Making the Cut
Controls for the game are simple and quite responsive. Pick up the game, start playing and within a couple laps you will already be rounding out the controls. Of course, those first few laps may find you swinging from side to side. The single player races pit you against five other drivers in a three-lap course.
Races are divided into three categories: premeir, modified, and masters. These are further divided into different leagues based on driver skills. Completing each league requires racing in and accumulating points in rally series, which consist of three or four consecutive races. Data does not save between rally series races, so in order to score well in a series you must perform well through all the races. The rally series are three various tracks from the five environments.
In order to progress and unlock the advanced leagues of the game, players rack up points by competing in the races. Each race values in at up to 10 points, depending on your placing and while you do not have to achieve first place in every race to advance, it is necessary to accumulate the points necessary to unlock the more difficult series.
Sega Rally Revo offers multiplayer via split screen and online play. The head-to-head online play with the split screen suffers from the facts that it is only you and a second player competing, without the option for computer controlled racers, and also the view is limited to a vertical split screen. The vertical split screen hampers ability to see around corners. The online play lets you take on up to five other racers, which has its own perks.
Tearing Up the Track
Sega Rally Revo touts dynamic GeoDeformation technology as an enhancement to the racing experience. With every lap cars tear into the track, altering it both visually as well as physically. Create ruts and paths through snow that remain throughout the race. Driving through a puddle, the ruts streak away, filled with water. The idea is that each lap should be a little different because of the deformations in the track. Previously formed ruts and cleared paths through the snow affect the car’s traction. Such dynamics in Sega Rally Revo are limited to the track as only the graphical accumulation of mud on the cars represents the only change in the cars seen. Even if you slam into walls or other cars, your car remains in perfect shape. In fact, hitting other cars during a turn can make it that much easier to get around it.
The game features 30 authentic rally cars to choose, however, it also provides no stats for any of the cars. Knowing whether one car handles turns better, accelerates better, or has a slightly higher top speed than another car comes from having firsthand experience racing them. Having this information would be helpful in making car selections based on something other than color and model.
Unlocking each car’s two additional paint jobs is achieved by simply racking up miles on that car. The few other options than car colors are the transmission and the tires. You can select whether it will be automatic or manual and while you have more to think of with the manual, you can also get a much better performance than with the automatic. Tires can be fitted for offroad, which increases traction and turning, or for roads, which increases acceleration and top speed on the less bumpy portions of the course. Sega trimmed down available options to these few, which works well for getting you right to the action of the race, but including ratings on cars would have been a plus.
Enjoying the View
Sega does a good job bringing appealing visuals to the race. Racing takes place in vivid and colorful environments such Artic, Canyon, Lakeside, Safari and Tropical settings. Each of these locales contains different tracks, yet the overall look of the tracks is the same. Tracks do include some specific touches such as the aurora borealis in one of the Artic skies or aircraft flying overhead. Other tracks lead you down through ravines, past windfarms, or over dams.
Sega included the codriver, an audio feature, to assist making your way through the tracks. The codriver calls out turn’s directions, classes, and lengths as well as cautions about water hazards and terrain changes. Arrows also appear on screen for visual cues to the turns with the same information, if you decide to mute the codriver. Music plays subtley in the background. It keeps you from having to soley hear engines running throughout the race, does not try to stand out or detract from the racing experience.
Overall the game provides an enjoyable experience. The game focuses on the fun of the arcade experience and pulls it off well. The visuals of the game, from the cars to the skies to the extra little details that find themselves along the track, all bring together an appealing ocular experience.