Sega Rally 2006 Preview

Sega Rally made a name for itself in the arcades, and the Saturn port was one of the console’s finest achievements. The sequel was equally entertaining and the Dreamcast version (despite some frame rate issues) still holds up well today. When Sega announced a new Sega Rally game, then, everyone became excited. One of the most coveted arcade racers of all time was making a comeback… or so we thought. After a fairly hefty delay, Sega Rally 2005 became Sega Rally 2006, and to be honest, bumping it another year might have been a good idea.

Being a Japanese import (It was released this month in Japan, but there’s no word on a release elsewhere) it’s a little tricky to get into the career mode, but based on what I’ve played of the arcade mode, lots of people will be very disappointed. The first thing you’ll notice is how the cars slide. You could slide rather unrealistically in all previous Sega Rally games, but 2006 is almost Outrun-like. You can lock the car into the turn, sliding around the corner as if it’s on a rail. This is initially very tricky to get the hang of, but with time you adjust to the changes in the driving model.

The career mode appears to offer plenty to do, with a calendar planning what events you are going to take part in, but the English version of the game will reveal exactly what is going on here. Arcade mode is the usual series of rally stages set against a clock and Time Trial mode allows you to go for your best times on any of the stages you’ve unlocked, without any rival drivers getting in your way.

Assuming you can learn to live with the sliding, you’ll still have to contend with some of the crumbiest visuals since the PlayStation 2’s launch titles. Pop-up is the biggest offender, and it’s not just trees. You’ll often see barriers and direction signs pop up moments before you enter a corner, which will cause a few problems while you’re still learning the courses. Everything looks really dull too. The lighting is often so muted that it’s hard to see what’s going on, with the bright colours of the original Sega Rally nowhere to be seen.

Thankfully the frame rate is top notch and hasn’t skipped a beat in the time I’ve spent with the game. There’s also a great sense of speed and a widescreen option, but given how rough the game looks overall, you’d expect nothing less. Cheesy soundtracks go hand in hand with Sega racers, and Sega Rally 2006 certainly follows that tradition, with some great cheesy tunes to listen to. They’re nowhere near the greatness of the tracks found in Outrun 2, but in a game that seems to have tried to destroy all that made previous Sega Rally games so much fun, I’m thankful they’re there at all.

Sega Rally 2006 is pretty underwhelming, but purchasers of the Japanese import game are treated to a nice little bonus in the shape of the original Sega Rally. Coming in its own case, for many people this will be worth the price of the game in itself, particularly if it’s arcade perfect. I don’t claim to be an expert on the arcade version, but based on a few hours spent trying to achieve the fastest times possible, it looks pretty damn close. The mid-nineties racer hasn’t aged too well graphically, so it’s hard to know for sure how this version stacks up against the arcade version, but everything looks and feels right. In fact, there’s less pop-up here than in Sega Rally 2006.

Being an arcade game you’re limited to the one game mode, meaning you can’t simply race single tracks for the best time or play split-screen (a great feature of the Saturn port), but the gameplay is as solid as ever, and highlights how inferior Sega Rally 2006 is. The original game has a much greater sense of a connection between the car and the road, and while slides are unrealistic, they aren’t as locked in place as those in the new game. The aged visuals are also more pleasing on the eye, with nice blue skies and colourful environments. Sega Rally has a fraction of the content included in 2006, but it’s so much more fun to play.

Sega Rally represents a piece of arcade racing history that stands up well ten years on; Sega Rally 2006 will be forgotten moments after you put down the controller. We’ll keep you updated on European release news.