World Rally

"World Rally" is a racing game centered around road rallies. It is licensed by Gaelco of Barcelona, Spain, and is suitable for both street and arcade locations. “World Rally” is a racing game for 1 or 2 players, in which you take turns driving. The controls include a steering wheel on a mount, a gearshift lever for high and low gears, and an accelerator pedal. At the start, players choose one of four rallies, with each level becoming progressively more difficult than the previous one. A rally consists of three stages and features a variety of different routes and road surfaces. Asphalt, gravel, night driving, and snow-covered roads require players to adapt their driving skills accordingly. Players maneuver through hairpin turns, jumps, bridges, puddles, and other obstacles. If they complete each stage within the 60-second time limit, they can advance to the next stage for free. After the end of each stage and upon completion of all 12 stages, players’ times are displayed and compared with those of other top drivers. The game gained notoriety in recent years because it was extremely difficult to play on emulators like MAME—the arcade hardware featured an advanced anti-piracy system, until Gaelco co-founder Javier Valero provided unencrypted keys for the board at a Spanish gaming conference in 2008, making it possible to emulate and play the game. Gaelco later released its ROM image as freeware.