Sega Rally 2006 [PS2/JPN]

* The short intro to the game features short image bursts of cars leaping, skidding, and sliding down dusty tracks while words such as "Don't cut," "Keep in," and "rally" flash across the screen. There's other words that appear for a microsecond including "caution," "jump in," "long easy," and "on tarmac."

* Press START and the following selections appear while the camera lovingly rolls over the body of a blue rally car.

CAREER
ARCADE
TIME ATTACK
RECORDS [view arcade or time attack mode records]
OPTIONS

Under OPTIONS, the following settings are adjustable:

/Controller
     /Key Assign for Dual Shock buttons
     /Vibration [on or off, along with 5 gradations of rumble]
     /GT Force

/Display
     /Meter [normal or simple]
     /Speed [km/h or MPH]
     /Default View [driver or rear]

/Sound
     /Volume for race, menu, replay music and SE
     /Sound output [Stereo or Mono]
     /Navigation [word or number]

/Monitor
     /Monitor size [set 4:3 or 16:9 aspect]
     /Adjust screen [move screen along either axis]
     /Contrast

/Replay Theater
     /load replay
     /delete replay

/Credits [ten pages of copyright and trademark information]

/Save/Load [transfer memory card data]

* Select CAREER Mode and one of five cars may be chosen as your starting vehicle

Subaru Impreza WRX STi
Engine: Flat 4
Drive system: 4WD
Transmission: 6 speed

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII MR
Engine: Inline-4
Drive system: 4WD
Transmission: 6 speed

Citroen XSARA 2.0i 16V VTS
Engine: Inline-4
Drive system: 4FF
Transmission: 5 speed

Peugeot 206RC
Engine: Inline-4
Drive system: 4WD
Transmission: 5 speed

Ford 2004 Focus RS2
Engine: V8
Drive system: FR
Transmission: 5 speed

* Since the Impreza and the Lancer both had wings in back, the choice was between those two. As anyone in motor sports knows, a wing is the secret to amazing speeds and superb handling. The higher the wing, the better the speed. We eventually went with the Subaru because of the gold rims. We read somewhere that gold bling enhances the driving experience. The default color of the Subaru is blue but upon selecting it, four other colors may be chosen and NCS bet on black.

* Once the car is safely in the garage, players are granted 3000 credits and a calendar which shows race days. The first appointment is on January 6 with a purse of 2000 credits up for the chase.

* Before the first race day, players may practice their driving skills and inspect or tweak the car in the garage. Before an actual race, the time of the race (morning, noon, night) and the surface types involved are listed in the data screen. The music may also be selected from a number of tracks.

* Controls are fairly floaty with the rally car bobbing and speeding along in fast motion while English pace notes are blurted out by an announcer. Although the notes warn of impending road conditions, the visual cues of the road are generally enough to prepare a driver for the upcoming bends and bumps. The game engine is friendly and conducive to drifting with some wicked moves capable of being churned out on hard turns and 180 degree curves. The controls and car are very responsive in this regard and the cars move sideways like they were made for it.

* A car starts each race nice and shiny. At the end of the race, observe the level of dirt and grime that has coated the body. When motoring on a gravel-filled tracked, gamers may listen to the rattle as rocks hit the underside of the vehicle.

* In the first race event (1 Day Cup), players try to get the best time in three laps with only the best lap counting towards the standing. Winnings (credits) are doled out based on your ranking. Since we ran 4th place, NCS was granted a 500 credit but the top purse was 2000 cr. There were a couple of times when drifting didn't work out in the 1 Day Cup and our Impreza was launched into the sky and flipped on its side for a few seconds before it resumed its trajectory towards the finish line. Some road surfaces aren't conducive to drifting...

* In addition to the five starting cars, other vehicles featured in SR2006 include:

Ford Focus Air Force Reserve Rally Car
Peugeot 307 Sport
Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Lancia Statos HF
2004 Focus RS8
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR Rally Car
Subaru Impreza Rally Car
Citroen XSARA Rallycross

NCS Game Notes for Sega Rally 1995
* The original "Only in Japan" warning is retained in the game along with the original title screen and intro.

* Choose from Championship or Practice upon starting the game. Four cars are available - 2 Automatic Transmission vehicles and 2 Manual Transmission cars. The tracks include Desert, Forest, and Mountain.

* Although the game hails from 1995, there are drift mechanics evident in the game where the rally cars may be sent sliding sideways. In the first practice track in the Desert, there's a long curve towards the end of the track where this can be practiced and tested. You'll know the spot when the announcer yells out "Very long easy right."

* Despite its age, Sega Rally Championship is an enjoyable racing game with solid control and focus-inducing game play. The action is demanding and challenging as one would expect from a coin-op conversion which is designed to gobble up quarters. The time limits give little leeway for mistakes and poor handling/cornering so one must be at the top of one's game to conquer the tracks. The illusion of speed in the game is also so much above and beyond what other modern racing games have attempted to accomplish.

* Maybe it was the nostalgia but we spent more time on SR1995 than SR2006 this morning. The handling and controls in SR1995 are very responsive and one has to give kudos to AM2 for the quality of the game which we had forgotten about despite dumping handfuls of quarters into a SR cabinet. This and Daytona USA (1994) were the big racing games at the local arcade when we were children.

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