The third main game in the series and not a great deal has changed,
but there's still a fair bit of fun to be had.
Basics out of the way first. The modes to this game are a Time Attack,
in which you can drive across 24 tracks over six countries, a Challenge
mode where you must complete several tracks in a row across the different
countries in sponsored challenges and get the best time overall. Then there's
the V-Rally Mode: sign up with a famous team and race in a number of
rallies, again with the intention of being the best.
There's scores of options to be found in terms of servicing your car (choosing
from one of more models than you can shake a stick at) and you can inspect the
race schedule in closer detail.
For the graphics, on the Xbox it'll obviously look better than it has done
before, but while it moves at a decent pace and has great lighting effects,
overall it just doesn't seem to shine quite like it should.
Soundwise, how long since you actually heard a car racing game sound anything
more than average? Once in a while, but not often - and this is no exception.
That's not a major hassle here though since it doesn't hinder the gameplay
as your vehicle rasps along.
When it comes to playing the game, V Rally 3 shares the same difficult
physics of its predecessors. You can get used to it after a couple of races,
but it doesn't really feel like it's come on a great deal since the original
release,
Try to rent this before you buy, since while it may have all the options even
the keenest rally driver would want, overall it's just not as impressive
as I hoped for. Try
Project Gotham Racing
or
Burnout
instead.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
For the graphics, on the Xbox it'll obviously look better than it has done
before, but while it moves at a decent pace and has great lighting effects,
overall it just doesn't seem to shine quite like it should.
