Need for Speed: V-Rally 2

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Description

Need for Speed returns to dirt racing again in this sequel to Need for Speed: V-Rally. The most significant differences are the track editor, improved graphics, and new game modes. There are 84 tracks and the game supports multiplayer with up to four players. This second installment comes with four game modes: an arcade mode for casual rally fans, a championship mode for people who want to compete against other rally cars for a title, a trophy mode, and a time trial mode.

It features 16 different cars in three categories: World Rally Cars (Peugeot 206, Hyundai Coupe, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Impreza, Ford Focus, SEAT Córdoba, Škoda Octavia), 2L kit-cars (Peugeot 306, Citroën Xsara, SEAT Ibiza, Renault Megane, Vauxhall Astra) and 1.6L kit-cars (Citroën Saxo, Peugeot 106, Nissan Micra). A number of bonus cars can be unlocked as well by completing certain modes, such as winning the European or the World Championship.

In the arcade mode you race against three opponents on the race track; whoever reaches the finish line first after a series of laps wins the stage. However, the main goal in a stage is to reach the next checkpoint before the countdown timer stops. Several stages form a level, for which you receive a total of three credits. Every time you fail to reach a checkpoint before the time runs out the race stops and you can use a credit to restart that particular stage. If there are no credits left, the entire level must be restarted. The trophy mode is a bit different. While winning a stage is still done by beating three opponents directly on the race track, to claim the trophy you have to register the best overall result, calculated by summing up all the stages' times.

The championship mode is designed after the FIA World Rally Championship, where drivers compete for points. The European championship is divided into eight rounds, while the World and the Expert championships each have twelve. Every round has two (European, World) or three stages (Expert). This is the only mode where the car gets damaged if handled badly, but it can be repaired at the service park between stages in the following areas: engine, gear box, brakes, steering and suspensions. You only have 30 minutes, so if your car is seriously messed up you will not be able to restore it to a 100% condition for the next stage. At the end of the round the total time for all stages is compared between racers and the first six positions in the standings get a number of points based on their performance (for example the fastest gets 10 points, 2nd place gets 6 points, and so on). Whoever has the most points after all the rounds becomes the new champion.

In the track editor the track is represented by a single line or ribbon. You can edit the curves and change the inclines or declines of each track piece. The only restriction is that trackpieces cannot overlap, so for example you cannot make an 8-shaped track. When playing the track, scenery is added procedurally depending on the curves and inclines and which country is selected. The 84 default tracks make use of the same engine.

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Alternate Titles

• "V-Rally Championship Edition 2" -- Japanese/European title
• "V-Rally 2 Expert Edition" -- European Dreamcast/PC title
• "V-Rally 2" -- European title
• "Test Drive V-Rally" -- US Dreamcast title

Part of the Following Groups

• Automobile: Audi Quattro
• Automobile: Citroën Xsara
• Automobile: Ford Focus
• Automobile: Lancia Stratos HF
• Automobile: Mitsubishi Lancer
• Automobile: Peugeot 206
• Automobile: Peugeot 306
• Automobile: Peugeot 405
• Automobile: Renault Mégane
• Automobile: Seat Córdoba
• Automobile: Škoda Octavia
• Automobile: Subaru Impreza
• Automobile: Toyota Celica
• Automobile: Toyota Corolla
• Covermount: Fullgames
• Need for Speed series
• PlayStation Platinum Range releases
• Setting: City - Monaco
• Test Drive series and add-ons
• V-Rally series

User Reviews

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Critic Reviews

Gamezilla	Dreamcast	Feb 11, 2001	88 out of 100	88
Armchair Empire, The	Dreamcast	May 26, 2001	8.6 out of 10	86
Jeuxvideo.com	Windows	Oct 04, 2000	17 out of 20	85
IGN	PlayStation	Dec 02, 1999	8.5 out of 10	85
The Next Level	Dreamcast	Dec 06, 2000	B+	83
Gamezone (Germany)	PlayStation	Apr 26, 2001	8 out of 10	80
GameSpot	PlayStation	Nov 23, 1999	7.9 out of 10	79
PC Joker	Windows	Nov, 2000	71 out of 100	71
PC Player (Germany)	Windows	Nov, 2000	49 out of 100	49
Game Informer Magazine	Dreamcast	Jan, 2001	1 out of 10	10

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Trivia

Release title
Originally published in Europe by Infogrames as V-Rally 2. Electronic Arts bought the rights to publish the PlayStation version in the U.S. and changed the name of the game to Need For Speed: V-Rally 2.

To make matters even more confusing: Infogrames later released an improved Dreamcast version in the U.S. and named it Test Drive V-Rally.

Game Engine
The racing tracks in V-Rally 2 are not stored as fully 3D modeled environments, like in racing games such as WipEout or Crash Team Racing. Instead, the tracks are essentially stored as curved lines in 3D space. The game engine generates track segments using the 3D line and parameters such as track theme, weather, incline/decline, degree of curvature etc. This allowed for more tracks, larger environments and a custom track editor.

Related Web Sites

• V-Rally 2 - Wikipedia (Information about the game on the open encyclopedia site)