There is always a sense of fear and trepidation that comes over any seasoned gamer when one of gaming's truly great franchises is brought back to life on next-gen consoles. Although Sega's recent record has seen a big improvement in both quality and innovation, there is still that underlying fear that something will be lost in translation - that maybe Sega would lose sight of what has made the Sega Rally series so much fun to play since its original release in 1995.

Luckily, all recent signs have pointed towards a company with a newfound respect for their own classic series and original intellectual property. Not only did OutRun 2 raise the bar when it came to reinventing a classic racing franchise, but Afterburner Climax also wowed arcade gamers with truly next-gen technology without losing the essential gameplay and feel good factor that made the original so appealing. Even Nights: Journey of Dreams on Wii looks likely to stand shoulder to shoulder with the widely adored original, with hopes high that the spirit and effortless joy or the original will once again be captured for a new generation of gamers to experience. It seems that Sega have found that magic balance between traditions, arcade style gaming and the integration of new technologies without ever jeopardising their core values and base gameplay mechanics.

To further raise both expectations and hopes, there is also the little matter of the newly formed Sega Racing Studios to take into account. By literally hand picking some of the finest talent that the industry has to offer, Sega have assembled a team with more than enough know-how and experience to recapture the spirit and feel of Sega Rally while successfully updating it for modern day consoles and audiences. The creation of Sega Racing Studios really underlines Sega's commitment to quality, as a team of more than sixty has been assembled to work specifically on racing games for the next generation consoles - and they all worked on Sega Rally.

For all the talk and potential though, Sega Rally is entering one of the most crowded genres around, not to mention one that's crowded with triple-A titles. Another potential problem is the fact that Sega Rally is an arcade racer, whereas gamers nowadays are fed a diet of realism and customisation at every turn. So with pretty much every other racing game out there coming with customisation options that would make Michelangelo blush, damage engines that literally see the cars crumple before your eyes and enough options and game modes to keep you busy until this time next year, how does Sega Rally match up? The answer is poorly, in all honesty. The more important question however is whether this really matters - and the answer to that is a resounding "No!"

Sega Rally is nothing short of a masterpiece. Yes, it really is that good - in fact, for some, it will be enough reason to leave Master Chief riding the bench while each perfectly realised track is played to death in an attempt to nail that perfect lap time or beat the incredibly difficult AI drivers. Simply put, Sega Racing Studios haven't just achieved the unlikely task of meeting all expectations; they have actually managed to surpass them at nearly every turn. Sure, some players may bemoan the lack of modes, customisation and the complete omission of any kind of damage engine, but that would be to ignore just what Sega Rally is about; adrenaline-fuelled, edge of your seat, racing bliss. There are so many racing games on the market that have a million and one options but simply forget what is most important. A great example of this is Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, a game that's rife with options, game modes and customisation, yet is found severely lacking when it comes to both track design and handling mechanics.

I cannot begin to stress enough just how spot on the racing is in Sega Rally. You always feel like you have 100% control of your car, even as you take a hairpin at 80mph - the cars physics feel completely attached to your thumb movements. Although it will take a while to master the controls, which are unforgiving, especially for newcomers to the series, once you've got them sussed out you're in for the kind of racing that has been sorely missing from the genre for far too long. As with all Sega Rally releases, realism goes out the window; this is a game built for a videogame world. There is clearly no attempt to achieve realism and Sega Rally benefits greatly from this approach, as there are few experiences that can match tearing through the too beautiful to be real locations as you slide perfectly around a ninety-degree bend without losing an inch of speed. This truly is driving heaven.

The great thing about the car handling in Sega Rally is how it encourages aggression. Once comfortable with the controls, you will find yourself throwing the cars into corners at incredible speeds. The risk/reward aspect of the driving truly is spot on. Although there are other games that encourage a risk/reward mentality, such as Burnout and The new dynamic deformable surfaces in Sega Rally really could have been a bit of a gimmick, just to add something new for the next-gen consoles; in reality however, it has turned out to be one of the finest innovations in videogame racing for many years. MotorStorm achieved this to an extent, but Sega Rally has taken it to the next level. As tyres cut into the mud, with grooves becoming deeper as the race goes on, there's a real change to the effects of surfaces on the cars and the race as a whole, as racing lines are modified and racers have to hustle for that smoother side of the track. On top of this, there's the matter of the different surfaces - mud, tarmac, snow, sleet, water and sand. No two track types feel the same as you drive over them, with each surface being affected in different ways as you battle for the finish line. The fact that you often come across numerous different track types in a single race also adds greatly to the adrenaline-fuelled fun.

Speaking of the tracks, although some may argue that the collection on offer is paltry in comparison to most other racers on the market, it should be noted that Sega Rally is home to some of the finest tracks seen for a long time, both in design and visual appeal. There are five different track types - alpine, safari, tropical, artic and canyon - with each type featuring three different courses. On top of this, there are mirrored versions of all these tracks and a couple of hidden tracks thrown in for good measure. This may not sound like much, but having this amount of tracks feels spot on once you start playing. Each track demands to be mastered and each corner has to be perfected, especially when you take into account just how demanding the AI opponents can be. Even on earlier races the AI is far from a walkover, but on the later races one single mistake will leave you right at the back of the pack. For some the AI may prove to be too challenging, but for those who stick with it, the simple joy of perfecting the tracks will be more than enough to warrant continued attempts at besting the crafty computer opponents. This is another area where Sega Rally shines; while championships and careers in other racers can often turn into a chore, Sega Rally always feels like a challenge, one that will keep you coming back long after you have completed each of the three championships.

Speaking of championships, another aspect of the game that some may find disappointing is the general paucity of game modes. There is championship, which is made up of Premier, Masters and Modified competitions, standard races, time attack, multiplayer and online mode. Each is enjoyable enough, but compared to the Forzas and DiRTs of this world, Sega Rally does come up short. Each of the three championships is made up of three or four different events, none of which take a particularly long time to complete, with only the extreme difficulty of latter AI opposition likely to keep you from finishing them within a couple of days. Standard Race speaks for itself, with Time Attack proving surprisingly addictive, as this is the only mode in which you can race in a more traditional rally sense, just you versus the clock. There's also a huge lack of pre-race options, with no sign of specific car stats or customisation to be seen anywhere. In fact, all you get is the measly choice of off-road or road style handling. In fairness these do make a big difference to the feel of the car, with road style handling offering faster acceleration but poorer cornering and vice versa. When it comes to customisation, the only option you get is a choice of unlockable liveries, with each car usually having three sets of pre-created paint jobs. Before chastising Sega Racing Studios for laziness though, again, it really has to be remembered that this is an arcade racing game that was always going to have a greater emphasis on the racing rather than the options.

As short as the single player experience is, the most important aspect of Sega Rally has always been its multiplayer, and once again Sega have come up trumps with the option of traditional two-player split-screen multiplayer and a very solid online component. As you line up online, you can add AI opponents to make up the numbers, allowing for races to always sport the full compliment of six competitors, also allowing you to choose AI difficulty settings to match your own skills. Most importantly though is just how smoothly it all runs; regardless of how many cars are on-screen at once, there is never so much as a hint of slowdown. This is something that is often taken for granted in better games, but lag really could have ruined this experience. As it stands though, Sega Rally runs beautifully and is a brilliantly competitive riot.

Luckily, it seems that all the time that was saved by not bothering with damage models, extra features and customisation options was used to make Sega Rally one of the prettiest games on the market. I know 'pretty' may sound like a strange choice of words for a rally game, but the tracks are truly a piece of exemplary eye candy. It's great to see a racing game sticking to its arcade roots in a genre obsessed with realism. Believe me, I would take the perfect blue skies, lush plant life and amazing incidental details of Sega Rally's fictional backdrops over the perfectly mapped yet often boring locales found in DiRT any day of the week. It's not just the backdrops that are beautiful either, as the actual tracks deform beautifully under your wheels, creating very real looking mud streaks along your car, streaks that wash off when you drive through a big enough puddle of water. The cars are also beautifully modelled and would honestly look wrong if they were to take damage as the race went on. This is a game of beauty, with the choice to omit car damage actually turning out to be a very sound one by Sega Racing Studios. The audio side is also of an exceptional standard; cars make all the grunt and growl sounds you'd expect and you can really hear a major difference as your car goes from one surface to the next. The real trump card however comes in the form of the cracking soundtrack that accompanies the racing action; this is fast-paced Sega gold and yet another aspect of the game that is simply nigh on perfect.

Sega Racing Studios have truly achieved something very special with Sega Rally. They have kept everything that makes Sega Rally great and somehow managed to improve it in nearly every respect. It's been a long time since I've had so much fun playing a videogame and Sega Rally really reminds me why I love Sega so much. To miss out on this game due to its lack of options and realism would be to miss the point, and more importantly miss one of the finest racing experiences available. From the beautiful graphics and excellent audio to the perfect handling and robust online play, this is a game that deserves a huge audience and is a stark reminder to other racers not to neglect the most important part of any racing game - the racing itself. Ladies and gentleman, this is racing - this is Sega Rally.

Reviewed by Liam Pritchard for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).