If there's one good thing about World Rally Championship
it's that there's little question over what you're going to get.
You can see what to expect from the very title - a driving game based on a real-life
sport, with the real names of the sports heroes and the real cars - including a
Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer and Ford Focus - and round the real tracks around the world.
Still, at least the set-up screen is helpful in choosing the best options for
gears, tyres, etc. rather than taking you to a complicated garage set-up where
you haven't got a clue what you're doing unless you're a real egg-head with
this sort of thing.
It'll also be no surprise to learn that as well as being able to race all 14
World Rally stages - V-Rally style with directions being shouted out along hte
way, you can try out a single rally, go for a practice spin or
head-to-head against a friend, here with a horizontal or vertical split-screen
mode. Replays can also be viewed from a multitude of angels.
The graphics and sound are, quite frankly, nothing to write home about but
they serve an adequate purpose. In fact, adqeuate just about sums up the game
as a whole. The tracks may be accurate, although I've never gone and studied
one myself, but driving round one rally track is very much like driving round
another and monotony sets in very early. The car's engine hums and there's a
bang when you hit the side of the track, but that's about it for sound.
No doubt somewhere this game will have claimed the most accurate handling
for each of the cars' individual specs, but all you need to know is that it'll
take you a fair while to get used to each one - same goes for learning all the
tracks and which hairpin bends can be taken at what speeds, but if you want
some instant fun without trying to work things out? Give it miss and take a
drive round the streets in
Grand Theft Auto 3.
For those that do want some rally fun, rent it first before you consider buying.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY 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
If there's one good thing about World Rally Championship
it's that there's little question over what you're going to get.
The graphics and sound are, quite frankly, nothing to write home about but
they serve an adequate purpose. In fact, adqeuate just about sums up the game
as a whole. The tracks may be accurate, although I've never gone and studied
one myself, but driving round one rally track is very much like driving round
another and monotony sets in very early. The car's engine hums and there's a
bang when you hit the side of the track, but that's about it for sound.
