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5/5 |
Brilliant, but hard; a simulation and not a game
(November 02, 2005) |
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This is simply one of the three best driving games you can buy, the others being Grand Prix Legends and GT Legends.
The physics, graphics, sound and all round 'feel'of the product create a challenging and rewarding experience for those who can develop the car control to keep these monsters on the road.
You really need a good force-feedback wheel and a high end PC to enjoy this simulation, and a degree of patience to persevere through the excellent tutorials and finally qualify for the Quick Rally stages.
Of the different countries you can race in(USA, Japan, Australia, France, Finland and the UK), the most fun are the US and France. The US tracks are very fast and demanding and the French tracks are bitumen, which requires a different technique to dirt, dust, snow and everything in between. Are we having fun yet!?
I would have liked a night stage, but that's a quibble. Since buying this, I learnt that Richard Burns has passed away from natural causes. |
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5/5 |
Brilliant!
(March 30, 2005) |
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This game is great. If you love rally simulation games then you MUST buy this game. The car physics are very well made and really make you work to control the car! The graphics and sounds are very good, and all add up to an impressive rally experience. Remember to download the latest patch for this game (1.02) which fixes some bugs with certain graphics cards. |
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5/5 |
Move over McRae....
(December 30, 2004) |
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It is difficult to describe just how this game can warp your senses. It can make you feel elated one minute and totally depressed the next.
This has nothing to do with any flaws the game may have, but more to do with your car control.
This is by far the best rally game ever produced. There are a few minor areas for improvement, but more of those a the end of the review.
For me the best aspect of the game is the vehicle dynamics; the car handling is very realistic. Understeer and oversteer perfectly represented.
It is a really satisfying sensation to "set the car up" for a series of bends; this is made possible by the pace notes supplied by your co-driver - Robert Reid.
The timing of the notes is accurate and allows you to push on to the limit. Should you go over the limit the damage is also realistic meaning retirement if you plough into a tree at 70 mph.
The main difference between this and the McRae series is that in the McRae games you feel as though you are going really quickly all the time. This simulation depicts the speed perfectly and 70mph feels fairly pedestrian. Press on up to 110mph on a bumpy gravel road though and things can get frantic.
There are only 7 world rounds which is a shame as a couple more would "fill" the game nicely.
Japan is the only rally to avoid - totally frustrating with poxy slow speed ultra slippy stages. It is impossible to give the car it's head.
America though is the best driving experience you will EVER have in any driving game. Flat out in 5th and 6th gear for most of the first two stages; you find yourself a total gibbering wreck at the end, giggling hysterically at the near misses you watch in the replays.
The only other two minor points are sound quality (the Subaru Boxer engine could be more realistic) and the type of available cars. There are no Group B rally cars, e.g. 6R4, quattro etc.
Still, worthy of five stars, a sensational peice of car dynamics; a must buy for any driving enthusiast. |
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5/5 |
Nice refreshing change.
(October 02, 2004) |
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I like my sims realistic, and acurate, and happily on both counts this game is a winner. It is a driving nightmare at first, with plenty of high speed excursions, but as you start to master the cars handling and feel what the cars doing, it becomes a very satisfying sim to drive. Setups now are more accurate then other inferior endorsed games, tweaking the car gives a different feel, being able to adjust the car to a feel you prefur, such as damper,spring hardness and height of car. I wrote this review because I am fed up with realistic driving sims not getting the credit they deserve, surely we all want a more accurate driving experiance. This one in difficulty strikes a balance between Grand Prix Legends(V.Hard) and Grand Prix 4(moderately hard) I would say. On the highest settings, to make the game look lovely a 9800 pro is required with at least 2 Ghz of CPU speed. The game was a bit jerky on a Geforce 4 Ti4200. If you want a realistic driving fix, get a copy of this, very rewarding. |
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5/5 |
WOW!!...This is what I call a rally simulation.
(October 02, 2004) |
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It's hard.
It's so real that you have to build up all you thought you knew about PC rally racing. Forget about going step to the metal all the time. This won't work that way in this SIMULATION. I tried to go directly to a quick race and then I crash here, spin there, turn over so many times that I was amazed I could finish the stage...so I had to admit that I needed to start on the training sector of the game. Definitely it's hard but fun.
But be warned, if you are not a patient guy or girl and don't have the diposition to "learn rally driving stuff" this is not your party. In the other hand if you keep trying and "training" you will feel greatly rewarded. |
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