Arnold-KatayevThe return of Sega Rally has been keenly followed by fans of the arcade series, die-hard Sega fans, and rally fans. With the demise of Microsoft's own RalliSport franchise, Sega Rally has arrived just in time to fill in that void. While we got to play the game some time ago at E3, there were some visual quirks that were present, and the controls felt way too lose, even for a Sega Rally game.
Well, I'm happy to report that whatever plagued Sega Rally at E3 seems to have been resolved. First thing's first, you have to remember that Sega Rally Revo is an arcade racer first and foremost. With that in mind, the game's controls are setup for maximum drifts. You won't find yourself using the brakes often, as the cars will whip their tails around just about every corner. Thankfully, the overly loose controls from E3 have been cured.
So the cars feel quite weightless at first, but when you get used to the game you'll start finding ways to exploit their characteristics around every bend. The stages exhibit fantastic design, with multiple turns linked together in order to really excel the sense of speed and thrill in the game. And it works. Performing turns keeps the camera directed at a semi-profile angle, where you can see both the side of your car and what's up ahead. There's just something about seeing your car's profile as it carves the road and deteriorates it.
The road deformation is completely real time, and it looks stunning as it unravels. With each passing lap, you'll tear up more and more of the track, in some areas turning up mud and such. Likewise, mud will splatter all over your car, as will snow. In the E3 version, mud and snow looked incomplete, as their details were very low-resolution and awfully pixelated. That has been resolved, as well.
With the splattering of mud and snow mentioned, the visuals haven't seen any other changes. That's not a bad thing, mind you, as Sega Rally is already a splendid looking racer with some of the most vibrant track details to date. The game is a sight to see, if only to witness just how lush everything on screen looks. While the car details don't exhibit the same detail as say, DiRT, Gran Turismo 5, or Project Gotham 4, they still do an admirable job in completing the look.
Most importantly though, Sega Rally wouldn't have been proper if the framerate do its job. And thankfully, Sega Rally boasts a terrific framerate that moves the game at a brisk 30 frames, and never gets any lower. Unfortunately, some will be disappointed, seeing as how Sega was aiming at 60, but Sega Rally Revo is still a great performer.
Sega Rally Revo will be dropping this October 9th. If you're a fan of any of the following: rally games, rally racing, racing games, Sega racers, Sega Rally series…then you owe it to yourself to pick up Sega Rally Revo for either PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or PC. A PSP version will also set sail on the same date.
