RalliSport Challenge 2: Tricked Out Rally Racing

By Hardcore

The original RalliSport Challenge made believers out of gamers and far-out race nuts alike by showing the world what the Xbox could do—with kick-butt graphics, wild action, and crazy track conditions that included rain, snow, mud, and ice. Now, RalliSport Challenge 2 is tearing up the countryside with more than 40 vehicles, new race modes, and full Xbox Live™support.

But, hardcore gamers are never satisfied with “better than ever,” or even with “best ever.” They demand “sick”-ness. Any joker can beat the toughest tracks against the fiercest competition, but these gamers want action so challenging it makes ‘em bleed. And, that’s what I’m here for.

Seems innocent enough …

You can’t customize a killer road machine without knowing what each of the various options does. There are more than a dozen elements to tweak, including Spring Tension, Brake Balance, and Power Ratio. If you want to make it easier on yourself, you have to know how each will interact with the track. The trick to making it trickier is to know what each part does … and then make the choice that doesn’t suit the terrain.

Take spring stiffness, for example. This is an important factor in all of the rough rides you’re going to take. Long, soft springs are for extra rough roads, as they absorb more of the shock and prevent your car from bottoming out. Short, stiff springs are for flat surfaces, where there’s less danger of hitting a big dip and more need for direct feedback from the road below. Hardcore gamers should take the short springs out on Hill Climb runs and rocky terrain, so that they have to handle each turn and straightaway delicately—or risk serious spinal injury (not to mention losing valuable time). Racing on sand or ice? Opt for the long springs that will still be reacting to the minor dip you hit half a mile back, as you negotiate that tricky hard-left right now.

Keep both feet on the wheel.

Another neat bit of counter-tuning is to choose Toe-Out wheel alignment for those tracks with lots of tarmac and straight-aways. Toe-Out means your car will be easier to turn, but harder to control when accelerating or braking in a straight line. If you push the tach into the red zone, you’ll notice the car develops a distinct tendency to rattle. Try keeping control on a gravelly uphill grade with that working against you.

You can also mismatch your damper with your springs. Usually, you want a soft damper to go with soft springs, but if you mix it up and put a hard damper with soft springs, you’ll have a smoother ride (but decreased grip) from your tires. With less traction than usual, Ice Races become more like a toboggan race.

Going my way?

One final adjustment you can make to push this game into the hardcore category is to work the Options menu. For the true elite gamer, there’s no other choice for Damage Model than Heavy and no better Collision setting than Solid. These items will make it exponentially tougher to keep your car in one piece, demanding both precision and speed if you want to stay in the race. With the improved damage modeling (that also affect performance) found inRalliSport Challenge 2, you’ll both see and feel the results of one dent too many.

Putting all these hardcore tips into practice is a bit like taking a swim with lead weights tied to your wrists and ankles. The bright side is, when you connect to Xbox Live and compete against all the ham-and-eggers who’ve been doing things the easy way, you’re going to leave them in the dust (and the mud and the snow) and cross the finish line with plenty of time for a cool drink and a mocking laugh.