Rallisport Challenge 2

[Brats]

I don't have that problem. What view are you using?

[VR46]

behind the car, prehaps the other views are OK, will check later after my trip to the local Harvester yum yum

[Brats]

Spare Ribs or Smothered Chicken? .

I use the bonnet cam. I find the game much more enjoyable this way as the sensation of speed is incredible and it's no more difficult than the behind the car view thanks to the arcadey handling. The map doesn't get in the way either.

[Soi]

I use the bonnet cam with the map, and don't find it a pain at all. In fact, more racers could do with the option of such a map imo. It is much less distrcting to have the map just above the road, than having to averty your eyes to a corner of the screen.

This is the first racer I've ever played in which the night courses are playable. In fact, I love them. The make you feel very tense as you have to rely on the map and co driver, as well as using your instincts.

[Commander Marklar]

[but] the handling is precise [...]

is it **** not that i had a problem when i played -- it did seem very easy, with little challenge to it. Both mentally and in terms of gameplay.

It still has that kinda blind-spot mid distance too, its bizzare

[John Beaulieu]

any challenge instilled into this game is via artificial means ie fog/night-time/heavy rain (you get the picture) .... this means that the later tracks turn into a total bitchfest which can totally off-putting when you consider that the later tracks are some of the best tracks to race in the game (16+ mile hill-climbs/rallys)

the handling is instinctive, you don't need to think about the technicalities of powersliding around corners since it all just comes together simply and perfectly - arcadey in every way,shape or form but is this a bad thing? personally i think not but you always get people bitching about how a game isn't something its trying not to be the only thing in comparison with this title and colin mcrae 4 is that both are set in the rally universe ... i would compare RS2 to Burnout 1/2 in temrs of how it actually plays than other current gen titles (comparisons with Sega Rally will crop up of course)

playing the later tracks (the long ass races) in single race mode are superb (especially against 2 or 3 opponents) - remind me of the very first Need for Speed in that they are point to point races in which there are too many corners to memorise perfectly, so a lot of it is seat of the pant racing with occassional glances at the map to help you along

favourite car upto now (the one i have put the most mileage into) - the Skoda (not sure what class it is), it just handles sooooooo sweetly

camps

[Brats]

Of course the handling is precise, that what makes it easy to handle . It's very slidey in places depending on the surface, but controlling the slide is very easy and intuitive. The player always feels like he's in control. Even the ice races (which are just like racing on an ice rink) I've never spun out and yet you spend probably 90% of the race without grip. If it wasn't like this, it'd be a much more difficult game, especially on the hill limbs with all those drop offs.

And the challenge comes in the championship mode which is much tougher. The enjoyment of this game is not in the complexity of the handling, it's what the easy handling allows you to get away with. The comparison with Burnout 2 is exactly right in this respect.

Marklar, you didn't play this on a demo pod perchance, did you .

[revisedgenocide]

Id agree with whats been said about comparing it more to the Burnout games than the Colin Mcrae games. You really can put the car where you want it. The tracks so far ive found very enjoyable with lots of tight turns and scope for powersliding around corners. Im using the Bumper cam, its probably a bit lower than id like but i havent had any major problems with it so far.

[Concept]

I read Edge's review, and the complete lack of passion in the text mildly put me off this. Is it another game the magazine is seriously off the mark on?

Everywhere else seems to giving RC 2 the thumbs up.

[Brats]

The Edge review mentions 'text heavy presentation' but I haven't found that to be the case. When you select a rally to race, it tells you what stages the rally will be set at, which classes of car you choose from and what you'll unlock if you complete it. All of which I would be more miffed at if they had left it out. It certainly has no more text than most other racers and a great deal less than something like GT3 or Sega GT.

The 6/10 Edge review didn't quite fit the text too, when you consider they mentioned 'the game is capable of producing some genuine heart in mouth moments'; 'In single player it's fun and surprisingly engaging' and 'the prospect of Live compatibility ensures further longetivity'. All of which I'd agree with.

Their main beef seemed to be it was just another racer and that 'In single player...all but the most forgiving player should find monotony eventually sets in', which of course you could argue applies to 99% of games out there .

Like I said before, I wasn't expecting much from this game and I have been really surprised. If you liked Burnout 2, then I think you would like this.

[therealjohnpeat]

It's certainly fun - but it's biggest drawback is the total lack of challenge the AI offers and the lack of 'difficulty' in single-player.

Amateur level is a joke - you mum could cruise it - but you have to complete it if you want every car

Pro level offers no real challenge either - just turn up and learn as you go - unless you're seriously poor at driving games you'll win races by EONS

Champion level isn't exactly tough either - it's about 'Silver' in PGR2 terms - just keeping going at a steady pace and not binning it is all you need to do.

I've not reached the next level yet - but I suspect it will HAVE to be a leap in skill terms surely?

Single Races against the 'Hard' AI are totally one-sided affairs too - you 'might' get into a tussle at the first corner and that's the last you'll see of the opposition unless you get it horribly wrong (and there's no pressure on you so you shouldn't).

So Single Player is really just an 'unlock festival' for multiplayer and XBOX Live - which will drive the multiplayer-types mad

It's lovely to look at tho - and it's definately a buzz when it's working

Shame the pacenotes are still too vague - Easy Medium and Hard are no replacement for 1,2,3,4,5,6 and it's idea of 'tightens' varies from 'a bit' to 'to a hairpin with a cliff on the farside' without much warning

JP

[VR46]

JP, there is an option to change to "advanced" pace notes, can't remember where, you'll have to check the manual - this gives 1 Left etc the same as "proper" rally games.

[PeteJ]

The pace notes are by far the games biggest flaw; I find myself constantly let down by my co-driver in the Rally stages as he is calling out instructions far too late. Occasionally they aren't even right, which is obviously also annoying.

What I've always loved about the Rally genre on the whole is that you don't need to have played the track to be able to win, simply because if you are good enough you can rely completely on the notes to get you through. I guess this is why I love the McRae series, because they do this so well. In this regard Rallisport just isn't good enough, and the fact they aren't even included for the Hill Climb stages is very irritating and quite frankly, a bit stupid.

However when it does all click together, it really is an edge-of-your-seat experience. The speed combined with the improved handling creates a real buzz. One Rally track has you starting in a nice town, climbing to the top of a mountain and then back down again, and towards the end of the track you speed down a thin road and in the distance you can actually see the town you started in. It really is quite something. In fact, the fairly normal initial tracks do really open up into longer, more demanding and interesting ones later on.

It's a shame the difficulty seems to be all over the place, but I'm having fun going through the game anyway. I've got the D, C and B licence so far...

[therealjohnpeat]

Thanks David - I've just found the Advanced Pacenotes and they are better - although they are still VERY flawed in places (esp. on the most complex stages).

Turning on the map as well helps a bit - it certainly highlights where a '1 Left Tightens' is actually a hairpin bend over a cliff!! Beware tho - when you start to change your map options it often disables it for Hillclimbs - why I've no idea but at 170mph in your Tacoma looking up and seeing no map is - well - it's 6 miles downhill with only 3 wheels

End of the day tho, the 'skill' in this game comes from super-hard and super-long (6-10miles+) stages which are often plunged in darkness/fog/teaming rain - it's really your observational skills against the world - rather than a driving skill thing.

You will "learn" stages tho - they're all made up of reused bits and sections and you do start to see patterns and remember 'gotchas' such as corner with little bumps which throw you off (a cliff!)

I just 'completed' Champion - I did the least I could to unlock the nice cars and get the licence - and I won't spoil what SuperRally is but it's - erm - it's - it's 3:20AM is what it is!!!!!

What won't really be a spoiler is that whilst the rallies get harder and harder (I had to drive 8 miles in pitch darkness after I broke my headlights - that was entertaining!!) the Circuit/vs AI stuff remains easy-peasy - the longest an AI car was in front of me was for 4 corners and that's only cos they span me at the first one!

I guess the AI is really on there to provide 'impetus'

Still - it's a buzz, even if I've unlocked all the cars and almost all the tracks in less than 8 hours (it goes back to BlockBuster tomorrow

JP

[therealjohnpeat]

p.s. One thing which this is SORELY missing is the ability to download Ghosts or Replays from XBOX Live

I would LOVE to see someone complete the latter stages in '1st place' times - they'd need almost supernatural skillz