XBOX Racing game comes full of challenges and action

You can lose everything off your vehicle during this thrilling game.
By BILL HUTCHENS
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
Once in a while, a game leaves me breathless.
I've never been afraid of heights or speed, but the racing in "RalliSport Challenge 2" is so full of virtual danger that every virtual turn elicits real exhilaration.
Never has a racing game looked and felt so good.
"RalliSport 2" exponentially improves on the satisfying racing that debuted two years ago in the first "RalliSport" game for Xbox.
The game has advanced as much artistically as it has technically. Before, your car might have a few dents and a thin film of dust by the end of a jaunt through a desert. Now, you're lucky to finish a race with your bumpers intact. Your chosen vehicle, so pristine at the green light, can lose spoilers and even wheels over the length of a course, and excessive damage will affect your car's handling.
Playing modes
Players can select from Rally, Rallycross, Ice Racing, Hill Climb and a new Crossover mode to test their mettle in a variety of weather and track conditions. Rally is an all-seasons enduro mode, more of a marathon than the other modes. Rallycross, Crossover and Ice Racing bring cars from the rugged outback to smaller stadium-like courses.
Those modes offer some fantastic, edge-of-your-seat racing, but, for me, the Hill Climb courses are the most fun. Mud, ice, loose sand and gravel all threaten to negate the last precious traces of grip on your tires and send you flying out over the edge of high cliffs at every sharp turn. You can race back down the perilous "up" tracks now, and often you'll have to race at night.
If you've ever watched rally racing, you know that even seasoned drivers seem to be a pebble or two away from oblivion. That's the way it feels to slip and slide on not just Hill Climb courses but on every course in "RalliSport 2."
At least in Rally mode, you're given a co-pilot who will talk you through a course. He'll tell you about every "long easy right" or "hairpin left" coming up and warn you when boulders or cliff edges are around the next bend. I've found it's helpful to turn off the visual cues and the map and just listen to your co-pilot for the best results.
Some gamers who enjoy tinkering as much as racing might be put off by the lack of a true garage in "RalliSport 2." But as a great tradeoff, players can make adjustments to suspension, brakes and steering while a course is loading. So, even though you can't get a virtual peek under a virtual hood in a virtual shop, you still can fine-tune your vehicles -- and avoid twiddling your thumbs while waiting for the next race to start.
Here's an idea
A slideshow tutorial defines technical terms and explains how adjustments to springs, dampers, gear ratio and other variables will affect your car.
My suggestions for the ultimate rally experience: go to the options menu and set the Xbox controller vibration level to maximum. Turn out the lights in your living room, skip the Amateur Cup races and go straight to the Pro Cup series.
When you find a track that really gets your adrenaline going, make a note of it. There are more than 90 tracks, and it's easy to forget which one is which. Try and retry the ones you like in Single Race or Time Attack modes.
("RalliSport 2" also features more than 40 vehicles including the Audi Quattro S1, Ford GT70, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Tacoma, Volvo Amazon and VW Beetle Rsi.) After you've mastered several tracks, go online with Xbox Live and kick around with other drivers. Then head over to XSNsports.com to set up your own leagues and tournaments.
X"RalliSport Challenge 2," by Microsoft for Xbox, is rated E for everyone.