Get ready to go head-to-head on Xbox. Get the scoop on the best sports games from Operation Sports Managing Editor Shawn Drotar. In addition to writing previews, reviews, and the site's blog, "Splinters From The Pine," Shawn is proud to provide exclusive coverage for Xbox.com. He can be contacted at shawn@operationsports.com.

Operation Sports:

At a Premium: Rally Cars and Insurance Payments

By Shawn Drotar, Managing Editor, OperationSports.com

While it’s by far the prettiest and fastest racer on the Xbox®, RalliSport Challenge 2 also provides you with the opportunity to drive many of the world’s most impressive automobiles … and demolish them, if you’re not careful.

The automotive world’s finest manufacturers and models are on display in RalliSport Challenge 2, lovingly rendered in spectacular detail to take full advantage of the formidable abilities of the Xbox. Not only do these performance cars dazzle the eye, their engines are sampled so that each sounds different, and they all handle like the real McCoy.

No matter your preference, there’s a car in RalliSport Challenge 2 (aka RS 2) that’ll suit your particular sense of style. Representing Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States, RS 2’s stable of 500-horsepower beauties makes for a collection of leading names in auto racing. You’ll find state-of-the-art vehicles from the following automakers:

• Audi
• BMW
• Citroën
• Ford
• Hyundai
• Lancia
• MG
• Mitsubishi
• Nissan
• Opel
• Peugeot
• Renault
• Saab
• Seat
• Skoda
• Subaru
• Suzuki
• Toyota
• Volkswagen
• Volvo
  

Each of these vehicles has four different color schemes, also knows as “skins,” for you to unlock as you progress through the game.

In RalliSport Challenge 2, these manufacturers have made durable cars available for taxing Rally racing, “grippy” vehicles for slippery Ice racing, durable autos for aggressive Rallycross racing, and sleek, powerful rockets for those incredible Hill Climbs. If you get far enough, you may ever unlock the beautiful Classic series, with three of the most legendary cars in racing history: the Ford GT 70, the Renault A110 Alpine, and the inimitable Lancia Stratos HF.

This beautiful car is worth unlocking.

Once you’ve chosen your vehicle, check to make sure it handles just right for you. Before every race, you can tune your car in a myriad of ways to nearly erase that fine line between the performance of man and machine. Get out your toolkit, because the following parts and settings can be tuned and saved to your profile for future use:

• Tire Type (six different varieties to choose from)
• Gear Shift (automatic or manual)

The following settings have nine different positions for maximum flexibility:

• Steering (from slow to fast)
• Gear Ratio (from short to long)
• Brake Stiffness (from soft to hard)
• Brake Balance (from rear to front)
• Toe In/Out Front
• Toe In/Out Rear

The suspension settings have four different presets available, or can be tuned separately:

• Spring Stiffness Front
• Spring Stiffness Rear
• Spring Length Front
• Spring Length Rear
• Damper Front
• Damper Rear

After you have your car set to your exact specifications, it’s time to take it out on the course—but be careful! Unfortunately, just like their real-life counterparts, these cars aren’t indestructible. As a matter of fact, it’s just the opposite. Every scratch and scrape can cause not only cosmetic damage on your formerly-beautiful ride, but can dramatically affect the performance of your car for the rest of the race.

At least hay is soft!

The damage model is visually spectacular. The cars can go from a little dirty to downright filthy depending on racing conditions. Hit a sign or a small rock, and you can expect to break a headlight or two. Do it too many times, and you’ll watch as your front bumper starts bouncing in front of you, dangling by only a few bolts before it falls off the car entirely. Hoods and trunks crumple, spoilers go flying, and glass goes from a few simple cracks to completely blown out windows. Your car damage status can be seen at a glance in the lower right. If you damage your vehicle’s body, you can expect to see your acceleration drop as your engine takes damage and as the deformed body of your car causes more air resistance. If your tires get banged up, your handling will become much more difficult. You can even damage the car enough to destroy a tire, and you’ll struggle to finish as your car digs deep grooves in the road on its rims. The visuals are so impressive that you may not mind wiping out a few (OK, more than a few) times. Just don’t tell your sponsor … or crew chief … or insurance agent.

Of course, after spending all that time looking for the perfect car, and working on the perfect settings, you’ll want to keep that ride looking spotless as you cross the finish line in first place—right?