Sega Rally Revo

Intro:

I know Sega Rally Revo is meant to be an arcade racer first and formost, but that doesn't change how negative I felt towards this game on the whole. Despite having given this game three chances, I just couldn't get into it for many reasons.

Firstly, I want to praise this game before I get into the bad stuff:

1. The graphics look great for something that came out in 2007. If you looked at something like DiRT 1, which came out in the same year, you'll know that it had obnoxious bloom which covered up how good that could've looked, Sega Rally Revo doesn't have any of that and looks more timeless because of that.

Now off to the bad stuff:

1. Right off the bat, when you try your first race, you'll notice how your car just feels off. And there are a few reasons because of that. Your car just lacks any kind of weight whenever you hit a wall, opponent or landing a jump over a bump. Whenever you turn, it feels more like a slide than an actual turn. And cars just seem too fast, if you've played DiRT 1 before and then play this, you'll probably know what I mean.

2. The AI is relentless, in a bad way. Although, you can win the first few races fairly easily. It's not too long before they get artificially tough to take on. At that point, they seem to disregard the physics that you have to deal with and just bolt to the finish line effortlessly.

3. How the events are setup. How each championship works in the career mode sound simple. There are three or four races in each championship, if you place first, you'll gain the max amount of points you can get from that championship, which is usually 30. And you cannot restart any of the races mid-championship if you make a mistake. That last part is not a problem in and of itself. But remember what I said about the AI? Yes? If you fail to place first in the last race and you're one for 100% completion, you'll have to restart the entire championship again because of the AI, that might as well be AI-recreations of Colin McRae for how persistent they are.

Conclusion:

I know that a lot of people love this game and cherish it. Feel free to do so, by the way. But I just can't find a good reason to recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played it. Especially when games like DiRT and WRC, provide a similar experience, but the cars actually have weight, the AI is more reserved and the career mode works seemlessly. Speaking of controls, when I first played Sega Rally Revo, I always had that "ehhhh..." feeling, because it just felt off. Meanwhile, I felt happy when revisiting DiRT 1, because it just felt right. If you want to try Sega Rally Revo to see if you like it, do so. Especially since it's abandonware right now and is therefore free.

Sega Rally Revo is a return to Sega's classic Rally franchise and by far its most underrated. It's a great arcade racer that has an interesting learning curve and a vibrant presentation.

The art direction is stunning and slick, as the menus are nice to look at and quick to navigate, and the tracks and car models are vibrant and brimming with life and effort. Every track showcases its lively locations with some great cinematography, distinct coloration and some decent audio design outside the track. It's a beautiful game to look at and still looks amazing, to this day. This game came out in 2007, mind you.

Gameplay is where things get very interesting. The way the gameplay is presented is very similar to arcade racing machines - from how you select tracks and vehicles, down to the racing action. The biggest standout feature of gameplay is the physics. Sega Rally Revo has driving physics that are akin to Ridge Racer, meaning that you'll be wildly drifting around EVERY corner. Although, unlike Ridge Racer, Revo does give you WAY more control over your vehicle, which is where the learning curve kicks in. Learning how the physics work and what techniques to use to somewhat use those physics and the track design to your advantage is the beauty of Sega Rally Revo.

If you're going into this game expecting something like WRC or a Colin McRae game, you're not going to be to pleased. Sega Rally Revo is like if someone wished that Ridge Racer had an off-road alternative - I don't know who'd want that, but okay. It's very arcadey in its handling and physics, and it can also get a little chaotic at times. But Sega Rally Revo is a top-tier arcade racer, as well as one of the best and most "fun" off-road/rally racers I've played. Definitely up there with DiRT 2 and DiRT 3.