Review: Sega Rally Championship
Score:
32%
Version Reviewed: 1.00
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Announced as part of the original N-Gage line-up in 2003 Sega Rally was a title that got many excited. It was also a title that disappointed many when it played the delay game and then later disappeared entirely. Well, almost entirely. Nokia did in fact ship the game to certain Asia/Pacific regions and after an exhaustive search All About N-Gage have got hold of a copy. All I can say is that Nokia was right to throw it out the back door and avoid the press reviews of this 'game.'
From the title screens you are instantly given the impression that this is not going to be a great game because it feels dated, slow and a little lacking. Regardless of whether you play Championship mode (3 cups spread across 9 levels of the game), Time Trial (levels unlocked in Championship which are played individually), or Free Run (same as Time Trial without a maximum time to finish a lap) you are asked to choose a car. Available cars include a Peugeot 206 WRC 1999, a Ford Focus RS, a Subaru Impreza, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, a Toyota Corolla, a Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205, a Lancia Delta HF Integrale, and a Lancia Stratos HF, but honestly, they all drive the same and seem to be only cosmetically different. After you select your car you are then shown the track you'll be racing and are able to customize your selected car by choosing between an automatic or manual transmission, choosing either tarmac, gravel, mud, or snow type tires and then choosing one of three settings for your cars' gear ratio, suspension, steering, and braking.
All of this seems decent enough (which it is), but it lacks the pizzazz I was hoping for and really feels pretty tame after years of Gran Turismo and Sega GT. The real problems, however, can be seen once you start a race. The graphics appear solid enough if a little ugly, but the controls are weak at best and the collision detection is pathetic. Mind you I'm not even talking about collision with other cars here, which also sucks, I'm talking about with the road. It often feels like you are not even driving in the same world that's on the screen. Your car often hops off the track but not in relation to any dip or rise in the track, you can also hit most turns at top speed and as long as you are pointed away from the outside of the track will just slide right through them. On top of this mess you are also completely unable to drive off the edge of the track even a little bit. You aren't allowed to cut any corners because the edge of the track is really an invisible wall. Lame and hardly a rally experience if you ask me.
The difficulty of actually acquiring this game makes the playing of it special but the difficulty had trying to enjoy it makes the acquiring in and of itself wasteful. Hitmaker hardly made a hit here and I'll probably avoid anything I see with their name on it in the future. This is not a great or even very good racer and should definitely be passed over in favor of titles like Asphalt Urban GT or Colin McRae Rally 2005. I'd say it was amateur night at Sega when this was produced and all I'm willing to give this amateur effort is 32%.
Reviewed by Chris Rydberg at