Title: V Rally 2 Expert Edition
Genre: Racing arcade
Big Word: Racy
Strap: Nobody said that arcade games were exclusively for console owners. You too should get a go.

It is very bad form to have a pre-built bias when reviewing a game, but upon discovering that V Rally 2 contains a Nissan Micra it was always going to be difficult to give it anything but a high score.

You see, my G reg. little beast can reach 90mph, but the ominous rattling sounds emitted from every microcosm of its being wouldn’t lend confidence to veering it from the straight-lined tarmac of the M4, and onto an off-road dirt track in the rain. But now, in a way, I can. (Adopts Jeremy Clarkson voice) And I’m enjoying myself doing it… immensely.

VRally 2 is unapologetically an arcade game. So much so that when first playing there is a confusing moment as you try to find out where to insert the 50p coin. But it really has no need to apologise when it does what it sets out to do quite so well. Twelve different countries are available to race within, with a choice of over twenty five cars (from Skodas to Nissans, Renaults to Toyotas). These choices are then spread throughout four different modes of play (Time Trial, Arcade, VRally Cup, and Championship), each containing multiple stages. The message to come away with here is, choice. Lots and lots of choice.

Every car can be fiddled with in the most personal manner, from its style of brakes and tyres to the level of the suspension, you can change settings in a nice and simple way. None of your "I’ll add 0.007% onto my brakes and decide what to do with the steering just as soon as I’ve finished reading that Hayes manual." Not at all. Here it is nice graduated bars. Beef up one, and the other goes down accordingly. You’re not a mechanic, you’re a gamer, and it seems to be aware of this.

So, to use the parlance of people who are "into" cars, how does it handle? Well, despite its blatant arcade-ness, surprisingly well. When playing in "Arcade", you can bounce and roll your car to your heart’s content, and still catch up with the rest after just a few good curves. But in the more serious incarnations of play, damage picked up will affect your performance and hence your chances of winning. And while there is no money management, repairs are limited by time, so there’s only so much you can knock back into shape before the next race.