Daytona USA Championship Circuit EditionReview by: Electronic Informer After the disappointing Daytona USA that arrived on store shelves along with the Saturn a year and a half ago, Sega has decided to re-release the game, much like they did with Virtua Fighter and VF Remix. Daytona Championship Circuit Edition has some improvements over the original, but not quite enough to blast the Saturn ahead of the racing pack. You get a variety of cars (eight to be exact), each with different attributes. You also get 5 tracks (two new ones, and the original three). All the tracks have been given new names and some have moving animations in the background, like roller coasters and trains. The game relies heavily on power-slide turns and cutting other cars off. The graphics were the weakest part of the original, and the part that should have been improved on the most. Unfortunately, while the frame rate has been slightly increased, there is still quite a bit of noticeable pop-up, and the game still runs in low-res. The options screens have been revamped in high-res, but everything else still looks pixelated and jagged. The music has been changed. Unlike what was previously thought, you cannot obtain the original music, so you're stuck with new, remixed tracks. For the people who couldn't stand the original music, you'll be glad with these, but for those of you who enjoyed it (like me), you'll be disappointed. All the sound effects are the same, and the announcer has been cleared up a little, and is not as annoying. The gameplay is virtually the same as the first one, which is great news, as Daytona was always known for exciting, edge-of-the-seat racing. The new two-player mode is also great, although the pop-up is very distracting in this mode. Strangely, for some reason, the game seems much slower than other racing games. When you hit 200 MPH, it sure doesn't feel like it. Overall, Daytona CCE is hardly what Sega needs to win the system wars. Disappointing graphics, weird music and slow gameplay crash this racer. If you've already got the original, stick with it. If not, get Need for Speed.
Rated on 5:
Aaron Stamboulieh
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