Here are my specs for playing this game:

26" widescreen Samsung HDTV
5.1 surround sound
Xbox Live
Xbox/PS2 Gamester Steering Wheel w/ headset slot w/connected chair w/connected gas and brake pedals.($99)

Rallisport 2 is a gem. It has a pinch of arcade to it, but it all depends on how you play it and at less then $20 it is a steal. This is my Steel Battalion/controller combo.
I primarily play Time Attack, and Xbox Live mode. I used the OXM RS2 download to unlock everything in the game beforehand, because its just not worth the trouble of investing hours and hours of time to get extras. I occasionally race opponents, but I am not looking for a challenge so much as I am just trying to enjoy a racing game with my steering wheel. I think the wheel makes all the difference in this game, if I had to go back to using the controller to play this I would not be satisfied at all.

Graphics:
First of all this is a beautiful game, take the time to calibrate the colors and settings for this game on your set before playing. RS2 is very colorful and has great scenery that contributes to amazing driving experience. Each stage has various routes to choose from each with different distances. Some races are a few miles while others are 13 miles. So their are plenty of visuals to go around. Car models are very detailed and allow you to view the interior though it is darkened it is still entertaining when your driving from the
inside of the car with the window smashed out. It is also possible to see your opponents cars driving off in the mountains from a few miles away in the darkness with their headlights on, the game just has great scale.

I recommend playing the game on Time Attack mode because the graphics are upgraded from the regular 4-player races (for performance reasons). Cars have a more complete reflection of their enviroments and smoke trails are much thicker and realistic looking then little puffs. Leaves on the ground also kick up much more when they are driven on top of compared to the 4-player mode. The cars also display effects such as rain on the windshields, and operating wipers. I only play with the view in the cockpit, or on the hood for these reasons. Damage models are amazing, too much to describe but very pleasing, trust me. Almost everything on the car can be torn off, dented or destroyed, like the doors, hood, trunk, windows and some tires...

Sounds:
Amazing nothing falls short. Cars sound like they are being mangled and destroyed when they flip around. The car engine themselves are very good sounding, nothing is weak anywhere. The surround sound works beautifully. There is nothing that disappoints in this category. Music is terrible and is a diservice for this game, even when you turn it completely off it still plays the wonderful menu music... It does support custom soundtracks too, I suggest listening to some Paul Oakenfold Creamfields to this game or maybe Thievery Corporation. Actually don't listen to any music and just play the game very loud and in the cockpit or hood view so you can hear every sound. I disable the entire hud and base my shifting off the car sounds to make things interesting.

Gameplay and Controls:
RS2 has preset controls for both the steering wheel and controllers. As well as a low, medium, and high vibration setting which are very strong. There are strong vibrations in the wheel and the gas and brake have some vibration as well. Cars can be configured in various ways, by tire tread or some more advanced tweaking, nothing extremely deep, but enough to tell their is a difference in handling. Some settings give you more speed while others give noticably more grip on the road especially when blazing through turns. Cars feel like they stick to the ground and you can tell they do from the feedback in the game. So you dont have to worry about sliding all over the place like in Toca2 taking a 35mph turn... ridiculous. It is possible to make an entire race without using the brake once with a manual shift, its very entertaining. I like to race with the classic cars like the Amazon because their top end is about 70 or so and it drives the same as my 90' Geo Prizm Hatchback, 13 mile courses take about 12-15 minutes to complete sometimes making the scale of things much more realistic. I have managed to flip over going too fast around turns when driving the Amazon. Higher end cars are great too but sometimes it gets very tedious always playing with the same fastest car all the time you xbox live people... rs2000 anyone. It turns into a super warp speed blitz to the end of the level to say you made first, but did you honestly enjoy the trip... be honest.

Xbox Live:
There are xbox live rules with preset configurations and restricted car classes or you can play with xbox live rules deactivated allowing you to pick any car you want to and adjust the rules however you please. You can enforce cockpit camera view only, as well as manual transmission only. If you race with only 4 players car models are visible but if you race with more players they become invisible colored car frames. There are always a few servers up and running to play on. Occasionally you have your kids who cannot get enough of the insanely stupid fast cars, and race nothing but those, but they are only depriving themselves of this truly remarkable game.

I could keep writing and writing about stuff I find in this game but, I think these are a great deal of them. Each game mode like hill climb, and crossover contain their own unique map sets. I believe there are plenty of cars (with 6 paint jobs each) and tracks to go around for everyone. I don't care about the AI too much, but on occasions I have found them very entertaing to race against. I like to watch my replays really.I also race without the map and I turn off guidlines to make things more interesting. I am sure shack xbox live players would know how to handle this game. It seems a lot of people do not pay attention to the features that make these games so enthralling. I think I need to go play this game some more now. I hope you enjoyed this review, its my first, send feedback please and enjoy this magnificent game from the wonderful Bill Gates and Microsoft.

Oh, the only bad thing I can really say about this game would be the music included. But other then that it has been a pleasent experience.