Is it better than the first?
Pros:
Good graphics and in-depth gameplay.
Cons:
Handling is way too loose and the sound is lacking.
The Bottom Line:
It's not horrific, it's pretty good, but there are better racers to look at first. Rally fans may want to give this a look.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Top Gear Rally, which was released two years before this gave gamers a great simulation with great graphics. Unfortunatley, the game only had five courses.
Now comes TGR2, which was handled by Saffire (Rainbow Six) instead of Boss Studios (World Driver, Twisted Edge). While it improves upon somethings in the first TGR, it still has a lot missing.
This racer has a licence mode ala Gran Turismo which is pretty tough. From there, you can enter races, win cash and upgrade parts and cars. Courses are pretty standard and seemingly mimmic each other the further you go. As for cars, there are a few real ones (Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla and Subaru Impreza), but Saffire failed to go the extra mile to licence all the cars.
Graphically, the cars look great, but the courses are a bit bland. When you compare this to Ridge Racer 64 or World Driver, the worlds in this game look very pale in comparison.
The sound is not so good. The engine sounds are not very realisitc and obnoxious. The music is oddly tempoed and composed. For those who said the music in the N64 version of San Francisco Rush was bad should listen to this.
The bright spots in the game is that it has many courses and the licence mode. It also has challenge, so it's no pushover. I'm not thrilled on how the damage goes, because everything breaks too often, and the cost and time used to repair them is ridiculous.
TGR 2 does have more courses than the original and may even have a similar look, but the attempts the devlopers made to make it a sim racer makes the game harder to enjoy. If you like rally racers, I suggest V-Rally 2 on the PSX more than this. It has licenced cars and ample courses with a more arcade feel.
