Sega Rally was released Oct 2007 and at it's time of release had alot of ground to cover, Typically this type of game has bombed on the psp due to two factors. Control issues and over-complexity!!
Sega Rally manages to get both of these right. With it's mixture of arcade racer styling and simplicity makes this game a winner.
I almost forgot about this game as I haven't played it for such along time, and I'm glad I've had the chance to review it for you all as it's a great game.
I did'nt know what to expect when I opened the box on release date and was pleasantly surprised with the graphics. They're very smooth and all the cars are nicely detailed with all the livery you'd expect from the Rally circuit.
You get a host of big name cars including Subaru, Mitsubishi, Citroen, Skoda, Ford, Hummer and many more. My favourite being the Ford Focus RS, lovely
The tracks are well drawn and look great making best use of the psp's fantastic colours. This really is a an interesting game to play reminiscent of the old arcade racers!! Fabulous.
The sounds are great and you have some nice Sega style commentary via yr co-driver whilst playing through the levels, bit cheesy but nice cheesy. The engine sounds are pretty realistic too adding to the overall affect.
The game has you covering lots of different types of terrain from mountain passes covered in snow, hard dusty tracks, gravel, tarmac and of course mud lots of it. The affect of this obviously is handling, the cars all handle differently and this coupled with the terrain makes it a blast to play and will have you power sliding in next to no time. Take time to watch the game and sega have added some unique touches, like the helicopter that passes over you at points during the races. These touches remind me so much of Outrun Coast 2 Coast.
The gameplay is fast and you need to make best use of yr brakes and excellerator to get the winning edge. There are several race modes from quick race, Championship, Time Attack and also an online multiplayer. I tried the online this evening and there was still peeps on there. Fantastic
The championship mode is the main mode, splitting the races into three catagories. Premier, Modified and Master. Each has its own sub catagories-Amatuer, Professional, Expert, and ending with a Final. Progress can only be made gaining the required points by as many first place wins as possible, allowing the player to move to the next set of races. This is a good game for 20-30 min stints. But I hammered it to unlock all the cars, as you win more races you unlock better cars. As you get into the master class the difficulty goes up and I had a few swearing fits as the races can be really tough!!lol
All in all this is a Gem of a game. The graphics are great and it's and shiney and happy little bundle that will keep you busy for weeks. Add to this the replay value of the online support it's a cracking little racer. Nice one Sega!!
Review Stats 7/10
PSP review, Sega Rally, Pocket Gamer