Wow, what a game! Ever since buying Rallisport Challenge for the Xbox, I'd been left with a nasty taste for rally games. I found myself yearning for a true rally experience (short of my occasional gravel trips in the WRX...
). Enter WRC.
Firstly, for those who haven't played this one, the game plays like an interactive version of the Speed Channel coverage. The menus, intro movies for the stages - everything - is just like it is on the television. Very cool. The car physics are very well done, and the navigator instructions sound very authentic and are much more intuitive than Rallisport Challenge.
And the sound - my goodness, the sound - is so amazing! Every bit of gravel, engine noise, gearbox sounds and even your wiper blades swishing is replicated very very well.
Graphically, it's no GT3, but it's the best of any rally game I've seen - and that includes RSC. The interior rendering of the cars probably makes up for any other lack of graphic prowess. The in-car camera views are amazing! You can actually see the driver and navigator moving around as the car turns, brakes and accelerates. You can even drive from the pilot's position, behind the wheel (which kinda sucks when you smack a wall and shatter that pretty windshield!).
Which brings me to car damage. Unlike RSC, you can actually damage your car. You'll see minor body damage, such as torn bumpers and broken windows, but major deformation of body panels seems to be absent. You can also break things on your car, such as the steering (which makes steering sluggish and inaccurate), a drive shaft (which reduces grip by making that AWD into 3WD or less), your gearbox (which drastically reduces your ability to shift, I hate this one,
), and also two related to cooling that when damaged can cause the engine to overheat, sapping power.
You'll also notice nice graphical touches such as the cars getting very dirty over the course of the stages, even gathering on the windshield where it's wiped away by the wipers.
Even though we only get to run 5 stages in each rally, you'll have plenty of racing to do. And, there is supposedly some extra tracks available that I haven't unlocked yet.
Complaint time (there are always some). First beef: the navigator. I'm gonna fire mine...he seems to get behind sometimes. Now, maybe I'm just driving a little faster than they intended (more on difficulty in a bit), but it seems that sometimes I'm already into a corner (usually WAY too fast), just as he says "50 caution, hairpin left". Oh great, now you tell me - CRUNCH! Sure, I didnt' need that drive shaft anyway. 98% of the time, the voice commands do great, but it's that 2% that really gets me (usually up onto a bank upside down...).
Second beef: Load times. For pete's sake people, this is a DVD! I understand that the stages are pretty big, but a 2 minute load time is a bit excessive. At least give me some pretty rally action shots to look at or something. (Note: this is a big nitpicking thing, do not let this keep you from playing the game)
Third beef: Difficulty. Now, this is probably because of several things. First, I'm playing through on Novice first to get a feel for the car and the stages. I've never finished a rally with less than a 45 second lead. Others have mentioned how easy the game seems, and I can only think that it has something to do with how experienced we all are with this type of racing. We've been rallying since GT2, so we know how the cars are supposed to react. Dunno, I'll step up to the hardest level for my second time through, and we'll see how it does.
That's about it for this very lengthy mini-review (can't tell I used to write for GSI...). If you like the WRC, get this game. Period.
). Enter WRC.Firstly, for those who haven't played this one, the game plays like an interactive version of the Speed Channel coverage. The menus, intro movies for the stages - everything - is just like it is on the television. Very cool. The car physics are very well done, and the navigator instructions sound very authentic and are much more intuitive than Rallisport Challenge.
And the sound - my goodness, the sound - is so amazing! Every bit of gravel, engine noise, gearbox sounds and even your wiper blades swishing is replicated very very well.
Graphically, it's no GT3, but it's the best of any rally game I've seen - and that includes RSC. The interior rendering of the cars probably makes up for any other lack of graphic prowess. The in-car camera views are amazing! You can actually see the driver and navigator moving around as the car turns, brakes and accelerates. You can even drive from the pilot's position, behind the wheel (which kinda sucks when you smack a wall and shatter that pretty windshield!).
Which brings me to car damage. Unlike RSC, you can actually damage your car. You'll see minor body damage, such as torn bumpers and broken windows, but major deformation of body panels seems to be absent. You can also break things on your car, such as the steering (which makes steering sluggish and inaccurate), a drive shaft (which reduces grip by making that AWD into 3WD or less), your gearbox (which drastically reduces your ability to shift, I hate this one,
), and also two related to cooling that when damaged can cause the engine to overheat, sapping power.You'll also notice nice graphical touches such as the cars getting very dirty over the course of the stages, even gathering on the windshield where it's wiped away by the wipers.
Even though we only get to run 5 stages in each rally, you'll have plenty of racing to do. And, there is supposedly some extra tracks available that I haven't unlocked yet.
Complaint time (there are always some). First beef: the navigator. I'm gonna fire mine...he seems to get behind sometimes. Now, maybe I'm just driving a little faster than they intended (more on difficulty in a bit), but it seems that sometimes I'm already into a corner (usually WAY too fast), just as he says "50 caution, hairpin left". Oh great, now you tell me - CRUNCH! Sure, I didnt' need that drive shaft anyway. 98% of the time, the voice commands do great, but it's that 2% that really gets me (usually up onto a bank upside down...).
Second beef: Load times. For pete's sake people, this is a DVD! I understand that the stages are pretty big, but a 2 minute load time is a bit excessive. At least give me some pretty rally action shots to look at or something. (Note: this is a big nitpicking thing, do not let this keep you from playing the game)
Third beef: Difficulty. Now, this is probably because of several things. First, I'm playing through on Novice first to get a feel for the car and the stages. I've never finished a rally with less than a 45 second lead. Others have mentioned how easy the game seems, and I can only think that it has something to do with how experienced we all are with this type of racing. We've been rallying since GT2, so we know how the cars are supposed to react. Dunno, I'll step up to the hardest level for my second time through, and we'll see how it does.
That's about it for this very lengthy mini-review (can't tell I used to write for GSI...
). If you like the WRC, get this game. Period.
You never realize how much you depend on their directions until you don't have them.
What a disappointment...I was a big WipeOut XL fan.
My biggest quirk is when you're flying over a crest and don't have any clue what's on the other side... 
).
That will be twice as better as this (this is a great game) and hopefully less loading times :smilewink
