Sega Rally

Platform: Xbox 360, also PS3 and PC.
Verdict: Pure, filthy racing.
Rating: 4/5
As iconic to some as Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega Rally has always been regarded as one of Sega’s sweet spots - the hardware was cutting edge, the gameplay was sublime and the arcades still had some life left in them. Cut to today - the arcade is left for dead, Sega self imploded in the console race and the synonymous Sonic has fallen from gaming grace.
Thankfully, the latest Sega Rally is a shining beacon to past glories on current hardware. Like the Outrun remake of recent years, it shows that despite the arcade’s demise, Sega still know how to make pure arcade games that pack plenty of no-frills punch.
Stripped of the usual feature rich make-up of modern racers, Sega Rally is racing at it’s purist - pick a tournament, pick a car and off you go. Shaved of the weight deemed essential these days it’s a refreshing experience, further enhanced through its gameplay.
Initially, handling can feel exaggerated and twitchy, especially when coming straight from a session on the tighter PGR4. Once it clicks though you’ll be powerdrifting through troughs of mud at impossible angles and preposterous speeds with wide grinned glee. Online multiplayer proves a hilarious abuse of physics and gloriously rendered mud.
Travelling a variety of beautiful landscapes (safari, alpine, jungle etc), each adds its own particular nuance to driving as the differing terrains react uniquely under the wheels of the car. With deformable tracks where each wheel cuts grooves into the mud, each lap plays out differently while mud sticks to the car adding weight, removed all too briefly by pools of water before the next muddy bend.
It’s this added depth to the experience that sets Sega Rally apart from other racers. With a recent glut of exceptional racers like PGR4 and Colin McRae: DiRT, it finds it’s voice through this feature and its accessible arcade simplicity. That said, it’s this brevity of features and distinctly old school approach that could turn some against it.
Now all I need is to install it in an arcade cabinet and the cycle is complete.