Future
Sega GT 2002
In a world where road rage is prevalent, it’s great to know Sega has found the perfect formula for keeping us indoors—nice and safe, like.
Leading the charge in a trio of Xbox exclusives is Sega GT 2002, a sequel to the two-year-old Sega GT on Dreamcast, and arguably Sega’s attempt to claw back some kudos in an arena that’s seen Sony and Kazunori Yamauchi die-cast a formula for racing perfection. Of course, comparisons between GT and Gran Turismo are unavoidable, if only because the Dreamcast original tried so hard to realize almost every design Innovation that Sony’s series had celebrated—essentially, hundreds of licensed cars, tons of parts to customize them with, and some truly daunting racing challenges.
Despite the blatant borrowing of ideas, and the adding of a few of its own, the original Sega GT was flawed in several key areas. Visually eclipsed by Dreamcast titles such as Test Drive Le Mans and F355 Challenge, and with presentation and handling problems compounded by a punishing difficulty level, GT was lost in Gran Turismo’s slipstream. Now, developer Wow Entertainment is thinking it’s time to set the record straight, and early signs of this powerful followup are encouraging.
“Sega GT 2002 is as close to finding a perfect balance between the sim-style play and arcade accessibility as I’ve seen on the Xbox,” says the game’s U.S. producer, Noah Maher. “The interface is definitely much more user-friendly than in the first game. Sega GT for Dreamcast was a great game for the strictly serious racing fanatic, but it was hard for casual gamers to get involved. [Wow Entertainment] has completely solved this by enhancing the control and eliminating the floaty steering of the first game.”
As a visual benchmark, even at 40-50 percent complete, GT 2002 can easily lay claim to be the best-looking Xbox racer yet. Vehicle models are a step up from those in Sony’s Gran Tourismo 3 and are packed with exceptional reflection and bump-mapping detail. Likewise, draw distance, scenery detail, and texturing are leaps ahead of the original, with towering skyscrapers and mountains framing the action.
It’s the game’s new Chronicle mode, however, which is perhaps the biggest step beyond the original. Effectively a teary-eyed homage to a more innocent time in racing history, this puts you behind the wheel of classic cars from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and beyond, providing an interesting juxtaposition of old and new, and presenting the opportunity to race tuned-up classics against future concept cars. And an interesting touch is how the action gradually changes from sepia-toned to full color as the races progress.
Considering Sega’s rich lineage of coin-op racers, it’s about time the company delved a little deeper again, and the feeling with GT 2002 is of a game far tighter in execution. Of course, with ultra-realistic vehicle dynamics, dozens of licenses, themed races, a fully kitted-out garage, and enough tune-up options to keep even the most anally retentive car nut happy, GT 2002 looks like a refined piece of automotive engineering. All you need to be is serious about cars-and GT 2002 has more than 125 of them…
