SEGA Rally Revo (Xbox 360) review "The first time I played Revo, it sucked. The controls were really sensitive, and the car just seemed to swing around all over the place whenever I would move just a little bit. I struggled for the entire race, and had to literally fight to make it towards the head of the pack. Amazingly, I managed to snag the first or second place position when reaching the finish line, but even then, I was still unsure about the game. I thought maybe it was just me experiencing the title for the first ti..."

The first time I played Revo, it sucked. The controls were really sensitive, and the car just seemed to swing around all over the place whenever I would move just a little bit. I struggled for the entire race, and had to literally fight to make it towards the head of the pack. Amazingly, I managed to snag the first or second place position when reaching the finish line, but even then, I was still unsure about the game. I thought maybe it was just me experiencing the title for the first time, so I played some more races to get the hang of the controls. However, it was... still kinda iffy.

Notice I said sucked?

So, what changed?

Well... I just changed to a different viewpoint. That's it.

From that point on, I was actually able to get into and enjoy Revo. That doesn't mean things got easier, though, just had a better grip on the car. You still have to race your butt off on various tracks, which range from canyons and jungles to snow-covered mountains and deserts. Obviously, each of these areas contains varying ground conditions which change the driving conditions, but the tracks themselves actually contain more than one different type of terrain.

Like in the snow stages, where one moment, you'll be driving on a road mixed with snow and dirt, then seconds later, just snow, and then suddenly, you're slipping around on ice. This really keeps things lively, as it forces you to constantly adapt to the conditions on a moment's notice. It also makes you keep your eyes on the road, and not on the beautiful-looking scenery surrounding the track. Though, it's hard not to notice a plane fly right over your car at times... The areas may not be as extravagant as something like OutRun Coast 2 Coast (and it doesn't need to be), but things still manage to stick out every now and then. It's the little details you end up noticing, like the destruction of road side objects. In most racing games, when you crash up against the side of the track, nothing happens, but here, hitting a small fence will result in wood flying all over the place, and some will even stick on your car for a few miles.

As nice as all of that is, though, you're gonna need to really start focusing on driving when you start to get a little deep into the Championship mode. The leagues early on in each championship are, of course, gonna be on the easy side, but the closer you get to the finals, the tougher things get. Most of the AI opponents actually attempt to fight for first place, and the vehicle in first can be a real pain sometimes. The driver is just dead set on staying in that position, and if you're off to a real rocky start, you can kiss your victory goodbye. However, when it all comes down to it, you're fighting the tracks more than the other racers. Though, the finals themselves are brutal. All of the cars are insanely good, and if you mess up just a little bit, you might as well restart to whole thing. And don't think switching from automatic to manual will improve things drastically, because your opponents will still give you trouble. But if that gets to be too much, you can always go online. Unfortunately, it may take a couple of tries before you find even one player to race against.

Revo may have its share of these small problems, but overall, it's a pretty good rally game. It's funny, because it's really not all that different than its predecessors, it just happens to be a reworked title. Really, with tracks that's more like remixed versions from previous ones, cars that control like a mixture of Rally 1 and 2's, co-driver yelling out directions, and the classic "Game over, yeah!" tune popping up, it almost feels nostalgic. Oh, yeah, the default viewpoint isn't really that bad. You get used to it over time, but... just don't play with it the first time you start this game. It really messes you up.

Now, if only Sega would please port After Burner Climax (shoot, just let Sumo Digital do it), I will completely forget about that disappointment that was considered a Sonic game.

Community review by dementedhut (October 25, 2007) My earliest exposure to Dragon Ball Z was when the original Japanese broadcast was still airing, right in the middle of the Androids storyline. So you can imagine my surprise when I heard the English VAs and music for the first time.