Sega Rally 2 is the sequel to the incredibly popular arcade racing game, Sega Rally. Sega Rally 2 offers much, much more than its predecessor, with 17 tracks, 20 different cars and a host of game modes, including arcade mode, and two player mode.

As well as the standard arcade mode that those who frequent the arcades would be familiar with, Sega Rally offers a huge amount of additions to the home version that see it become the best home racing game to ever grace a console. Super sharp high resolution visuals, incredibly detailed car models and environments, and brilliant ‘seat of the pants’ driving action make Sega Rally a true next-generation racing experience for the Dreamcast.

Arcade mode consisting of 4 tracks for straight-out racing fun. Beat the 16 different competitors to be awarded the best rally champion of all time!

Time attack mode where players can race on any of the game’s 17 tracks which include Desert, Mountain, Snowy, Riviera, Muddy, and Isle

10 year championship mode. This mode gives players the chance to race in 10 different tournaments consisting of 4 tracks in each yearly tournament. Placing first in each year will award the player with an extra car to drive with.

A total of 20 different cars are available in Sega Rally 2, including the Subaru Impreza 555, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III, Celica GT-Four ST185, Peugeot 106 MAXI, Lancia Delta Integrale, Fiat 131 Abarth, Peugeot 205 Turbo, Alpine, Lancia 037 Rally, Ford Escort T WRC, Subaru Impreza WRC, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V, Lancia Strato-S, Delta HF Integrale, Peugot 306 Maxi, WRC, GT-Four ST 20S and the Renault Maxi Megane.

A two player split screen mode where players can race on any of the games 17 tracks with any of the game’s available cars.

An awesome replay mode that allows you to save replays to your VMU for later viewing. Multitudes of different camera angle are available for use in the replay mode as well.

The ability to customise your car with a huge amount of settings, like suspension, brakes, tire types, transmission, gear ratios, and more.

Sega Rally 2 runs in the Dreamcast’s high resolution mode of 640 by 480 pixels at a solid 50 frames per second for incredibly smooth visuals.

The game engine utilises graphic effects like:

Lighting that is used for the car’s headlights at night and the exhaust flames that spurt from the exhaust port on the car. Tracks are often raced in the evening, and here the Dreamcast covers the 3D scenery with a golden yellow glow to signify the setting sun. When racing occurs at night the cars bodies are constantly lit with changing light effects alter when the car drives under street lamp posts etc, and the road in front of the cars is also constantly lit by the car’s headlights

Realistic mud splashing effects on the side of cars that appear as they drive through the courses

Car tire skid marks that are left on the road after cars slide around corners or make sharp turns

Reflection mapping that’s used on the car bodies and windshields to give a realistic gloss look to the cars. As cars drive along the roads or tracks, trees and building images are reflected off the windshield, which looks incredibly impressive and realistic.

Trails of dirt and snow that are throw up by the tires in the wake of passing cars

Excellent use of translucent (see-through) polygons for the car’s windshields and the beams of light that stream from the car’s headlights.

Environmental effects, like rain, falling snow, and fog.

The cars are constructed from over a thousand polygons, giving them an incredible amount of detail that makes the look like real life rally cars. Cars feature finite details, like roll cages that can be seen through the windshield, spare tires that are mounted on the rear or the inside of the cars, perfectly rounded wheels and bumper bars and real acting suspension that sees the car bump up and down as it navigates the rugged courses. The cars also have a wide variety of advertising decals on their side panels and even on their wheels.

Texture compression is used to give almost photorealistic looking textures in each of the game’s courses. These course include;

The Desert course part 1. Drive along wide open stretches of makeshift paved road in the desert, where trees and bushes adorn the sides the track and many animals, like zebras, giraffes and elephants graze by the side of the road. Here you can push the pedal to the metal as you avoid the water traps in the middle of the dirt road and try to find the perfect line on the long sweeping corners.

The Desert course part 2. Here you start in an old ghost town that’s filled with lots of small shops and houses, then you quickly come to some winding sections of track that are surrounded by ragged rocky ridges. The narrow mountain passes with nasty, tight chicanes and huge crescents in the road that launch the cars high into the air will test the best of drivers and separate the skill from unskilled when the laps times are reported.

The Desert course part 3. After mastering the first two courses, players will be pushed to the limits in what is arguably the hardest course in the game. Extremely tight and winding corners seem to endlessly appear in front of your car as you navigate this mountainous desert course. A few long straights allow you to reach some high speeds, but the course must be skilfully navigated and players will have to learn to apply all their skills in braking, cornering and knowing when to use the accelerator to successfully clear this course.

The Mountain course part 1. Wide-open stretches of paved road initially greet racers here, with beautiful, tall mountain trees casting shadows all the way along the side of the track. Players can easily reach top speed here before hitting a large crescent in the road that casts them into a open dirt section of the course where the standard tarmac tires on your car struggle to maintain any sort of grip in the dirt. After few hairy corners that see a half a tonne of dirt thrown up behind you car, you’ll find yourself back on the paved road with a long stretch of straight track before you and the finish line.

The Mountain course part 2. Here racers find themselves on another large stretch of open dirt track as they whip past an ancient castle on the top of a mountain peak on the left side of the track. Next racers rip through a cobblestone mountain village where foolish spectators scurry off the side of the track just in time to miss being bowled by your car. Another section of dirt track awaits with a few nasty 180 degree turns and a drive by past another even larger castle, all before players get to see the finish line.

The Mountain course part 3. Although a shorter track than the two other mountain courses, this course packs a punch that will surely stun inexperienced drivers. After a short dash along a straight, players have to hang a savage left before heading up into a tunnel that takes them underneath a large rocky mountain. More 180 degree turns around tree-covered corners another nasty left lead racers to a dirt section of track where they must throw their car sideways with all their might in order to get around the corner without smashing into the cobblestone wall on the side of the track. A detour sign on a closed road leads racers down what is a virtually a garden path that waves through a small mountain village before they can re-enter the normal road again. Here players are afforded a small open straight that will allow the to catch on any computer opponents that left them in the dust in the village’s ultra-narrow corners.

The Snowy Course part 1. This first course pits racers against a surface that is totally iced over, so maintaining a proper racing line is a constant battle with the controls. Iced over roads with constant sweeping corners that lead into one another force players to remain on the edge of the seats, while the lovely snow covered pine trees that adorn the side of the road, and the gorgeous scenery often dares players to take their eyes off the road.

The Snowy course part 2. Starting on a clear paved road, drivers race along a short straight before passing under an overhead bridge and heading around the right side of a large snow covered mountain. Here the track constantly changes from ice covered to normal paved, which reeks havoc on unexperienced drivers. Passing a small snow covered village and some pine plantations, drivers head into a downward section of track that is full of narrow, sharp corners. Momentum builds up all too easily here, so be cautious with the amount of gas you use or you end up in a barrier in no time!

The Snowy course part 3. Starting in another snow covered mountain village that’s filled with quaint houses and overshadowed by a large mountain off to the left, drivers head off into a series of long winding corners. Here banks of soft snow surround the road, so its imperative that the driver remains in the centre of the road so to maintain the best grip at all times. A constant blanket of snow falls around the car and this reduces visibility, so memorising the courses various 180 degree corners and bumps and jumps in absolutely necessary if you want to stand any chance of winning.

The Isle course part 1. Starting off in what appears to be the main street in a resort town, with large hotel buildings on each side of the track, drivers make a mad dash up to the right of some rock structures and then head across a long stone bridge. Drivers then pass under an overhead bridge and into a large tunnel that has fluorescent lights dotted along its ceiling. Cobblestone fences lead the way around numerous tight corners that eventually return drivers to the second section of the long stone bridge. From here it’s just a short dash back to the start main street of the Isle where the hotel buildings are.

The Isle course part 2. The course takes place at night and driver start in the same main street with the hotel buildings on each side. Streetlights adorn the side of the tracks and beautifully light the sides of the road. After a sharp left turn, drivers head off across the stone bridge and then into a series of corners before entering a long tunnel. Inside the tunnel the lights from the car headlights cover the walls as the car thrashes from side to side while cornering. Drivers then cross the cobblestone bridge once more before being shunted off into a side lane by another road block/diversion. Here drivers must negotiate extremely tight corners as they pass through a small section of the town. Buildings here are incredibly detailed, with balconies that are covered with pot plants, a multitude of streetlights that light the road and surrounding buildings, and even side streets that you can stop and look down (to see even more buildings). A few more tricky corners, including a mongrel of a right turn, and players are at the finish line.

The Isle course part 3. Drivers start in the same main straight and immediately head off to the cobblestone bridge but are again confronted with another detour that leads the across a smaller bridge. Incredibly sharp turns (180’s galore) great drivers hear and brakes must be used in conjunction with gear changes to get around them successfully. Drivers then negotiate more tight turns and drive past large amounts of mountain scenery that is covered with trees and grass covered foothills. Divers then arrive at a large open straight that drifts into a long left corner that passes a seaside bay that has lots of boats docked at its port. Driving across the cobblestone bridge again leads to the driver to the main straight once more and the finish line.

Muddy course part 1. Starting in a long stretch of partially sealed road, drivers a surrounded by a large number of palm trees amidst grass and mud. Off to the right is what appears to be an Embassy-styled building with a fence and hedge bushed preventing players from seeing too much of its yards. Heading off to the left, the amount of palm trees increases and the paved road disappears to reveal a soft muddy surface that makes powersliding the car the essential way to corner. A long left hand corner leads driver past a bunch of small shop-styled buildings as well as a river on the right that has numerous boats dock on its bank. Ahead the road narrows as it passes through a small native village with plenty of huts and palm trees around. Jumps, banks, corners and pools of water on the dirt road provide plenty of obstacles before drivers manage to reach the finish line.

Muddy course part 3. Starting in the same main stretch, drivers are immediately headed off to the left by a detour, where they hit a muddy section of the road. Long sweeping corners bring the player to another small village that appears to have trading shops with boxes, flour bags and plenty of crates out the front of each building. Crossing a small bridge brings that players back to the native village mentioned above where they follow the same path to the finish line.

Muddy course part 3. Has a similar layout to course part 1 except that it has an extended part that takes drivers across a numerous bridges and through incredibly tight turns that push the driver to their limits.

Riviera Course. This course takes place at night on the coastline near a resort. The resort is o the left side of the track and towers over the track with excellent texturing used to create lights on each of the floors in all of the buildings. Streetlights adorn the sides of the track and light the tarmac of the track as well as the body of your car as you drive by. Furthermore, the reflections from the lights in the buildings on the side of the road can be seen in the windshield and windows of your car and they look awesome. The course itself consists of tight 180 degree corners and long straights that give the driver plenty of opportunities to pass other racers. Not too challenging, but perfecting lap times of such a tight course will be difficult!

All of the tacks have their own music tracks that perfectly suit their theme and style

All of the cars have their own set of unique engine noises and sound effects that give the cars a different feel that is in line with their markedly different handling characteristics. Faster cars have more solid-sounding engine effects, but poorer handling while quieter, less powerful cars often handle better but have a slower top speed.

Players must race against 15 other competitors where they start in 16th place, and must work their way down to 1^st in order to win the championship. This makes Sega Rally nail biting, action-packed racing experience that’s fun for beginners and experts alike.

Sega Rally 2 maintains its arcade counterpart’s instant playability and great, fun arcade handling while offering a sense of depth that few other racing games can claim to match.

A wide variety of different car surfaces that all effect the way the cars handle differently. There are:

Tarmac – the standard surface which offers good grip and standard handling

Dirt – less grip but more potential to powerslide around corners

Mud – even less grip and cars tend to stop a lot slower than normal

Snow – less grip again, but allow cars to slide around tight corner much easier than on tarmac

Ice – poor grip and poor for stopping quickly

On top of this, there are other hazards, like pools of water, rain, snow and fog as well as jumps and bumps that slow down cars who are out to knock valuable seconds of their lap times.

To account for these different driving surfaces and other effects, Sega Rally 2 allows the player (in 10 year mode) to select different suspension, tires, steering abilities, gear ratios, brake power and transmission which can make driving easier on these surfaces. Some tracks can often have two or three of these surfaces present, so working out which tire will have the most effective grip, gaining the skill to deal with its inefficiencies on other surfaces is often the key to winning.

All of the game’s cars handle differently. They all have different speeds and handling abilities that suit the different courses in the game. No particular car is too powerful, which will ensure that the player will use all cars in the game. There is a car to suit everyone’s playing style; one for the person who wants to find the best racing line, and one for the person who wants to powerslide ‘til the cows come home!

The two player mode offers all of the above abilities for modifying cars (as well as the ability to save the modified car to VMU for later use or taking it to a friends place) plus a time lag feature and a turbo boost for the slow or unskilled player, if selected. This time lag feature awards the race to the person who can get a certain amount of time in front of the other (1-9 seconds)