Daaaytooonaaa (Daytona USA 2001 (DC))

Member Name: Closs

Product:	Daytona USA 2001 (DC)
Date:	07/10/03 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun

Disadvantages: Fun!

Daaaytooonaaa...the familiar theme tune still exists in the latest incarnation of Sega's classic racer.

Daytona is the racer with a handling system unlike any other and it's this that presents most of the challenge in the game, whether this is a good or bad thing is up to the player as some will no doubt struggle with controlling the vehicles. But it has to be said that even battering the cars round corners and failing to come in 1st time and time again still will not drive you from the game so this can only be a testament to the gameplay.

The game is structured in a league system, coming in first increases you points and your position in the league, score in the top three to win the league, simple enough but this game takes skill to win and even on the easiest setting this game will pose quite a challenge.
But to help out Daytona features many classic vehicles and some new ones to take round some classic courses (and some new ones) including the Hornet and 3-Seven Speedway, two of the most popular staples from previous incarnations. This incarnation, however, features split-screen multiplayer for two players with varying options including being able to turn the CPU grid of vehicles on and off. Multiplayer is a decent diversion but it's the single player that really shines.

One of Daytona's greatest achievements is it's unique ability to handle 40 vehicles on screen at one time and still run at a steady 60fps, this includes the lush backgrounds and other moving objects plus the fact that each vehicle is shifting at blistering speeds, through all my time of playing I never even noticed a hint of slowdown. Multiplayer drops the frame-rate to a respectable 30fps in order to keep the action moving but of course this is no less playable than 60fps which is really more of a bonus than a necessity.
Accompanying this fantastic speed is some of the best rock music I've ever heard in a game. The music is fantastica
lly silly but I like it, it may not be to everyone's taste but I personally thought it suited the game perfectly. Sound effects are fairly good too although they are restricted to some simple engine noises and singing birds.

There are some bad points however, the game, as mentioned above, is very hard to get to grips with. The cars are 'twitchy' at best and powersliding really does require a masters touch and hours of practice, even with this ability, the game remains a great challenge and has plenty of extras to unlock.

Daytona USA 2001 is a game you'll come back to regardless of whether you can play it or not if only for the great tunes, it's a good diversion and the multiplayer can also be good fun providing both players have some grasp on the handling of the cars.

Summary: