Surprisingly, there is no slow down in the two-player mode and the graphics are still of amazing quality. The backfires from the exhausts are a nice touch, and headlights coming on in long tunnels add pleasing realism. People (and ostriches) will run for cover if you drive near them, and loose gravel flies as you churn up the road surface.

The control is great, with analogue throttle and braking in addition to steering. The Arcade Mode will keep you busy for a while, as will the Time Trial mode, which you can master after you've finished with Arcade. In the mean time, you could be storming your way through the Ten Year Rally Championship, getting a new motor for placing first each year. Trouble is, you’ll have to start meddling with the car set-up in the later years to finish the course, never mind place first.

There are 12 extra cars to strive for which means a lot of late nights learning the courses and shaving the seconds off. However, one stray flaw occurs when you win Championships. Bizarrely, you are often rewarded with inferior models of cars you already have.

Those of you with import machines can log on and race three other gamers online, thanks to the internal modem that's been built into the Japanese versions. (No word yet on whether British or US models will come complete with such trimmings). And for all of you worried about the Windows CE-ness of it all – it hasn’t crashed once and we haven’t had to re-install anything.

Sega haven't committed themselves to a US or European release date for Sega Rally 2 as of yet. The price we've given you is an import one. Further details as FG gets them.