We’re massive fans of Sega’s arcade-dominating rally series, but if we’re honest, our most memorable moments have been with the original Sega Rally. We know every corner, every water splash and every gear change of its measly four courses. And we still lose the occasional nugget to its metallic maw whenever we encounter that mammoth sit-down machine at the airport or arcade. Yes, Sega Rally is an impressive series, a franchise that has managed to turn one of the simplest genres into a genuinely thrilling experience. Of course, those thrills haven’t transferred brilliantly onto the home consoles – the appeal of that imposing arcade machine adds much to the joy of Sega Rally – but it would be hard to argue that the game hasn’t always been at the pinnacle of arcade-style racing.

That accolade isn’t just true of arcade rally titles, but of the racing genre as a whole. Sega seems to have got it pretty much perfect when it comes to retaining fun as the driving force behind videogames, as can be seen with titles like Afterburner, OutRun, and the exemplary Virtua Tennis 3 – and Sega Rally is no exception. The most impressive aspect is simply how edgy the driving is. There’s rarely a moment when you’re not straining every neuron in concentration to maintain a solid racing line. There will be some out there who despise this kind of hard driving and prefer the absolute control and knowledge of limitations offered by more traditional racing titles like Need For Speed and Ridge Racer. If anything, this new iteration of Sega Rally has shifted towards something far more innovative than we’ve seen before. Indeed, it outdoes MotorStorm, at its own game, by producing surprises literally at every turn. You’re unlikely to be able to produce anything but a passable result without a reasonably comprehensive knowledge of the courses, and even then your times are going to be affected by the state of the course.

That, really, is the most substantial thing you’ll get from Sega Rally, and something we suspect may find its way into many other racing titles. It would be remiss of us not to delve deeper into the course deformation feature that Sega Rally does so well, because without it we’d be writing a review riddled with words like ‘pedestrian’, ‘somewhat lacking’ or ‘last gen’. It’s amazing how one facet, properly implemented, can change the feel of a title so extensively. We’re sure that had the decision to attempt such a monumental technical detail not been taken, we’d be playing a game with little to differentiate it from past titles. We’re not though, and what makes it so horribly enjoyable is the rutting. Rutting makes most things more enjoyable in life, we’d happily concede that, but with Sega Rally it’s an essential part of the experience. Rally titles haven’t embraced this aspect of the sport as yet, and while Sega has perhaps gone a little overboard with the effect it has on racing times and the like, it’s clearly something that would enhance pretty much every title in the genre, to an extent. This deformation isn’t just a gradual decrease in the overall surface quality, it’s an utterly unique, persistent track-deformation system. Even the contrast of the cars being totally indestructible – with the largest scrapes, your motor remains perfect bar a few mud splats – won’t affect your enjoyment of the game.

Essentially, you’re fighting for control every second of the time you’re on the tracks, and even at lower speeds turning can be a real difficulty. It’s nothing even slightly detrimental to the gameplay in our minds though, as it’s this struggling that not only makes for some truly scintillating driving, but it also adds buckets to the longevity of a game with little natural long-term interest. It’s probably clearest to explain it in terms of how quickly you want to replay the tracks. In a word, very. The tracks are offered up in groups of three, and despite a lack of pre-race options, you’ll almost certainly find yourself trying to acquit yourself better in one group before moving on to the next. It’s all about perfection, you see, and where previous titles have allowed that kind of split-second similarity, this version simply won’t. Ever.

Adding to this is your opponents’ AI. It’s neither fantastic nor utterly woeful, but you’re fully aware of the fact that you’re not racing against anything other than mindless drones. They make little effort to overtake anyone, and the lead car is a clear class above the rest of the pack. Again, this makes little difference to the gameplay, as you have more than enough excitement keeping your motor stuck to the road. In traditional style, your fellow racers’ cars maintain a set distance apart, making them more like awkward mobile markers of how well you’re doing. Move up the pack slowly and you’re making slightly better time than you were, drop down swiftly and you’re clearly being rubbish. There’s little real competition from the other cars on the track, and once you’re fully au fait with the courses, they pose no challenge whatsoever.

No, it’s all about the tracks, and the way you react to the ever-changing environments. Retain a tight racing line, and stay ahead of the pack and you’ll most likely get better times, but get bogged down in mud or snow and your results will suffer for it. The range of terrains and the way they feel also play a major part in the appeal of Sega Rally, powersliding from, tarmac to, say, snow shows best how the track physics work, and how they’re likely to affect your driving. The effect isn’t as pronounced as you might expect, except for where the snow or mud is particularly deep, and things get horribly messy. However, the result is definitely enough to force you to alter your driving. These regular alterations in surfaces, combined with the randomness of the deformation are what really sets Sega Rally apart. We could rattle on for an age about how it differs from Colin McRae or MotorStorm, but we credit you with enough intelligence to understand that the garish Sega Rally is for one type of person, while McRae’s take on the genre is something entirely different. You could happily have all three in your collection without them clashing on any level. Sega Rally doesn’t really have peers as such, though. It’s always been an experience you can’t really get elsewhere, and on the PS3 that’s no different. This makes us happy. Another aspect that has bolstered our contentment with the console itself is the fact that Sega has managed to output something that is near enough exactly the same on the PS3 as it is on the Xbox 360. Something few development teams have realised so far.

We’d be the first to admit that Sega Rally has its issues, but as you can probably tell from the past couple of pages of gushing, we’re quite enamoured with it. If nothing else, it shows us that next-generation gaming doesn’t have to be delivered in a gritty, realistic box, it can actually be fun. A paradigm that we hope will be followed. But then, as we said, there are issues, most notably some rather strange pop-up. Usually, this kind of issue is relegated to niggle territory, as it’s rarely something that affects us to any degree. The problem comes when pop-up interferes with the areas you’re focusing on. With Sega Rally you’re always looking at the apex of the next corner, somewhere around the centre of the screen. This is where the majority of the pop-up occurs. Where your previous lap will have added contours and deformation to the road, they’re only added to the track at a point, a second or so, in front you, making it all the more noticeable. What’s more is that correct reading of the road surface is essential for faster times, and having anything less than the maximum time to assess the track is detrimental to the gameplay. It’s akin to the game not showing you where corners are until the last minute, only not quite so bad. In all honesty, it’s unlikely to affect most people in any way other than a dampening of the aesthetic appeal, but it’s still an issue that needs addressing. There is popup elsewhere, but the more arcadey feel of the piece somewhat stifles that, making it far less of an irritation than it might otherwise be.

Sega Rally is one of our favourite games on the PS3. It hasn’t lost anything over the Xbox 360 version, and is about the most enjoyable racing title on the system. There will be some for whom the loose control is prohibitive, but you should have a good enough idea of what kind of racer you are. It’s very much to the good that Sega hasn’t faffed around with adding options to cater for those who crave tight driving mechanics, and the result is a game that will not only appeal to fans of the series, but will have an attraction for anyone looking for a title with something new to bring to the genre. As for us fans of the first (and arguably best) Sega Rally, Sega Racing Studio has done us proud, and managed to keep us interested from the word go – an impressive feat, to be sure. If you’ve got a PS3, buy Sega Rally. The minor niggles don’t add up to much, and the deformable tracks make for some surprising longevity. Yes, buy it and enjoy it. Rutting in the mud has never been so much fun.

Tom Leclerc