arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game
** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware
** Arcad ...
racing game
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...
developed by
Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
for the Model 3 arcade hardware. It is the sequel to 1994's ''
Sega Rally Championship
''Sega Rally Championship'' is a 1995 racing game developed and published by Sega. Originally released for arcades using the Sega Model 2 board, ports were published for the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Microsoft Windows in 1997. The ''Sega Rally Cha ...
''. The game was first released in arcades in February 1998, and was later ported to the
Sega Dreamcast
The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
, becoming one of the console's earliest titles when it was released in Japan on January 28, 1999. The Sega Dreamcast version was released in Europe as a launch title on October 14, 1999, and then in North America on November 27. A PC version was released in Japan and Europe that same year, with the North American release following suit in November 29, 2000, where it was published by
Mattel Interactive
Mattel Interactive (Known as Mattel Media until 1999) was a video game publisher and software distributor.
History
Mattel originally founded the company as Mattel Media in February 1996, as an aim to expand into the multimedia unit by producing ...
.
Gameplay
As with the predecessor, ''Sega Rally Championship'', the object of the game is to successfully drive along a track while reaching checkpoints and thus be rewarded with more time to enable the player to reach the goal. The handling of the car changing with the different road surfaces has also been retained. ''Sega Rally 2'' added new vehicles, new environment settings for the circuits (including snowy tracks and a course set on an island), as well as including multiple circuits in each environment type. An updated version of the original game's Desert track is also included. A
hand brake
In road vehicles, the parking brake, also known as a handbrake or emergency brake (e-brake), is a mechanism used to keep the vehicle securely motionless when parked. Parking brakes often consist of a pulling mechanism attached to a cable which ...
was added to the controls.
The Dreamcast and PC versions of the game also include a "10-year championship" mode. The Dreamcast version, ported using
Windows CE
Windows CE, later known as Windows Embedded CE and Windows Embedded Compact, is a discontinued operating system developed by Microsoft for mobile and embedded devices. It was part of the Windows Embedded family and served as the software foun ...
, has a
frame rate
Frame rate, most commonly expressed in frame/s, or FPS, is typically the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (Film frame, frames) are captured or displayed. This definition applies to film and video cameras, computer animation, and moti ...
Lancia Delta HF Integrale
The Lancia Delta (stylized Lancia δ) is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979–1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) d ...
and the unlockable
Lancia Stratos HF
The Lancia Stratos HF (''Tipo 829''), known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engined sports car designed for rallying, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. It was highly successful in competition, winning the World Rally Championship in 1974 ...
returned from the original game as selectable cars, along with newer Toyota and Lancia cars, as well as cars from Mitsubishi, Subaru, Fiat, Peugeot, Renault, and Ford.
Development
Development on the game began in March 1997, with producer
Tetsuya Mizuguchi
is a Japanese video game designer, producer, and businessman. Along with ex-Sega developers he is one of the co-founders of the video game development firm Q Entertainment. He formerly worked for Sega as a producer in their Sega AM3 'arcade mach ...
at the helm. Roughly half of the development personnel were Sega AM Annex staff, with the other half taken from a number of other internal studios at Sega. The majority of the development staff for the original ''Sega Rally Championship'' worked on ''Sega Rally 2''. The team created their own development tools for the project.
The cabinet was designed by Sega AM4.
Reception
The game received favorable reviews on both home platforms. Lamchop of ''
GamePro
''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' said of the Dreamcast version in one review, "It looks and feels like the arcade version, and there's no slowdown at all even in two-player split screen mode. ''SR2'' is worth al least a rental for Dreamcast owners who enjoy coin-op racing thrills on the comfort of their own couch." In another ''GamePro'' review, The D-Pad Destroyer said, "Rally fans and arcade racers will love this dirt-slidin' good time, but gamers weaned on the post-'' Gran Turismo'' racing revolution may wince at the game's archaic checkpoint system. Still, as far as rally racing goes on the Dreamcast, there really is nothing quite as fun as ''Sega Rally 2''." Jeff Lundrigan of '' NextGen'' said in its January 2000 issue that the same Dreamcast version "is not the sort of game you beat. Instead, it beats you." A year later, in its January 2001 issue, Jim Preston called the PC version "a fun and pretty arcade rally game that redirects the blood from your brain to your foot." In Japan, ''
Famitsu
, formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' gave the Dreamcast version a score of 36 out of 40.
Also in Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed the arcade version in their April 15, 1998 issue as the most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month.
The Dreamcast version was the best selling Dreamcast game in Japan during 1999, selling 290,000 units. In the UK, it was the 2nd top selling Dreamcast launch game after ''
Sonic Adventure
is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Pr ...
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...