World Rally is a bit of a classic when it comes to coin-ops. It's a 1993 racing game by Gaelco, and it's one of those coin-ops which I wasted many a coin on. Basically this is an isometric-3D racer, whereas you must complete a given rally course within 60 seconds. Easier said than done. Sort of. You see, the good thing with World Rally is that it's a very uncomplicated game. The controls are dead simple, and you get the hang of it within a couple of plays. That's very important for a coin-op. It has to grab your attention fast.
From there on, the other important bit is for the game to maintain your interest. World Rally delivers. It's ridiculously addictive. It was ridiculously addictive in 1994 when I was throwing dime after dime on the machine, and it still is damn addictive when I emulate it on Mame-32 today.
With a bit of practice, you should be able to finish it with but a couple of credits, but with 12 courses, different conditions where the car behaves differently (tarmac, snow, soil etc), daytime and nighttime races, and so on, completing it with that one coin is a challenge you'll keep coming back to.
Arcade games by definition are somewhat shallow. How could it be any different when we're talking about games whose main purpose is to have you pay money ad-infinitum, merely for that extra few minutes of gameplay? World Rally isn't any different, and if you play it too much, too soon, you might grow to dislike it. But if you play it for, like, 10 minutes everyday, then it's the kind of game which you'll still like 10 years later (as in my case).
8/10
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