Much like Formula 1 racing (or even soccer for
that matter), Rally car racing is one of those sports that is huge across the
pond in Europe, but never achieved much footing here in the US. It’s a shame
too, since the sport is an exciting one, offering up a good helping of speed and
off-road skill. SEGA is looking to change that, giving the sport some love with
their recently released off-road racer, SEGA Rally Revo.
The first off-road racing game to be released by
SEGA in the US since the Dreamcast’s salad days, SEGA Rally Revo aesthetically
brings the series to the next-generation with gorgeous high-def graphics, great
looking car models and excellent terrain deformation. The game’s appearance on
the PC is quite on the same level as the console versions, which released a few
months back. However, what the game has in technical prowess, it lacks in
gameplay features, feeling quite shallow especially when held up to other next-gen
offerings in the off-road genre, namely DiRT. Still, if you’re looking for a fun
off-road racer that wears its arcadey leanings on its sleeve, SEGA Rally Revo
might be just the ride you’re looking for.
The terrain deformation is one of the factors
that will draw you into the game and is done extremely well. While simply having
the tire-marks and mud tracks remain on the track through the whole race would
be a nice addition, the developers have done one better and had the terrain
actually affect your diving. If your opponents on the track leave the road torn
up in front of you, you’ll feel it in the car, meaning that you’ll want to steer
clear of your opponents’ tracks in order to keep ahead.
Being an arcade racer, SEGA Rally Revo falls into
some of the same situations that are common among arcade games. There are
invisible walls surrounding the tracks, meaning that no matter how badly you
spin-out, you won’t go careening off of the set path. Another trapping that the
game suffers from is the lack of features. There are only five different areas
in the game, and while they do vary quite a bit in terms of environment, there
are only three courses in each one, making the overall number pretty slim when
compared to other racing games. Repetition is pretty apparent in the
Championship mode, which is the main career mode in the game.
Additionally, the game can be frustratingly tough
at times, due to the unforgiving AI. Oftentimes, making a single mistake will
cost you precious footing, knocking you back into last place, a position that’s
very difficult to get out of. There is no push when trying to get ahead of your
opponents, and they’ll often successfully be able to block you and you’ll be
unable to do anything about it.
The cars handle in an arcade-y way, with the
terrain often being the mitigating factor in keeping the overall feel of the
racing mechanics from being too “vanilla” feeling. Aside from that, though, the
game handles a bit shallowly, with floaty turning and a simplistic feel akin to
old-school arcade cabinet racers. Those looking for a more intricate approach to
rally cars will likely want to check out DiRT, as SEGA Rally Revo is more suited
for the casual audience in terms of gameplay.
Being a Games for Windows title, the PC version
will allow you to use either the keyboard to control your vehicles or the Xbox
360 Controller for Windows, which handles precisely like it did on that system.
Graphically, the game is very impressive. While
the environments feel perhaps a bit too “cartoony” in that certain SEGA way
(with effects like jets with colorful smoke trails flowing behind them in one
stage), the game looks extremely polished with some fantastic environmental
distortion effects and great looking car models that get covered in mud and dirt
depending on what you drive through. The game does require a pretty hefty
computer to get the full benefits of the game’s aesthetics.
Soundwise, the game is done in the generally
cheesy way that many SEGA games are. While the soundtrack is fairly devoid of
the wailing rock guitars of other SEGA racers, the music isn’t anything that
you’d necessarily want to crank through your surround sound system. There is
some voice work, namely a co-driver that tells you if you’re coming up to an
easy or difficult turn. This can get a bit annoying and superfluous, considering
that a warning icon pops up on the screen before turns anyway.
SEGA Rally Revo won’t really be a game for rally
car enthusiasts, considering how the game doesn’t handle terribly realistically
and doesn’t give you much in the way of depth. However, for the rest of us the
game can be quite fun at times, and could be worth a look if you’re a fan of
arcade racers.
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Gameplay: 7.5
The game features some great terrain deformation that actually effects the
way that your car handles, which is a nice touch. However, the rest of the
driving mechanics don’t feel terribly realistic, and the game lacks a fair
amount of depth.
Graphics: 8.5
The environments have some hokey situations, to be sure, but the car models
and terrain details truly shine.
Sound: 6.5
The score is typically cheesy SEGA stuff, and the voice acting can be pretty
annoying.
Difficulty: Hard
The floaty racing mechanics take some getting used to, but the frustration
factor is exacerbated by the unforgiving AI.
Multiplayer: 7.0
SEGA Rally Revo offers up some fairly run-of-the-mill multiplayer options,
with ranked and unranked races for six players online, as well as two-player
split-screen.
Concept: 7.0
The game offers some truly fun and exciting moments, but doesn’t offer much
in the way of extra features.
Overall: 7.5
SEGA Rally Revo is a fun arcade racer, but those expecting something with
the depth of DiRT will be disappointed.
