RalliSport Challenge 2 [Xbox]

Cementing the Xbox firmly as the best console for racing fans, Rallisport Challenge 2 does a fine job of polishing the many good points of its predecessor, and giving fans a healthy dose of more of the same. Online play is welcome, if not as feature-rich as it could have been, and the understated damage modeling looks great. Developer DICE has produced another winner.

Gifted with a snazzy new graphics engine, Rallisport 2 trumps its predecessor, which was certainly no visual slouch. Cars are more detailed, the environments are much busier, and the spectators are very convincing. Some of the stages have excellent water effects, and if you keep your eyes open -- no easy task at 100 MPH -- you'll spot many incredible details.

Weather effects are particularly praiseworthy and actually have an impact on gameplay. Racing through a foggy mountain pass in a rainstorm relies on trusting your co-pilot more than your own senses. It's the one time in life when a backseat driver is necessary. So it's a good thing that he's reliable. It's easy for players to blame the co-driver for their errors, but in Rallisport Challenge 2, they'll have little opportunity to do so.

The game offers a welcome choice between simple and advanced command sets. On basic, the co-driver describes corners as easy, medium, or hard, while on advanced, he rates their severity on a nine-point scale. Occasional advice (like "keep left," or "over crest") is well placed and helpful, and his voice doesn't sound staccato on even the most complex phrases. Most importantly, he has a very neutral accent, and his voice doesn't grate after hours of play.

Rallisport 2 includes the four event types from the original game (point-to-point time trials, hill climbs, ice racing, and rallycross), and adds crossover racing. This is a head-to-head race that takes place on an intricate double track that switches sides halfway through a lap. Think of it as the racing world's version of a Mobius strip. Ice racing and rallycross are the weaker links, mainly due to the unimpressive AI. The handling model is so good, we preferred being left to enjoy it undistracted by opponents.

Hill climb events are the star of the show, though. While the regular events do a good job of making the car feel "real," hill climbs take matters a stage further. Not only is the car convincing, it's now ludicrously powerful, as the player races up (or down) twisty tracks with no co-driver and any number of treacherous precipices to plummet down. It's just you and the mountain, and is very addictive stuff.

Sound is a big help in creating this feeling of speed. The noises of each road surface, from snow to cobbled streets to wet mud, are all very convincing. Each bump or rut in the track is translated to your hands with some very convincing rumble effects. The music is best described as a matter of taste, but as with nearly all Xbox games, it's easily replaced.

Rally events take place over several stages. The sequel now spreads them around the globe, instead of limiting them to one country, so players might go from racing through a snowy Swedish village to a rainy English countryside to a romp through the Australian outback. There's no shortage of variety.

The damage modeling isn't realistic. Hit a tree, rock, or other solid object at full speed, and rather than being smashed to pieces, the car will spin, roll, or otherwise lose control, and suffer only minor damage. Eventually, windows break, doors detach, and bumpers trail on the ground. We even had our hood fly off miles after a major impact. It's more akin to driving a 120 MPH Challenger tank than a car, but that's a good thing for all but the most hardcore of rally sim fans.

Aside from the damage, Rallisport 2's physics are impeccable, and a definite improvement over the first game. Handling, like the original, veers more to the arcade than the sim side, but the car behavior is perfectly consistent and convincing.

The online racing isn't as tightly integrated as in Project Gotham 2, but it's a great development for the game. Competition support through XSN Sports is also in place, and you can spread leagues over five stages for individual or team contests. For a racing title so focused on time trials, the ability to upload your records would seem an obvious choice, but it's oddly absent. System link and split-screen are both included, if you haven't taken the Live plunge yet.

Rallisport Challenge 2 might not be revolutionary, but that's not expected from a racing game sequel. The engine improvements make it as good-looking as Project Gotham 2, online play is a great addition, and there's a slew of new cars, rally, and other events to unlock. This is one racer deserving of a place in any Xbox owner's collection, even if you're not a fan of the sport.