A huge step forward from the first game

It becomes evident from even just looking at the cover art. As you load the game up, you are greeted with an intro cinematic that showcases a whole new presentation of the game. While the game itself looks largely the same, all the audio-visual aspects radiate this neo-futuristic aesthetic, from the menu layout to the very fonts. I especially love the music, as I think it fits the game perfectly.

Regarding the gameplay, this is one of those sequels that improves on all the good aspects of the original, removes the majority of the bad ones, and introduces some new features that enrich the total experience, rendering the original game entirely obsolete.

To start off with, the handling model is mostly the same as in the first game and is still one of the best I've ever seen. Its customization between tracks is still as complex and provides you a way to tweak the gameplay to your taste. One thing I criticized about the first game was how cars were locked behind difficulty levels, and that's no longer the case. However, you still can't change cars between championships, and that's a bit of a bummer.

Perhaps the biggest new feature here is the Arcade mode, which allows you to race against opponents in real time, with background music and a mini-map. This is exactly what I felt was lacking in the first game. I realize that these games are simulators, not arcades, but it is so pleasantly surprising that the devs decided to give a treat the rest of us plebs without sacrificing any hardcore simulation the first game was known for. And, honestly, I feel like it would've been a missed opportunity not to use a soundtrack this good in the gameplay.

Another thing that really stands out to me in this game is the graphics and how they're utilized to create immersion. Now, I might be overreacting here, as I've played the PS1 version of the first game and the PC version here, meaning the jump in graphical fidelity to me is probably more staggering than it really is. But I've rarely seen such realistic-looking lighting, weather and particle effects in games, creating such an immersive experience. And the environments are so beautiful, you want to drive off the track and explore. I really think this game is meant to be played on PC. I've not played the PS1 version yet (I'm gonna give it a try), but I doubt it could convey this beauty, as even the first game had very short draw distances and low-res skyboxes.

There are a few things I disliked about this game though. For one, the Arcade mode only has 6 tracks, and half of them are locked. And the difficulty level on the third track strangely jumps from perfectly normal to insane. I beat the first two tracks easily, while on the third one I repeatedly fail to make some turns and end up coming last in most cases. I hope this mode gets expanded in the following games. I'd like to see more flexibility and balance here, as well as more variety. So far it feels more like an extra feature to play around with after you finish the rally mode, which is still not quite my thing.

I would also like to see more flexible obstacles with some actual physics. I realize that this is an old game, and it's stupid to expect something like this here. But nevertheless, the current obstacles on the tracks make the game age less gracefully. It's cool that you don't just have invisible walls on the side of the road, but that also means that you can accidentally end up behind a wall of bushes, which is a solid wall that you can't drive through. And if fall into a ditch, surprisingly it is better to flip your car over than not to. Because then the game will restore your car to the track. Otherwise you're gonna waste so much time getting out of the ditch that the race is practically over for you. I also realize that in real life falling into a ditch would also be the end of the race for you. But real life is tough. If we're gonna simulate the suffering, we might as well have someone break your bones every time you crash a car, and send you to a hospital for weeks or months of your precious life.

I think I might come back to this game later. I will explore the rally genre a bit more (including the CMR series), and see whether there's anything better. If there is, I'll probably leave this one behind, seeing as how the main game mode here is not my cup of tea.