Standard racing modes apply, but SGT 2002 has added a proprietary mode called Chronicle Mode on top of the already famous arcade and career modes. In this Chronicle Mode, you'll compete in a series of races in classic cars from the 70's and 80's. Winning all the races for a particular year and winning all races for an individual car will earn you a new car to use in arcade mode. This is a fun little diversion from the main game, and it adds a flavor of history as well. I always wanted a little more information on the gas crisis of the 70's.

SGT 2002's career mode is called, surprisingly enough, Sega GT 2002 Mode. Hope I didn't lose you there. In here you'll find races to run, a garage to work on your car, and shops to buy new cars or car parts. First thing you do after you suit up is purchase your initial car. Don't expect much since you only have $13,000 to spend. Once you have your car, you can do some work on it in the garage. Parts can be bought from both a new and used part store. You just have to be careful with the used parts because they will wear faster and can break, but I'll get into that later. Changing parts and tuning the car are only a couple of things you can do in the garage. This is also where you can set a price and put one of your cars up for sale, as well as, view pictures and awards from you races.

Once your ready to race, there are a couple of options. You can enter an official race, which serves to progress the game, or you can divert yourself with one of the event races. Both can earn you money and possibly new cars. In the official races, each race is run individually, and then once you've placed in each stage a license test is offered. Once the license test is passed, you can proceed on to the next set of races. This pattern is followed until you finish a full year of racing.

A word of warning here, money is hard to come by in this game and especially hard in the beginning. Event races have higher stakes, but (and I stress this) they increase in difficulty based on a combination of which license you hold and how powerful a car you drive. If you run out and gain your B license right away, your underpowered car will not be able to handle the event races nor the next level of official races. You'll be relegated to scrapping up cash in the first round of official races until you can build your car fast enough to compete.

The money situation is compounded by the addition of damage and wear and tear. I don't mean to make that sound like a bad thing. It just makes dealing with money that much tougher. See, cars take damage in these races. It doesn't affect the handling of the car nor is it visible, but it will cost you to fix it at the completion of the race. On top of fixing race-time damage, you also have to account for wear and tear on other mechanical parts on the car. Suspension, brakes, and the engine will all need to be overhauled in the parts shop. Plus, the tires will have to be changed every few races. All these degradations are easily identifiable during race time. Engine wear makes your car slower while suspension and tire wear will have you skidding all over the track.

This addition to gameplay is more than welcome. It adds difficulty in the right kind of way. Speaking of gameplay, SGT 2002 has it in droves. If you liked the control in Gran Turismo 3, then you'll be right at home here. Cars have a good feeling of weight, and they manage to capture that wonderful feeling of simulated driving. I will say that it is geared slightly more towards power sliding through turns than GT3, but nothing that would cause comparisons to a true arcade racer.

SGT 2002 will not disappoint in the graphical or aural department either. Some can (and many already have) make a case that these graphics are better than the best from GT3. I'm not going to get into that discussion, but if it can cause a heated debate, then they must be close enough to declare them drop-dead gorgeous. The car models are superb, and the lighting is a step above other racing clones, which really helps give the illusion of reality. The only drawback is, once again, the off track environments. The textures on the mountains are drab, and the trees are flat as can be. Any lack in graphics is made up for in the sound department. The audio being pumped out in Dolby Digital 5.1 is very impressive. Each engine has its own unique sound, and it even changes with the addition of a racing muffler or the whine of a turbo. Most importantly, we're playing on the XBox, so you can listen to your own music by choosing you custom soundtrack.

The game is almost perfect, but there are a few things that bother me. The event races don't have any true meaning. They have different names, but they are basically all the same. They all offer the same amount of money, and the tracks constantly change, which keeps them from being unique. Also, event races are good for earning money, but are not necessary for completing the official race mode. So, you can essentially finish the season with one car. There doesn't seem to be much reason to switch cars, and the effort involved isn't worth it because of the amount precious money it takes to upgrade each vehicle to make it competitive. Sure you can sell prize cars; but you can't win them more than once, and they aren't for sale in the car shop.

Easily the best racer of this year, Sega GT 2002 has also become a serious competitor to reigning king Gran Turismo 3. Sega learned from its initial effort on the Dreamcast, and made excellent strides in the sequel. I wish there was a little more to do in the GT mode as the progression just doesn't sit well with me. Bottom line is if you call yourself a racing/driving fan, then you can't be without Sega GT on your shelf. It won't do much for your social life, but it will do its share to keep you entertained at home.