''Top Gear Rally 2'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic raci ...

developed by Saffire and released for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

in 1999. It is a sequel to '' Top Gear Rally''.

Gameplay

''Top Gear Rally 2'' is a

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

game where players drive

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

cars through a series of tracks. The game features a random and dynamic weather system.

Development

Unlike the original '' Top Gear Rally'', which was developed by Boss Game Studios, ''Top Gear Rally 2'' was developed by Saffire. The company conceived ''Top Gear Rally 2'' as a more realistic game than its predecessor, with more simulation-like elements such as real-time car damage and weather effects. The physics engine was completely rewritten. All the vehicles in the game are licensed versions of real rally cars such as the

Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1998 until 2025. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worl ...

and the

Renault Alpine Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine (, ), is a French manufacturer of sports cars and racing cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954. Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originall ...

. During the final stages of the development cycle, developers had to work between 16 and 18 hours a day to complete the game. The game supports the Nintendo 64

Expansion Pak Nintendo 64 accessories are first-party Nintendo hardwareand third-party hardware, licensed and unlicensed. Nintendo's first-party accessories are mainly transformative system expansions: the 64DD Internet multimedia platform, with a floppy driv ...

, which allows the game to be played at a resolution of 480x480 pixels.

Reception

''Top Gear Rally 2'' received "average" reviews, according to the

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website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. ''

GameFan ''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising, and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and imported video games. It was notable for it ...

'' and ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' gave it favorable reviews while it was still in development. ''

N64 Magazine ''NGC Magazine'' (''N64 Magazine'' until October 2001 (issue 59)) was a British magazine specialising in Nintendo video game consoles and software. It was first printed in 1997 and ran until 2006. It was the successor to ''Super Play'', a maga ...

'' considered it the best rally game for the Nintendo 64, but not as rewarding as '' World Driver Championship''. Mike Wolf of '' NextGen'' praised the selection of 15 cars to choose from, realistic weather conditions that affect car handling, a paint shop customization, shortcuts to find and exploit, and multiplayer support for four players. In Japan, however, where the game was ported for release on February 3, 2000, ''

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 it a score of 24 out of 40. The Freshman 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 ...

'' was generally positive to its gameplay, the race tracks and the selection of the cars, but considered that there were better racing games on Nintendo 64. In another ''GamePro'' review, The Bamboo Carabao said that the game was a welcome change of pace for those who want more of a simulation than '' Beetle Adventure Racing'', but less complex and demanding than ''World Driver Championship''.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Top Gear series 1999 video games Kemco games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo 64 games Nintendo 64-only games Off-road racing video games Saffire games Top Gear (video game series) Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States