SEGA Rally (or SEGA Rally Revo as it’s called in North America) arrived today in the mail box and I booted it up for some quick races.

It’s all very clear just by looking at the title screen that SEGA are staying true to the classic original. It’s all very arcadey, almost to the point where you want to insert coins. Today’s debut boot of the game resulted in two quick races:

1. Safari.
I chose the Peugeot 306 and the first Safari stage. It’s apparantly the easiest of the stages. The first thing I realises was that the car was incredibly edgy and was twitching left right as soon as you were even considering moving the analog stick. My first two laps were a bit like a drunken driver but I became faster and faster while bouncing on the deformed tracks and splashing through water. Ended up third after a pretty damn splendid last lap.

2. Arctic
Snow. You can’t really beat it when it comes to rallying. And in SEGA Rally you even get to plough it, leaving deep tyre tracks in the road which makes every lap a bit different and a bit more shaky. After the three icy laps I got third here as well after a much more stable race.

The nervous steering does take some getting used to, but once I started going forward instead of just counter-steering wildly I started to feel that this could be the arcade racer (or rallier) that I’ve been looking for.

Stay tuned for a small, but proper, review.

Codemaster’s are bringing their Race Driver brand over to handhelds with the Create & Race game developed exclusively for Nintendo DS. The game, which is set for release in late September, makes use of both the Stylus and the DS wi-fi capability. With the stylus the player can create tracks and personalize their cars and then challenge the world through wi-fi.

Racing into stores in late September exclusively for Nintendo DS, Race Driver™: Create & Race™ is the ultimate in handheld racing. With up to 4-player, Single-Card Play sharing, even the most extreme petrol head will have never-ending hours of intense racing ahead of them. Catch the latest video and the full car & track listings over at www.codemasters.com/createandrace.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will launch the Speed Racer videogame based on the upcoming film written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. Speed Racer is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Silver Pictures production. The game will be available in 2008 on the Wii and Nintendo DS systems as the Speed Racer film hits cinemas. It will be released on the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system with the DVD launch.

In the Wii and PlayStation2 system games, developed by Sidhe Interactive and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, players will be able to take on the role of the characters from the film, getting behind the wheels of each character’s signature vehicles to experience firsthand the film’s high adrenaline, combative racing style. The car-fu style of action within the game will closely represent the action style being designed by the Wachowski brothers for the film itself as they lend direction and assets to the development team directly from their Berlin set. John Gaeta, a long time Wachowski collaborator and Co-VFX Supervisor on the Speed Racer film, is working with Sidhe and WBIE to assist in maintaining a close film-to-game aesthetic connection.

“Speed Racer is an exceptionally creative property and teamed with the Wachowski brothers’ vision it makes for action-packed racing gameplay,” said Samantha Ryan, senior vice president, development and production, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “The game will capture the intensity of the racing in the film to give gamers and movie fans a chance to take the wheel after the experience the film.”

10tacle Studios deliver goose bumps this autumn by bringing to life the powerful engine of the new BMW M3. The racing specialists of developer Blimey!Games demonstrate for the first time the impressive power of the 420 hp Bolide with their new Freeware game “BMW M3 Challenge” for PCs.

The authentic driving experience is once more based on the award-winning technology of the internationally acclaimed “GT Legends” and developed together with the close co-operation of the BMW engineers. It was closely calibrated to match the brand new model launched this year. Road performance, sound and optics, as well as the detailed distance conversion of the Nürburgring, one of Europe’s most challenging race tracks, provide the player with a realistic test drive of the newest sports car under race conditions.

“We are very excited to be working as a premium partner with one of the world’s most successful car companies to realise this project. Our Blimey!Games team once again proves its impressive efficiency in the field of motor sports simulations with their newest BMW M3 Challenge game,” says Michele Pes, chairman of 10TACLE STUDIOS AG. The launch of the new game will take place at the IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt. Visitors to the trade show will get a taste of the first laps in the BMW M3 simulator. The joyride will afterwards be available on four game modes at home. Players can compare their own driving abilities with those of other drivers in the extensive online mode. Up to 16 cars will be waiting at the starting line when the traffic light turns green at this winter’s BMW M3 Challenge online competition. BMW will award prizes to the best international drivers.