Top Gear Rally 2

Top Gear Rally 2 is a racing game where players drive rally cars through a series of tracks. The game features a random and dynamic weather system.

Unlike the original Top Gear Rally, which was developed by Boss Game Studios, Top Gear Rally 2 was developed by Saffire.^[2] The company conceived Top Gear Rally 2 as a more realistic game than its predecessor, with more simulation-like elements such as real-time car damage and weather effects. The physics engine was completely rewritten.^[2] All the vehicles in the game are licensed versions of real rally cars such as the Ford Focus and the Renault Alpine.^[3] During the final stages of the development cycle, developers had to work between 16 and 18 hours a day to complete the game.^[2] The game supports the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak, which allows the game to be played at a resolution of 480x480 pixels.^[2]

Top Gear Rally 2 received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.^[4] GameFan and GameSpot gave it favorable reviews while it was still in development.^[9][11] N64 Magazine considered it the best rally game for the Nintendo 64, but not as rewarding as World Driver Championship.^[14] Mike Wolf of NextGen praised the selection of 15 cars to choose from, realistic weather conditions that affect car handling, a paint shop customization, shortcuts to find and exploit, and multiplayer support for four players.^[15] In Japan, however, where the game was ported for release on February 3, 2000, Famitsu gave it a score of 24 out of 40.^[7]

The Freshman of GamePro was generally positive to its gameplay, the race tracks and the selection of the cars, but considered that there were better racing games on Nintendo 64.^[17][c] In another GamePro review, The Bamboo Carabao said that the game was a welcome change of pace for those who want more of a simulation than Beetle Adventure Racing, but less complex and demanding than World Driver Championship.^[18][d]