Pros: Impeccable Graphics,Easy to learn,Astonishing replay value,appeals to any car fan
Cons: Bad handling that can be frustrating,sound not good but not really noticeable
The bottom line: If you liked The Fast and The Furious,you'll love this!
I spent about a month looking for this game. I was buying it maybe a year after its US release and i didn't think i would find it anywhere. Going to the movies and not wanting to go to a crowded mall me and my friend decided to make the trek to Latham Circle Mall. After the movie we had some time to kill so we walked into a music/video game store. Jokingly i said "That would be funny if that game was in here", referring to Tokyo Extreme Racer 2, the game i wanted so badly but could never find. Looking through the small collection of video games on sale at this store i saw it, it was there shining right at me, and there was nothing that could stop me from buying it. So i paid my money, brought it home, and i have been playing it ever since.

The simplicity could not be any greater than on this game. There shouldn't be any reason for this game to be confusing to anyone. There is a basic idea...."The Race". You simply get behind a rival car, flash your hi's at him, and get ready because you're about to start your Street Racing Experience. You and your opponent start out with the same amount of space filled in a bar, almost looking like a Mortal Combat fight, but with cars. For every passing second that you are behind your opponent, you lose a little of that bar and vice versa until the whole bar is gone and the race is over. The winner is credited with the cash and the loser a measly few bucks.

There are different types of gameplay, there's the quick race and that kind of thing. The only parts other than the quest i find are useful is the timed race for the 400m track. This gives you an accurate rating of what your car will run in the quarter mile. There is no need to fool around with anything else though, so we will go straight to quest mode.

Quest mode is as basic as the game is. You race your rival gangs, you upgrade your car, and you try to become the best. Theres a few different highways you can run on, theres the C1 Inner Track,the Outer Track,Haneda is a good place to run for straightaway's,and theres another part of the track that you must unlock. There are different types of people that give you different kinds of money. Racing the gang shmucks will give you 500-700cp, the gang leaders could give you around 1000-4000cp,Zone Bosses give you around the same,and Wanderers as well. I'm not extremely far into the game, so im not sure if this changes as you get farther into the game. You upgrade anything from the ground effects on the body, to the tires and side mirrors. The engine and exhaust give you more power, while the other upgrades will lighten the body, or make the handling better to make it overall a better racing car.

Graphics (10/10)
The graphics in my opinion are great. Watching the replays of your races is one of the things that really caught my attention. The game's graphics is something that really pays attention to detail. Everything from the lightposts to the fogging tailights is shown in this game.

Sound (4/10)
The sound is not something i ever really noticed in this game. I never really cared much of the background music played while racing, i was more worried about winning the race. The music could vary anywhere from techno to some rock.

Learning Curve (8/10)
Like i said, there is no reason why you should be asking questions of how to play this. There is your simple acceleration,brake and to start a race all that is needed is to flash the hi beams at your opponent. Of course you'll learn later on how to fix around with your gear ratio's,your suspension,your braking and you'll probably learn what your "power band" is too. But for a review this is something that i don't need to go telling, ill save those comments for the FAQ.

Replay Value (10/10)
Unless you play this game nonstop,there is no way that you will finish this game quickly. What exactly constitutes finishing the game you ask? Well i would think that even if you beat the game, you have not finished it. It is possible to beat the game and have missed a few rivals along the way. And the hundreds of cars in here provide hundreds of different cars to learn from and customize to your needs. And the 350 rivals in this game make for an astonishing replay value.

Overall & Comments (9/10)
For the idea of this game, with the street racing appeal, i would call this the best racing game for dreamcast. There is however one thing that could turn people off to this game. The handling of the cars can be somewhat frustrating when the computer seems to never make mistakes. Don't worry about it too much though, it is another aspect of the game that makes it that much more challenging. You didn't expect everything to be given to you on a silver platter did you????? I am a junior in high school,and ive been playing this game for a couple months now. And i honestly think that this will be one of the few games i will take to college with me.