RalliSport Challenge
Score: 95% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Digitial Illusions (DICE) Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Racing
Graphics & Sound: RalliSport Challenge is one of those rare games: It has outstanding graphics and sound, wonderful game play, exceptionally suited music, and is fun as hell! The graphics make great use of tasteful textures, with realistic reflections on metal, ice, and water. As you drive one of the many available cars, dirt, gravel and ice fly, dirtying the cars in the process. Rain or snow falls during some events, and the weather conditions make driving appropriately more difficult. Sometimes you race in the morning, during the day, or in the evening, and the lighting is accurate and actually affects game play. The sound effects are spot on, with unique engine noises for each of the 29 cars you can drive. If you slide or crash, the sounds made are realistic. Your co-driver walks you through each event, and even though there's only one voice available, he speaks clearly and his directions are invaluable to racing successfully. The licensed music from HARDKNOX, Fear Factory, Ball of Waxx, Dub Pistols, Frontside, FOETUS, and AndRoyd provide an exciting background on which to race, and although the game supports Xbox music play lists, realize that music with lyrics, or that is slow and plodding, may easily be drowned out by your co-driver and the car noises.
Gameplay: The game definitely errs on the side of fun. It would be foolish to believe this is an accurate simulation, but the presentation is so expertly done one might want to. Since it is possible to keep the gas fully depressed throughout most of the races, and just use the handbrake to help you slide through turns, it is clear that the game is more arcade than simulator. Several modes of play are available, from Instant Action and Single Race to Time Attack and Career mode. In addition, from two to four players can complete using split screen mode and multiple controllers. One fairly light aspect of game play includes tweaking your car. You can choose from several settings, including type of tires, gear ratio, steering tightness, and a few other settings. These do make some difference to how cars handle or accelerate, but the changes are pretty subtle.
Difficulty: RalliSport Challenge offers beginner and normal difficulty levels. Although the beginner level is by no means easy, it does allow you to progress quickly, whereas at the normal level it is much harder to win events. You can restart a race during a career event when playing at the beginner level, but not at normal. Although you can unlock cars and tracks in the beginner difficulty level, there are additional features unlocked when the game is played at the normal difficultly level. There are a number of driving aids, including automatic transmission, an on-screen map, and pace notes, and these all help tremendously. In addition, even though wrecks have visual impact on the vehicles, since you can't actually completely destroy a car, it is possible to wreck numerous times and still complete an event successfully.
Game Mechanics: Career mode is the best and worst aspect of RalliSport Challenge. Progressing through the various stages and classes of events earns you points, and once you have reached a certain number of points, bonus cars and tracks are unlocked. The game shows you where you are at after each race, but it would have been nice if the developers had provided more information between races, and had also provided a clearer picture of what the ramifications are for quitting a race midstream. The user interface is very easy to navigate through, and load times are reasonable. The actual game controls used when racing are logically laid out, and work exceptionally well. Camera views are available both during a race and also when replaying an event. In addition, you can customize exactly which camera views are available, which is a great feature that makes it easier to keep your mind on the race at hand. Overall, RalliSport Challenge is a stunning racing game. It has exceptional visuals, great sound and music, tight controls, visceral game play, and it has 48 different tracks to race on. It offers racing on ice, mud, gravel, sand, and tarmac, in settings that are diverse and interesting. It's not always an easy game to do well at, but it offers a rewarding challenge for those who take it for a spin.
-Gordy, GameVortex Communications AKA Gary Lucero
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