Racing games don't get any more straightforward than Sega Rally Revo. Although there's plenty of off-road action and slick, wet roads to powerslide across, the game doesn't offer much else. Racers don't get any bonuses for special maneuvering, and there's no car or paint job customization besides a scant collection of unlockable pre-made skins.

To start, Sega Rally Revo was clearly designed for a console gaming experience. Although keyboards offer lousy racing control, Revo makes things worse with an awkward layout. According to the manual, players can remap the controls, but this proved untrue. So, PC gamers without a gamepad are pretty much sunk. Of course, playing Revo without a gamepad with rumble support means losing out on half the experience, but there's no shaking the fact that this game wasn't properly ported over.

On the up side, Revo offers great graphics, as tires kick dirt into the air and mud cakes onto the bottom, sides and bumpers of each car. Even though it looks good, it's more of a standard effect than a dynamic one. Car tops, windows and windshields remain miraculously spot free (we can't have mud covering up advertising). The dirt also distributes evenly, and doesn't cover one door more than the other during powerslides. However, the deformable dirt roads truly bring the game to life. Tires cut deep grooves into the dirt each time they race or slide across it, and cars shake and rumble as they race through, further emphasizing the need for a gamepad. There's a decent variety of racing environments, including dusty deserts, sandy beaches, riverbeds and mountain roads that transition between slush and snow. Unfortunately, the five environments only have three tracks each, making for a total of fifteen. It would help if there were some big gimmick to differentiate one track from another, but most end up looking the same after a while, despite the challenges they bring. All of which makes repeatedly racing through the Championship mode to unlock new vehicles and paint liveries a little tiresome.

Players interested in tricking out their cars should look elsewhere, since Revo has barely any customization options. We're not huge fans of tweaking a car's balance and suspension, but it would be nice to have a few more options than choosing between two types of tires. Off-road tires offer a little more control while on-road provide better acceleration and top speed. The cars within each category feel the same. Since the game doesn't offer any stats, choosing the right car for each competition pretty much comes down to picking the best looking one or favoring a manufacturer. Each car has three paint jobs to choose from (you need to unlock two), but there's no way to offer a personalized touch.

Similarly, this collection of racing modes offers only the basics, without a single bell or whistle in sight. Players can go through Championship mode and race in a series to unlock content. The Quick Race is self explanatory, and so is Time Attack, where players try to one-up themselves. There's split screen and online multiplayer, but Internet play requires signing up for Sega's proprietary service.

There's no practice mode to help players memorize tracks, which either speaks to how easy they are or how much Revo intends to punish beginners. It turns out to be a little of both, since none of the tracks are so complex that it takes hours of practice to get used to them. At the same time, a number of oversights unintentionally make the game awkward for new players. For example, it's hard to know where the edges of the tracks are, since invisible walls box the cars in. There's no way to differentiate the small bit of leeway on the side of a road from the row of bushes subtly representing in impassable barrier until you've crashed into it a few times. The game also has an announcer that lets players know about upcoming curves, which works well until it mumbles "maybe." It makes sense when an "easy" turn might be a touch harder at high speeds, but comments like "U-Turn... maybe" distracts more than it helps. Enough with the maybes, is it a U-Turn or not? Lastly, there's no qualifying, so players start every race at the back of the line and watch all the computer players dart ahead before going through the arduous task of passing each one. Furthermore, there's no way to restart a race that's going badly.

Sega Rally Revo offers a couple hours of entertainment, but doesn't have a lot of staying power. The deformable terrain provides a great experience, but its charm can only take things so far. Any form of personal customization, like a custom soundtrack, would have been nice. Those looking for a focused, undiluted, arcade racing experience can find it here, but there isn't enough variety to keep things interesting.