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COLIN MCRAE: THE RALLY
SLPS 01938
Copyright © 1999 The Codemasters Software Company Limited
Sony PlayStation
Racing
Dual Shock Compatible/NegCon Compatible
Available now in Japan
¥5,800
Where to buy
FAQ
QuickTime Movies
—by Eugene Moon
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The World Rally Championship (WRC) pits men (and women) and their
machines against some of the harshest racing conditions one could possibly
encounter. Cars such as the Toyota Corolla, the Mitsubishi Lancer, the
Subaru Impreza, and even the brand new Ford Focus are put to the ultimate test
speeding down narrow and twisty gravel roads, or flying through the air off of one of
numerous jumps, or sliding sideways in a snowy forest. Championship drivers
of these cars like Ari Vatanen, Walter Röhrl, Michele Mouton, Juha
Kankunnen, and Carlos Sainz have developed fans around the world. One of the current
stars in rally racing is Colin McRae.
Codemasters, maker of TOCA
TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP as well as TOCA 2 TOURING CARS (TOCA 2: TOURING CAR CHALLENGE in the U.S.), has
teamed up with Colin McRae and his co-driver Nicky Grist to bring the experience
of driving a WRC race car to the home on the PC and on Sony PlayStation. Based on the 1998 season of the World
Rally Championship, COLIN MCRAE: THE RALLY allows the player
to campaign for a full season in a Mitsubishi, Subaru, Toyota, or a Ford Escort
(the predecessor to this year's Ford Focus rally car).
Players are initially given a choice of four game modes. The Rally School
is a series of tests, much like the license tests in
GRAN TURISMO,
that are
designed to help the player improve his skills. There are short videos which
introduce the objective of the test, followed by a driving session with Colin
serving as your instructor. Time-Trial mode allows players to practice particular
stages which make up the various rounds of the championship. At first, only stages
from the first four rounds are available. The third choice is Rally mode where
players can run a full round of the championship. The final option is Championship
mode.
Only by contesting all 8 rounds of the rally championship can players gain
access to all the cars and tracks present in the game. The expert level of
difficulty is also unavailable until the championship has been finished.
The game is impressive in the amount of authenticity it brings to portraying
the experience of rally racing. The physics are the most impressive aspect
of the game. The cars react differently depending on which of the various
surfaces is currently being run on. Ice is more slippery than snow. Gravel and mud
don't provide as much grip as tarmac does. The cars are also modeled well, and
they even exhibit the wear and tear encountered while running a rally stage. Mud
splatters onto body panels. Lights get broken and body panels get bent and
knocked askew when serious accidents happen.
The sound of COLIN MCRAE isn't awe inspiring, but it
isn't abysmal either. Gravel makes a racket, getting kicked into the wheel wells.
Whistling noises come from the engine compartment as air is released from the turbo's
blow-off valve. And Nicky Grist delivers instructions from his pace notes describing
the severity of turns or warning of impending bumps in the road in impeccable
English.
Of greater disappointment are the game's replays. Though the run is
typically captured in its entirety for playback at the end of each stage, there is no
way to save the most impressive runs (or even more spectacular crashes) to the
memory card. Also, the cars don't really appear to interact with the road surface,
but rather they appear to float serenely a foot off the ground, except when
taking a jump or getting in an accident.
Other than these minor problems, COLIN MCRAE: THE RALLY
is a superb effort from Codemasters. It features the current drivers (except for Tommi
Makinen who must have signed a contract with some other game maker) from the World
Rally Championship, driving the cars they drove in 1998. It may not boast the same
level of sophistication as the original GRAN TURISMO, but it
delivers the most authentic rally racing experience currently available on the
PlayStation. In some respects, it is more true to the World Rally Championship than
SEGA RALLY 2
for the Dreamcast. While it can't match SEGA RALLY'S level of graphic beauty, COLIN MCRAE features tracks much closer in realism to those run in
the WRC.
On the near PlayStation horizon, however, lies the juggernaut of Polyphony
Digital Entertainment's latest creation. If the rumors are true, GRAN TURISMO 2 promises to upstage COLIN MCRAE to
some degree with improved physics and a wider variety of cars to choose from. But in
the end, it is doubtful that GT2 will be able to deliver the
rally experience in the way COLIN MCRAE: THE RALLY
does. 
Rating: 8.5/10 |
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