RalliSport Challenge 2

Microsoft?s excellent series continues to give Colin a run for his money with less realism and more accessibility.

Most U.S. gamers aren?t burning for a realistic, detailed rally-racing sim. Instead, they prefer the arcade-tinged vibe that Sega Rally established -- a legacy that RalliSport Challenge 2 taps into perfectly. While the sublime handling and authentic detail of the Colin McRae series maintain its top-dog spot in rally racing, RalliSport 2 is a far more accessible game that will appeal to a wider audience.

Tires Spinning
The highlights of this more-of-a-good-thing sequel are the new Career mode and online support, which includes online racing and custom leagues via XSNSports.com. You?ll spend most of your time there and in the Career mode, which bends the popular Gran Turismo approach into branching trees of events that enable you to select your own path through the competition.

Success is rewarded with unlocked cars (40 total) and tracks (90 total in five countries). RalliSport retains its diverse selection of events -- there?s a lot more here than just soloing in a rally event. You?ll also tackle hill climbs, rallycross (the NASCAR-esque version of rally, which is tons of fun), and ice races, which involve more spinning than a Kristi Yamaguchi performance.

The difficulty of the events ramps up smoothly, and the cars handle crisply in a way that?s much snappier but less realistic than the Colin McRae series. Most players will find that to be a fine thing -- you?ll get the experience of ripping through a powerslide or battling through a fishtail without a whole lot of finesse getting in the way. The cars take damage without consequences, so there?s no barrier to unleashing your inner speed demon and hurtling down the track on the bleeding edge of control -- RalliSport is much more about these moments than the more subtle thrills of Colin?s finesse driving.

Mud Flying
Visually, the game sports fantastic environments with rich lighting and cool details like mud spraying from tires. The cars are more ho-hum in their appearance, though -- there?s nothing in particular that?s wrong about them, but they could use more sex appeal. The audio hits the same quality mark -- it?s good enough that you don?t notice it much, but it?s also not good enough to make you appreciate it. The co-driver in particular sounds like a voice actor plodding through his lines in a sound booth -- too much realism there, perhaps.

RalliSport represents another fine racing game from Microsoft, and the online support in general should make it worth driving for quite some time. It?s not a jaw-dropper in any way, but it is just lots of fun to drive.

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