The tracks
In most driving games, you get either the same cars and different tracks or different cars and the same tracks. Sunrise does things differently in that you don’t get to choose which car you drive… your track choice dictates which car you drive. As you have to play certain tracks and win medals to a certain level to unlock later tracks, you’ve got no choice but to play them all.
For some, this might seem like to much bother, especially if you can’t stand the car you’re forced to play, but for me, the challenge of learning how to get the best out of the car and learning the quickest way to drive the track is core to the game itself. DJ have taken the time and trouble to make the tracks varied and interesting not only across the different scenarios but across the different cars too, so there’s plenty here to keep you interested.
In the main, the race car’s tracks are fast, sweeping affairs with loads of booster sections to see you then hurtle across vast areas in mid air… Your take off is critical in these races as a fraction off of the straight and narrow can see you missing the road and having to reset which looses valuable time. Similarly, just keeping it floored all the time may not be the best idea as a sudden jump can send you hurtling in mid-air over the bend you need to take to stay in the lead… or an off-camber turn will throw you off the track into the barriers, losing you valuable speed.
The 4x4 tracks are a different matter with the emphasis firmly on controlling your lumbering beast over undulating turns and high speed twists. You won’t see very many high-speed leaps over vast distances here, but what you will need is a canny control as you lurch around tight bends trying to build enough speed and keep the damn wagon straight to leap it over a gap and move onto the next part of the course.
With the rear wheel driven slidey car, again the tracks are designed to challenge your skills in the best way suited to the car’s characteristics. You’ve got some nice long, undulating straights to build a bit of speed over before being hurled into a series of twisty technical curves or maybe just one big power-sliding hairpin before having to get a near perfect position to take off across a ramp to land on the next bit of track… and to make it even more challenging, the tracks here are pretty narrow, so a visits to the countryside, whilst not damaging to your car, is pretty damaging to your lap time.