures seen yet in a racing title, overlaid that with an realistic, but not overdone layer of lighting, and topped it off with some particle and environmental effects. Think Halo as a rally racing game. The cars are modeled great, and most gamers would not be able to tell the difference between those in the Gran Turismo 3 rally mode and their counterparts in Rallisport. Videogame car models this generation are nearing perfection, so I don’t really expect to be blown away ever again.
Unlike what I considered Wreckless to be, Rallisport is not just a pretty tech demo. It actually plays extremely well, and has a great amount of replayability. Vehicles are rated in 3 categories, Speed, Acceleration and Handling. The differences felt in vehicles is not tremendous, and it always seemed most advantageous to go with the best handling of the bunch. Before each race, you have the ability to tweak the car setup a bit, such as gearing (low, normal, high), steering (tight or loose), suspension (soft or hard), tire type (tarmac, mixed, normal, snow, ice), and others. It doesn’t seem critical to always change most of the settings, but at least the ability is there.
The Xbox controller is perfect for most racing games, with RalliSport not being an exception. The solid analog triggers are perfect for acceleration and brake, and the analog stick has just the right amount of tension for steering.
RalliSport Challenge features a Quick Race mode, to allow you to dive right in and race, and a Championship/Season mode, which is the real meat of the game. Championship mode has plenty of sub-modes which allow you to take on seasons, adjust game options, or just play around in a single race on any available vehicle and track of choice. There are essentially four different race types- Hill Climb, Rally, Rallycross, and Ice Racing. The variety of race types is a great addition which, really does seem to make the modes more interesting. Some modes pit you versus time (Hill Climb and Rally), and others let you mix it up with 3 other cars at the same time. Cars and courses of a higher level are unlocked as progress is made and points are accrued. You cannot “buy” anything in RalliSport, and every new car and course is earned by how well you race in a series. The variety of courses and race types do mess with your abilities sometimes. After playing 5 consecutive races heading uphill on tarmac, it becomes and adjustment to switch to a twisty, ice covered, multi-lap rally circuit race.
The fact that the course itself does not restrict your vehicle much, is an important game feature. If you misjudge your speed while entering a tight turn, expect to smack into a tree, billboard, or cluster of rocks, which in turn may cause a roll over or maybe a plunge off a high embankment. When racing against time on a cliff’s edge, you definitely feel the tension.
There are not many things I did not like about RalliSport Championship. The few small issues that annoyed me popped up while racing among other cars in the Ice Racing or Rally Cross modes. For one, the CPU cars seem to ignore you most of the time. If you are taking your time down a straight or through a turn, CPU drivers don’t really bother to drive around your vehicle, as they prefer to go through or into you. Secondly, when collisions occur, the CPU cars will sometimes “warp” a few feet from where they just were, as would be seen when playing a racing game online with a little bit of lag. Neither affect the game much, but both are just annoying to see happen when everything else is so perfect.
When first unveiled, I didn’t know what to expect from Digital Illusions and Microsoft besides a gorgeous looking racing title. Thankfully, they came through where it really counted, and as a result have so far produced the best racing game of the year, arcade or otherwise.
