SEGA Rally Revo - Updated Impressions (Xbox 360)

http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-36...Rally-Revo/p1/


It's safe to say the SEGA has the arcade racing thing down pat.
Franchises like OutRun and SEGA GT have solidified the massive gaming
company in the motorsports realm over the years. You can also toss
their SEGA Rally series into the mix, as it has been a pillar in the
off-road racing scene for over a decade.

Instead of re-hashing old SEGA Rally content from year's past, the
powers-that-be thought it would be best to update the IP for the next
generation of super hardware. SEGA is so dedicated to upgrading their
off-road racing franchise, in fact, that they created a UK-based
studio for the task (and future tasks based on OutRun and SEGA GT IP's
we hope). The result will be SEGA Rally Revo; a mud-slingin', next-gen
racer that's due out this holiday season.

We were curious about how SEGA might approach an older arcade
franchise running in the next-gen. Would the gameplay style be updated
to better suit the hardware? Would SEGA Rally Revo be an ode to the
old school? Most of our questions were answered at SEGA's Gamer's Day,
which features a lengthy demo carried out by one of SEGA Racing
Studios employees. The demo was running quite well on PS3 debug
hardware, but as you all know the Xbox 360 should have no issues
matching what Sony's beast was pumping out.

A potentially great racing game can be reduced to "meh" if the cars
don't pass muster. We didn't get the full rundown of cars that will
make it into SEGA Rally Revo, but we do know that the lineup will
include around thirty cars. It sounds like there will be four-wheel
drive and two-wheel drive classes, a classic class (can you say Celica
GT-Four?), and a class for some more off-the-wall entries that weren't
elaborated on.

We know for a fact that a newer version of the Subaru WRX STi Spec C
Type RA WRC car is in SEGA Rally Revo, as it was used for the majority
of the demo. We can also guarantee you that a newer Mitsubishi
Evolution (big surprise), and that one or more French cars will be
floating about in the 4WD class.

The STi's car model for this demo of SEGA Rally Revo was absolutely
stunning. Amazing, real-time reflections coupled with a metallic paint
application (similar to Madden NFL 07 helmets) made the World Rally
Blue hue pop of the wireframe with amazing realism. Close-ups using a
worm's eye cam revealed intricate detailing on the forged alloy wheels
and tire tread that is actually modeled. There's also a light damage
model (we didn't get to see it in action), and a massive system that
incorporates environmental particle effects onto the vehicles too,
thereby creating one of the most technologically advanced car
rendering systems in the racing genre.



We like fancy car models, but cars looking good in motion are much
more impressive. The SEGA Rally Revo demo also showed off what things
look like at speed, and we couldn't be much more impressed at this
point. All of the post-prod tricks of the trade have been implemented;
along with camera angles you don't normally see in a racing game (low-
mounted to show wheel rotation and suspension movement). Add to this a
particle system that is unrivaled, and you have one aesthetically
pleasing rally game at speed. For fun, the playtester threw five other
cars on the track to deviate from they typical point-to-point rally
style and to show off more of the great visuals. Just as we suspected:
particle effect nirvana and no signs of slowdown.

Keeping pace with the great car models and animations are the
environments chosen for SEGA Rally Revo. There will be six
environments in all, each having a basic driving theme. There's the
alpine run, an arctic setting, a Safari-style desert set, a tropical
paradise, and two others that when unannounced.


The tropical setting was used to show some of the technology
implemented into SEGA Rally Revo's environments. Driving surfaces are
actually layered and real-time deformable, thereby creating for ever-
changing tracks that actually affect the gameplay. The tester
performed donut-after-donut in the STi, with the muddy ground giving
way each time the rubber contacted the earth. Revealed beneath was a
mixture of heavy mud and puddles; deep ruts that wreak havoc on even
beefed-up rally suspensions. The tester then drove perpendicular to
his fresh tire tracks, easily showing how the vehicle was responding
to these dips via the overworked suspension bits.

Call us impressed with what SEGA has shown us thus far on SEGA Rally
Revo. It's evident that SEGA Racing Studios is out to dominate the
next-gen with fun to play arcade-style games with an emphasis on
stunning visuals and new programming technology. If SEGA Rally Revo is
any indication of the long-term implementation of these strategies,
SEGA is on its way to the winner's circle.