Graphics are great but what makes or breaks a driving game is the control. In this sense Sega Rally 2 is not a simulation in the vein of Sega’s upcoming GT racer or Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo, instead the designers purposely went with a more arcadish control scheme… Maybe this is why it’s an arcade game. The Dreamcast’s digital control pad is extremely well integrated in the title making it preferable over a racing wheel in my opinion. Even with a mastery of the controls you’ll still occasionally shake your head at the handling of your car. Power-sliding through corners is a must to shave seconds off your time, it just occasionally feels like your skating on an ice rink and not driving a high performance off road vehicle.

     Players embracing the spirit of the game will quickly overlook any control nuances and settle down into a gorgeous driving environment. Ignore the pop up or occasional dips in frame rate when the track gets crowded. This game is pretty. Basically there are four different graphical themes to the courses. An urban romp off the coast, a lush jungle, a small mountain town and of course the snow level. Each shows off it’s own unique flare and will make you laugh at your Playstation toting friends. Realistic weather affects (snow, rain, sleet) are also accurately portrayed in 128-bit glory and will affect road conditions.

     Cars in the game are gorgeously done, when the lighting is right you can even see your driver inside the cockpit (the correct term for a rally racer). Fully licensed and endorsed with various sponsors they are the most realistic models to yet grace any home console system. Thankfully improved from the original are a total of 19 different models to slide around the road. Each car has it’s true to life handling and personality quirks.

     Gameplay consists of several modes, arcade, time attack and new to the Dreamcast version a 10 Year Championship Mode. Arcade mode is your four basic tracks from the arcade version of the game and nothing more than this. Time attack let’s you challenge the fastest time from any course in the game. In the new 10-Year Championship Mode the replay value of the game starts to shine. Starting from year one the player must complete a set of races on varying tracks and varying road conditions to move up to the next year. Sounds simple in concept but this mode gets insanely difficult very fast. Completing the Championship mode will require lots of driving skills and just a little bit of patience. The game does come with the mandatory 2-player split screen mode but in my eyes the frame rate and pop-up are hideous enough to make this virtually unplayable. Come on Sega, the Dreamcast is capable of more!

     I think that sums up my final impression of the game. Probably the best racer currently out for the Dreamcast but again, this machine is capable of oh so much more. If you want a challenging racer look no further, but if your waiting for a simulation then check out Sega GT, coming to a Game Crazy near you shortly.