Electronic Adventures / Video and Computer Game Reviews

SEGA RALLY 2 By Jim Buu Maker: Sega Rating: three stars3 stars System: Sega Dreamcast Suggested price: $50 Number of players: Up to 2 If driving on public roads and rough terrains

Monday, April 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SEGA RALLY 2
By Jim Buu
Maker: Sega
Rating: three stars3 stars
System: Sega Dreamcast
Suggested price: $50
Number of players: Up to 2

If driving on public roads and rough terrains in various weather conditions is your bag, Sega Rally 2 wonâ€™t disappoint. As far as rally driving games go, this one ranks among the best. But typical of most racing games, it may not have enough diversity to make it a must-buy.

For this arcade to home conversion, Sega has crammed enough play modes, customizable cars, new courses and driving techniques to attract both new and veteran arcade players. Graphics are smooth and fast, and the visual splendor only degrades a bit in two-player mode. The touchy control requires practice - cars tend to slide and go out of control easily, so mastering driving techniques is a must for winning.

Casual players will probably opt to play the arcade mode, which involves beating the clock and 15 computer-controlled opponents or challenging a friend in the fun split-screen mode. However, to experience all of Rally 2â€™s 17 courses (12 are Dreamcast exclusive), you must play the ultimate 10 Year Championship mode, in which winning a race will also unlock a new car. You can get up to 19 cars in all that way.

Die-hard racing fans should be pleased with Sega Rally 2. Itâ€™s even better if you have the proper gear, such as the steering wheel controller and the vibrating Jump Pack for realism and the Visual Memory Unit, or VMU, for saving car settings and time records. Rated for all ages.

Jim Buu is a software engineer in Richardson, Texas.

HARDCORE ECW REVOLUTION
By Sam Machkovech
Maker: Acclaim
Rating: 1/2 star
System: Nintendo 64,!Sony PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast
Suggested price: $50
Number of players: Up to 4

Remember WWF Attitude? In case you donâ€™t, Acclaim decided to re-release the wrestling game, only with ECW characters instead.

After six months of development, Acclaim has shipped another wrestling game based on the Attitude engine, but it only changed character textures, ring graphics and voices. If you own and enjoy Attitude, donâ€™t bother with ECW (for Extreme Championship Wrestling) because itâ€™s really the same game.

And if you donâ€™t own an Acclaim wrestling game, thereâ€™s a good reason: The controls are frustrating. To pull off any moves, players must punch in a specific button combo, much like Mortal Kombat.

However, each situation requires different button combos. Players will spend most of their time checking the move menus to figure out what the heck theyâ€™re doing, and the slow button response makes these combos even harder to pull off. Thatâ€™s just not fun.

Furthermore, the ECW license is wasted. While most wrestlers in the game can pull off their real-life finishing move, their other moves are just reused from Attitude. Also, the match intros are pretty sorry, and you wonâ€™t hear any of the wrestlersâ€™ voices.

Talk about silly graphics - the wrestlers walk around like robots greased with yogurt.
Music is generic, which is sad because ECW has a lot of cool theme songs on the TV show. The announcer and sound effects are lackluster.

This hackneyed game is reason enough to banish Acclaim to the seventh level of hell.
Recommended for ages 17 and up due to violence and vulgarity.

Sam Machkovech is a student at the University of Texas at Austin.

NHL 2K
By Victor Godinez
Maker: Sega
Rating: three stars
System: Sega Dreamcast
Suggested price: $45
Number of players: Up to 4

NHL 2K is by far the most visually impressive hockey game ever. More importantly, control is excellent and the action flows quickly and smoothly, making it one of the best hockey games on the market.

The graphics are amazing. Every NHL player and arena is properly presented, and details such as player reflections on the ice, the scratch marks left by playersâ€™ skates and the little puffs of ice that swirl up around players as they slide to a halt all add to the realism.
Game play is as it should be. Itâ€™s easy to control your player, orchestrate your offense and defense, and make line changes all during the middle of play. The goalies are superhuman, though, and scoring frenzies by either human or computer players are rare.

It would also be nice if it was easier to body-check the opposing puck handler. Often youâ€™ll watch helplessly as two or three of your defenders haplessly pursue the offensive player, trying fruitlessly to pilfer the puck.
NHL 2K is definitely recommended, both for its superb graphics and its top-notch game play.

So if youâ€™re tired of the Stars and their ups and downs, hereâ€™s your chance to prove you can do better.

Recommended for all ages.

Victor Godinez is a free-lance writer in Irving, Texas.

MICKEYâ€™S RACING ADVENTURE
By Spencer Davenport
Maker: Disney Interactive
Rating: one star
System: Game Boy Color
Suggested price: $30
Number of players: 1

I suspected the first time I played Mickeyâ€™s Racing Adventure that the concepts of racing and puzzle-solving wouldnâ€™t work well together. For the most part, I was correct.

The game starts with Mickey Mouse and his friends gathered at Ludwig Von Drakeâ€™s garage marveling at the duckâ€™s parade floats.

However, Mickeyâ€™s old nemesis, Pete from the old Disney cartoons and the animated series Goof Troop, and his cronies steal the floats, leaving a note that Mickey and pals will have to beat the thieves in races to get them back.

The game has two modes: adventure and racing. In adventure mode, you collect Disney Dollars, Railroad Pennies and nuts in Mickeyâ€™s town. Peteâ€™s cronies are also in town, and they take one Disney Dollar each time you make contact with them.

Before entering the racing mode, you must solve a puzzle in which you guide Casey Jr., a train, over series of detonators to blow up dynamite at the end and get passage to the race world. The puzzles arenâ€™t hard but are frustrating at times.

The racing mode has a quasi-overhead view that is pretty poor. Controlling the car is nearly impossible, and buying Professor Von Drakeâ€™s handling upgrade is almost a necessity.
The overall graphics are only fair. The adventure modeâ€™s visuals are impressive, which makes up for the poor racing mode graphics.

Kids who want the game because of Mickey Mouse are probably too young to enjoy it, while kids who would like the races and puzzles would probably think the game is too babyish. I donâ€™t recommend it for any age group.

Spencer Davenport is a fifth-grader at Brentfield Elementary in Dallas.

FREESPACE 2
By Aaron Wood
Maker: Volition
Rating: four stars
System: PC CD-ROM
System requirements: Pentium 200, 32MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM,!8MB video card
Suggested price: $40
Number of players: Up to 8 via Internet

The excellent space combat game Wing Commander has been bested. Freespace 2 is the most complete, enjoyable space combat simulation on the market.

Volition has really pushed the envelope with this game. Freespace 2 boasts incredible graphics, wonderful sound and a story line that sucks players in. Instead of pitting you and one or two wingmen against a horde of invaders, most missions make you feel like youâ€™re part of a bigger war. Huge ships battle it out in front of you, while you and your wingmen clash with opposing cruisers.

The game even keeps statistics on how well youâ€™ve fared mission by mission. And if that isnâ€™t enough for you, you can jump online and take on other pilots from all over the world. This would be a wise purchase.

Recommended for all ages.

Aaron Wood is a student at Richland College.

Questions?
Send comments and questions to Bob Bersano, Personal Technology, The Dallas Morning News, P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas, 75265, or send an e-mail to personaltech@dallasnews.com. Include your name and daytime phone number.