Sega Rally Revo (360)

[SegaAges]

Uh, has anybody else played this game?

This is going to be a review/rant, but the game is retarded.

Ok, so I made it to expert league in less than 1 hour from playing the game. Some tracks, I just needed to learn the tracks, but once I knew the track, I dominated.

I started on expert league today. I tried 1000 Acre Rally, and the first track, Tropical 1, even when I messed up a little, it is super easy to get first no matter which car I pick. I thought, "Awesome, I am gonna smoke this series". Well, I was wrong. Apparently, the very next track, Safari 3, which I have played before, they decided that they would up the ai difficulty. They didn't do that in the first track in the series, but the second one, you have to seriously be the best person on the planet at video games, be able to slow down time, pull a Neo from the Matrix and change the code of the game, just to get into the top 3.

Now, if they were going to make this series hard, it is acceptable, because it is expert. Now it is not the track itself, because the second track in the series, Safari 3, I drive and make less mistakes driving on that track then I do on the first track, Tropical 1. What they did, was somehow, the ai decided to be on expert on the second track. There are 6 positions you can be in (6 cars in the race), and in the first track, you can breeze past cars 5-3 (you start as position 6 no matter what), but once you get to the second and first position, the cars fight back, which is understandable since this is on expert.

Safari 3, positions 4 and 5 fight harder for their place than positions 1 and 2 did in the track just before it within the same exact series. I have yet to place above 4th on that track. The second lap on that track, I seriously did not hit a wall at all, and by racing game standards, if you are able to drive fast and not hit a wall, you will advance through the rest of the cars (well that is the formula used in the rest of this game, and even the track just before it within the same series), but apparently they decided that once you hit 4th place in the game, the cars would react as if you were in 1st place.

Now some of you may think, "well, the races will get harder as you progress". Yes, they do, but from the other 2 series, I can tell you personally that within 1 series (there are series' of races inside of each class), it did not get harder, but yet the difficulty went up per series itself, and not per race.

The problem then comes in also with this insane boost in ai, is IF, and I say IF, you get to 3rd place, by the time you are done fighting for 3rd and 4th because of the massive shift in ai, then the 2nd and 1st place cars are so far ahead, that it is not possible to catch them.

I bought this game for 3 reasons:
1.) I am a huge fan of rally racing games
2.) Its Sega Rally, c'mon, it's F'ING SEGA RALLY!
3.) I got it as part of the B1G1 deal at blockbuster

Honestly, I am going to keep playing this game because I love Sega Rally too much to give up on it, but I am guessing that the point I am at, is the point where most other people would say screw it, take it back to blockbuster, and invest more than 14.99 and get DiRT.

I will say from personal experience, that only extreme Sega/Sega Rally fans should even own this game. The game itself is really incredible. The roads change. If there is a muddy part and all of the other racers drive the same line, there will be huge grooves in the muddy road that will stay there the entire race.

If you drive through mud, it gets your car muddy, and if you drive through water while your car is muddy, it will wash some of the mud off of your car, very cool. The driving mechanics are extremely simple, it is not Forza or Gran Turismo here. The mechanics of the game are intuitive enough to where anybody can pick up a controller and start playing it. The car control is mediocre. It is something that has a learning curve to get used to how to drive the cars, even if you play rally games. Thankful enough, driving a car has a very low and fast learning curve, so within a race or 2, you will be drifting around corners at 100mph like the best of them.

Again, the problem that comes up is the insane shift in ai difficulty half-way through a series. You can drive near perfect and still struggle to get in the top 3, but in the track just before it in the same series, you don't even have to try to get 1st, you actually have to try to not get first, it is that easy. The ai just just retarded and insane way too fast. It should be that each series gets harder since we are advancing up to harder leagues, but it should not be that you do one race on expert, and it is as easy as a amatuer race, and then the ai boosts up. If you are giving us a hard ai, it should be maintained through-out an entire series, and not just thrown way up after 1 race in the series.

If you are a racing fan, there are many others out there for you on the 360 like the Need for Speed series, Forza 2, Project Gothan, and if you need your rally fix, there is DiRT. Sega Rally Revo is only out there so the Sega fans could get all %@$# happy about it even existing on a next gen, and that is about it. This game is not recommended, play/buy/rent at your own risk. You have been warned.

EDIT: I stopped quitting the series and played the last track (I was able to get 3rd on the second track), and I got first. WTF!!! I seriously crashed super bad twice. One time I crashed so bad I was in the air and did a 360 while in the air. Another time I lost control and was sitting perpendicular to a wall. 2 Big crashes, but I still pulled a first, but yet on the track just before it, I would barely nudge a wall, but I was struggling to get 3rd or 4th. It is that track. Somehow for fun, they thought it would be awesome to make the ai so insane that it is almost impossible unless you drive perfect, but on the track before it and after it in the 3 race series, you can easily get 1st.

EDIT2: I finally got 1st in that track, but the only way it was possible was for me to drive perfect and be in at least 3rd or 4th. Apparently, the ai for 6th through 4th is insane, because 3rd through 1st didn't try near as hard to stop me from passing them. So it appears that they. somehow, reversed the ai, because it should be that the higher up you get in ranks in a race, the harder the guys will be to fight through.

[Wraith Storm]

I love Sega Rally! I played it to death on my saturn. I also have the Netlink enabled version of Sega Rally if anyone want to have a go at it

When the Dreamcast version came out I bought it on the day of release. But it was much harder than the Saturn version. On the 7 year race or whatever the mode was, I can almost get to year 3 but the track is tough and I always get last place. I must have played that track for weeks and never beat it.

Sega Rally Revo, from what you say, sounds just as tough, but as long as it plays like a Sega Rally game then I'm gonna hunt down a copy!

[Chuplayer]

I loved SEGA Rally 1 on the Saturn. It ruled. The gameplay was awesome, the music was rockin', and it was just plain fun. Not a lot of tracks or cars, but it was fun regardless.

I played SEGA Rally 1 in the arcade a couple of times. It was fun.

I rented SEGA Rally 2 on the DC, and I hated it. I couldn't stand the framerate drops. I couldn't stand the music. It played all right, but it lacked the "it factor" of the first one.

I saw somebody play SEGA Rally 2006 on a laptop. Was there a PC version? Because I'm sure it was SEGA Rally 2006. Perhaps it was a PS2 emulator. Anyway, it looked okay, but it didn't look like a SEGA Rally game. I don't think the PS2 version came out in America, either, so I never played it.

I have Revo on the 360, and it's freaking brilliant. Over 10 years later, and we get the revolution of the original. It's so revolutionary nobody bought it and SEGA fired the entire team that made it I'm so glad I bought the game, and I hope Codemasters lets the team continue work on the rumored Daytona USA sequel they were rumored to have been working on. But I digress, the game looks fantastic, plays extremely well (only in first person), and has a terrain system that kicks copious amounts of ass. I don't know how SEGA could have fired a team that made something as wonderful as this.

[Mr Mort]

I was a huge Sega Rally fan back in the day. Played the Saturn Netlink version to death (still have it too), and I enjoyed the sequel as well, so I was excited to pick this up. I think the game is pretty decent, but I have to admit, I'm somewhat dissapointed with it.
The track deformation is a very nice idea, the visuals are pretty good and are very colourful, but it just doesn't have the same "feel" of the arcade original somehow.

My biggest gripe I suppose is the AI and the difficulty in general. The game goes from fairly easy to extreme frustration with no adjustment in between. It's as if the AI cars are pretty much driving on their own pre-determined course as opposed to actually reacting to your presence on the track. That's why when you hit another car, it's almost like it never happened because the car is on auto-pilot and cannot be diverted from its pre-destined path. You're essentially racing the clock to get across the finish line before the the other cars are already slated to.

I'd hate to say it, but RalliSport 2 has really spoiled me. As far as I'm concerned with the exception of DiRT, no other rally game comes close. RS2 had just the right mix of arcade-style and sim-style gameplay, the tracks & visuals were amazing, and the control was absolutely perfect. DiRT comes pretty close, but the framerate can really spoil the experience at times.

All in all, Sega Rally, is merely OK, and that is a crying shame.

[Poofta!]

I'd hate to say it, but RalliSport 2 has really spoiled me. As far as I'm concerned with the exception of DiRT, no other rally game comes close. RS2 had just the right mix of arcade-style and sim-style gameplay, the tracks & visuals were amazing, and the control was absolutely perfect. DiRT comes pretty close, but the framerate can really spoil the experience at times.

wow i couldnt agree with you more. i have yet to play any rally game on a console to surpass (or even match) RS2. and i too agree with your opinion on DiRT, it is a close second.

i was watching the release of this game carefully and being a fan of the arcade original (back then) really wished this would be great... guess now i dont have to wonder anymore. would you guys say its worth the eventual 12-15$ pickup?

[videogameking26]

Never played the Saturn version, loved DiRT to death that I bought on release and completed it..been wanting to pick this one up for either my PS3 or 360 but just yet haven't done it, now if I can find a cheap copy then I'm going to pick it up asap.

[Poofta!]

Never played the Saturn version, loved DiRT to death that I bought on release and completed it..been wanting to pick this one up for either my PS3 or 360 but just yet haven't done it, now if I can find a cheap copy then I'm going to pick it up asap.

skip it. get RalliSport 2. better than both games.

[otaku]

The saturn version is still the best but I've enjoyed every version to some extent revo was nice for the online play.

[TVs Hasselhoff]

I really enjoyed Revo, too, even with the jump in AI difficulty.

The point most reviewers and gamers overlooked was the brilliant rumble feedback you got from the changing track conditions. It really did give you a sense of changing and degrading track conditions, and became true "feedback," not just a rumble effect.

The programing team did a great job in updating a classic arcade racer. Too bad the public tastes have shifted away from this type of arcade game for home use.

Fry's is blowing out Revo at $20, so if you have a Fry's near you, or are ordering online, now is the time.

[acem77]

I really enjoyed Revo, too, even with the jump in AI difficulty.

The point most reviewers and gamers overlooked was the brilliant rumble feedback you got from the changing track conditions. It really did give you a sense of changing and degrading track conditions, and became true "feedback," not just a rumble effect.

The programing team did a great job in updating a classic arcade racer. Too bad the public tastes have shifted away from this type of arcade game for home use.

Fry's is blowing out Revo at $20, so if you have a Fry's near you, or are ordering online, now is the time.

The 360 ver supports the microsoft wheel.
They do not list it as supported on there web site.
Much better with the wheel with all the feed back!
Dirt is works great with the wheel also.

[klausien]

The saturn version is still the best but I've enjoyed every version to some extent revo was nice for the online play.

Not really. The bonus disc Sega Rally 1995 that was packed with the just average Sega Rally 2006 for PS2 is a near perfect conversion of the original Model 2 arcade game. It runs at a solid 60 fps, versus the Saturn's 25-30 & DC's 30-60. It also controls like butter with the Dual Shock. The Japanese Saturn Plus edition was the best previously as it was basically the Netlink edition with 3D Analog Pad support.

I too enjoy Sega Rally Revo for what it is. Arcade racers are my favorite racing games, and Revo is an excellent one. It's also a great looking game. My only real gripe outside of the AI inconsistency that everyone has already laid out, is that it is nigh unplayable in the behind the car viewpoint (also already mentioned). The original Sega Rally (and its cousins Virtua Racing & Daytona USA) had one of the most playable outside the car views in the genre. So did all of the Codemasters Colin McRae games. Revo is only good in the bumper cam modes. Playing behind the car is a fish-tailing, wall-ramming disaster that almost put me off immediately (and I am a huge fan of the series). This is a small gripe, but its still disappointing considering its lineage. The PS2 Sega Rally 2006 had the same problem, though suffers more from being ho-hum in general.

If you want something a little more like the older games, the PSP version of Sega Rally Revo is awesome. It is an entirely different game than the 360/PS3 version, and plays more like the classics.

[SegaAges]

Well, I found out it is just the Safari tracks.

You can drive perfect, but that includes not hitting the cars.

I can smoke everything but the safari tracks, but it has nothing to do with the tracks themselves, cuz the tracks are pretty easy, it is the purple ford focus.

anybody that has sega rally revo knows what I am talking about when I say the purple ford focus (it may be a different car for you depending on the car you picked to play the tracks with, but since I picked the evo, I had to go against the purple focus).

This is something I have honestly seen the car do that only happens in safari (and this purple focus will not do it on any other track in the same series), I was in 6th, focus in 5th. I was driving good, really good. I was going through the pack, but so was the focus. the stupid damn ^&@%#$ 2%^@# <explicit> ^@&%&@*%^#$& focus went from 5th to 1st and it was impossible to pass him. I am not kidding. He hit every single line perfect. He was drifting so tight around the corners that all I could do was try to either go on the outside, which means he would stay ahead, or ram him, and the purple focus has the magical t-bone protection so even ramming him did nothing. And yes, I was close enough to where I was rubbing his rear bumper the entire race. I am good at racing games and even better at rally games, and there was no way. Not a single other car put up this much of a fight, just this 1 car. I switch cars and it is still that ^%!#@*& purple focus waiting ahead of me.

It is wierd, because this focus, for 1 race in safari, his ai dropped, I shot around him, and got first, but every race after that, this 1 car made me so frusterated to where I wrote all the stuff I did in this post. Seriously, that 1 time, he didn't do a thing, no blocking, nothing, and the track was too easy for me.

I think the problem is their balance in ai. They either have Collin Mcrae or whatever his name is, or little johnny from down the street who is 16, rich, and parents bought him an Impreza as his 1st car and he skipped driver's ed so he has never driven a car before in his life.

Yes, the road you race on is extremely innovative and cool, but in the end it is a racing game regardless of how many times I do a mud race because it looks cool (way too many times). We are still driving against other cars. Pretend this game is on the saturn. See, no cool roads to drive on. Now all we can do is pay attention to the cars and ai we are driving against. Yeah, unbalanced.

I think they accidently paid too much attention to the incredible visuals, insane roads, insane effects, and forgot to do some core things for gameplay like, say, ai balance.

Seriously, if I am not racing against that purple focus, I can crash all I want, and as long as I am not driving backwards on the tracks I get 1st place. Put the focus on there and put the in 5th place when I am in 6th, well they become the best ai on the planet and no passing is allowed so I always place low.

Since this only happens on Safari tracks, it is sounding like the ai happens per track, not per car or per series or per league. The way I know, I don't remember the track off hand, but there is 1 track where no matter what, 1st and 2nd place will battle it out good, and I only saw it on that 1 track (I think it was 1 of the alpine tracks cuz those are a little harder and require a repeat every once in awhile).

So far, it seems this is the difficulty (yes, done by track type)
Safari: difficult, watch out for Purple Focus. He must be my race nemesis or something. Ok Vin Diesel, back up with the Purple Focus.
Alpine: medium, tracks are a little tougher, so ai is dumbed down a notch to compensate
Canyon: easy tracks, ai is little johnny with his new impreza. Scuse' me Johnny, slow drivers in the right lane please.

There are some others that I can't remember off of the top of my head (I am typing this from work), so I can add the others later.

The game is not bad, but Vin Diesel in his damn Purple Focus gets annoying, so after about 20 retries, he gives the keys back to little johhny so little johnny can try to drive the Purple Focus.

Incredibly unbalanced ai though.

[alexkidd2000]

This game kicks ass on PS3 with the G25 wheel. PERFECT.

[videogameking26]

skip it. get RalliSport 2. better than both games.

Already own and completed long time ago

[SegaAges]

Oh yeah, do not get me wrong, I never said the game sucks, I just hate elements of it, like that stupid purple focus.

[Oobgarm]

at game making statement for underappreciated Focus.

[SegaAges]

at game making statement for underappreciated Focus.

That is a good point. Maybe they knew that nobody would pick to be a purple focus. I tried the focus and didn't like the way it handled, so went back to the wrx and evo, and then a purple focus ^%#!@$

The devs are like, "Well, what is the 1 car that nobody will ever pick?" "Well, how about the purple focus" hahaha

[Mr Mort]

... would you guys say its worth the eventual 12-15$ pickup?

Eh, for $15 or $20 it's worth a whirl, it's not a horrible game by any means, it's just somehow missing that "magic" or special element. For that price though, you can definately get some fun out of it, but I wouldn't pay more than that (like I did right when it came out).

[SegaAges]

Eh, for $15 or $20 it's worth a whirl, it's not a horrible game by any means, it's just somehow missing that "magic" or special element. For that price though, you can definately get some fun out of it, but I wouldn't pay more than that (like I did right when it came out).

I paid 14.99 for it. It is not RalliSport by any means, but it is still a good game.

Just watch out for the purple focus, he is a jerk
(After 3 days of playing, I got through 1 more series).

The series after this 1 (the 3rd one) is what I expected. It is much harder, the ai is much harder, but all of the cars are harder, not just the purple focus. Difficult, yes, but it is what I expect when I play hard, to get smashed into by every other car racing instead of the 4th place dude.

[Zing]

I absolutely love Sega Rally Revo for 360.

I don't own a 360, and have never actually played the game, but I still love it since I bought a bunch of copies B2G1 at Blockbuster and traded them in for several new Nintendo DS systems.

Thanks SEGA!