The original Top Gear
Rally, released in 1997, was both lambasted and loved by critics alike.
Some praised its realism, its graphics, and its physics. Others blasted
its sensitive control, its lacking multi-player capabilities, and its
initial slow speed. Undeniably influenced by criticism of the original
is Top Gear Rally 2, which addresses all
of the original game's problems.
Gameplay & Control
For starters, the game features the ability to
tighten or loosen the control before racing. Additionally, the Control
Pad can be used as well as the Control Stick. As expected, the A button
is gas and the B button is brake. If manual transmission is selected,
Z shifts down and R shifts up. Bottom C is the emergency brake, Left and
Right C switch views, and Top C lets you look behind.
A big difference between Top
Gear Rally 2 and the original is that this one features point-to-point
racing rather than laps. So just like real rally racing, you're racing
against the clock, not against other cars, although they can still get
in your way. A total of four cars is always on the track.
Top Gear Rally 2 contains
three modes of play: Championship, Team Championship, and Versus. A big
criticism of the original was the lack of a two-player Championship mode,
and that has been fixed this time. Hence, Championship is for one player and Team Championship
contains a two-player, split-screen mode.
In the Championship modes, you race for a team. Remember,
since cars start one at a time and there are multiple legs (you can make
changes between each leg) for each course, your goal is to achieve the
best overall time. For your efforts, you will receive sponsorship decals,
credits, and championship points. As you acquire more of these, you can
open up new cars and tracks, you can join new teams and you can upgrade
parts on your vehicle.
Speaking of which, you have to contend with real-time
car damage in the Championship modes. There are six status indicators
at the bottom of the screen—engine
condition, electrical power, temperature, tire condition, shocks, and
muffler—that
change from green to yellow to red. If a status indicator turns red, then
some part in that category broke. You can still finish the race, but your
top speed may decrease or your control may become gaffled. Then you have
an allotment of time to fix that part between legs. The menus to do this
are a little confusing initially, however.
The Versus mode differs in that damage is non-existent.
In fact, you're actually more concerned with beating the other drivers
in this mode. Versus also can be played by up to four players simultaneously.
Two cool features of Top
Gear Rally 2 are its random track generation system and its ARSG
Rally School. The random track generation system opens up limitless possibilities
when it comes to terrain, weather, jumps, and turns. The ARSG Rally School
teaches you rally driving techniques and is your ticket to enter more
advanced cups.
Graphics & Sound
Top Gear Rally 2 isn't
as visually striking as the original. In fact, it's nothing more than
solid. But that tradeoff has enabled the developers to make the game move
quickly and smoothly from the beginning. In addition, it's technically
sound with a distant horizon, little fog, few clipping problems, no pop-up,
and a smart camera. On top of that, there are many nice graphic touches
(most of which are only in the one-player mode), such as mud accumulation,
bug splats, snow paths, dust trails, and more.
Sound is the game's lowpoint. The music is 100% generic.
There's nothing catchy here; it's just filler, and the sound effects are
average. There are different navigator voices depending on your team (one-player
mode only), and while there is a variety of sound effects, but there isn't
anything special.
Conclusion
As a whole, Top Gear Rally
2 is a great racing game. The Team Championship mode is worth the
price of admission alone. And the fact that it's a realistic yet forgiving
racing game, along with the true point-to-point racing, makes for a fresh
Nintendo 64 racing experience.
Final Rating: 3.7 out of 5.0
simultaneously.