Sega Rally Championship
| Sega Rally Championship | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | AM5 AM3 (Saturn port) United Game Artists (PlayStation 2 port) |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Tetsuya Mizuguchi |
| Platform(s) | Arcade 1994 , Sega Saturn 1995 , PC 1997, N-Gage 2003, Game Boy Advance 2002, PlayStation 2 2006 |
| Release date(s) | October 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Racing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Cabinet | Sit-down |
| Arcade system | Sega Model 2 |
| Display | Raster, standard resolution horizontal orientation |
Sega Rally Championship is a 1994 arcade racing game developed by AM5[1] on the Sega Model 2 board. It was a year later in 1995 ported over to the Sega Saturn (by AM3) and PC. The unique selling point of Sega Rally was the ability to drive on different surfaces (including asphalt, gravel and mud), with different friction properties, with the car's handling changing accordingly. As the first racing game to incorporate this feature, Sega Rally is considered to be one of the milestones in the evolution of the racing game genre.[2] It was also an early rally racing game and featured cooperative gameplay alongside the usual competitive multiplayer. It has been considered the best racing game of all time by Retro Gamer magazine, which ranked it at the top of its "Top 25 Racing Games Ever" list.[3]
Another unique point about this game is the Game Over screen, the player is shown a faded out version of the title screen, covered by the words, "GAME OVER" in red; the player then hears an overly optimistic voice clip: "Game over, yeah!" This game over screen has gained some popularity across the internet. The music for the game was composed by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi.
[edit] Gameplay
The player can enter a "World Championship" mode consisting of three stages: (Desert (which resembles African savanna), Forest (which resembles South American forests) and Mountain (which partly resembles Monaco and Corsica) where their finishing position at the end of one course is carried through to the starting position of the next course. In this mode, it is impossible to reach first place position by the end of the first track, thus the player must try to overtake as many opponent cars as possible on each track (while staying within the time limit), and gain the lead over several tracks. If, at the end of the third round, the player is in first place, they are able to play a fourth secret circuit called "Lakeside" (on the Saturn version, this course may then be played in time attack and split-screen multiplayer modes).
Three cars are featured in the game; Carlos Sainz's sixth generation Toyota Celica and Juha Kankkunen's Lancia Delta HF Integrale which are both available from the start, and Sandro Munari's Lancia Stratos HF which can be unlocked. Codemasters have cited Sega Rally as a strong influence on their first Colin McRae Rally game. In Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2009 the Saturn version of the game made it to 44th position in the list of the Top 50 Console Games, due to its 'distinct handling style and superb track design.'
[edit] References
- ^ Sega Arcade Developers
- ^ Guiness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2009, page 103
- ^ "Top 25 Racing Games... Ever! Part 2". Retro Gamer. 21 September 2009. pp. 5–6. http://www.nowgamer.com/features/424/top-25-racing-games-ever-part-2?o=4#listing. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
[edit] External links
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