Daytona USA Hands-On
It's been a long time coming, but an arcade-perfect version of Daytona USA is finally on its way to a Sega console.
When fully engulfed in the din and chaos of the arcade atmosphere, it's often difficult to realize the brilliance displayed by some of the games. Despite this limiting atmosphere, Daytona USA 2001 has built its legacy as the most fun to be had with a set of linked arcade cabinets. Sega has brought the Daytona series home before with Daytona CCE and Daytona USA for the Saturn, but its limited capabilities prevented the games' visuals from holding up to the standard set by the Model 2-powered arcade version. But with the Dreamcast, Sega finally has a console capable of doing its arcade stock car racer justice, and it appears as if Daytona USA 2001 is the game to do just that.
Compared with the now ancient arcade version, Daytona USA 2001 for the Dreamcast is loaded. While there are only three tracks to race on in the cabinet-bound Daytona USA, Daytona USA 2001 has nine. All three tracks from the arcade version have been included, along with the three original tracks from CCE and three new Dreamcast tracks. In the single-race mode, any of the nine tracks may be chosen for a one-shot deal. Like the arcade version, checkpoints must be reached within a time limit in order to continue and finish. The timing is cumulative, so if you barely make a checkpoint, you can bet that making the next one isn't going to be an easy task. Conversely, if you're blazing through the competition, you'll have added seconds to burn. The championship mode allows you to enter a series of races in hopes of capturing first overall. As you complete each race, you are moved in the starting grid of 20 cars according to your finish. If you capture first overall, a new difficulty level is opened, with more tracks added to the series. The time attack mode allows you to shoot for your best times, save ghosts, and race against developer ghosts.
Keeping its multiplayer heritage alive, Daytona USA 2001 features extensive gameplay options for social settings. Up to two players may compete head-to-head in split-screen races on any of the tracks. Additional cars controlled by the computer may be added for a maximum of 12. But Daytona USA's biggest draw is the ability to play it online via SegaNet. Up to 40 competitors may duke it out at once, but this feature is almost impossible to take advantage of in the US with a Japanese copy of the game. Thus, the jury is still out on Daytona USA 2001's network play.
After choosing which mode to attack, it's time to set the race parameters. There are four initial cars to choose from, and each has its own rating for grip, acceleration, and top speed. The tire grip, transmission, and color of each car may be altered to suit the race conditions or, in the case of color, to achieve a personalized look. In any mode but the championship, you may then choose the track and whether it will be normal, mirrored, reversed, or a combination of the latter two. Race length may then be set from two to 40 laps, and up to 40 total cars may be added to the race.
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