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Rally
always looks quite fun; driving like a maniac through mud, snow and
gravel, clinging on for dear life and hoping that the bloke with the
notes actually knows what he’s chatting about. Seems like another
fine sport to convert into a videogame. The Rally driving experience
has been simulated many times on consoles over the years with
various degrees of success. In recent years the Colin McRae
series has dominated in this field, following the popular-culture  birth
of Rally games with V-Rally. However some gamers may argue
that this series has become stale and unoriginal, especially when
compared to the Street Racing genre and the likes of SRS: Street
Racing Syndicate and the BurnOut series. Since 2002 there
has been a young usurper waiting to knock the decadent king off of
his throne in the shape of the WRC series. The WRC
series, World Rally Championship for the uninitiated, is
developed by a UK
based team known as Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer
Entertainment Europe. The first four titles in this series have been
generally well received, but how will the fifth instalment, WRC:
Rally Evolved, fare?
This
first noticeable feature of this game is the inherent cool factor.
The menu screens are backed with smooth videos of rally races and
drivers and backed by a hip Soundtrack from fashionable bands such
as The Subways and Kasabian. But as the Fifa and Need For
Speed franchises have shown, good music does not necessarily
make a good game. There are several game options to choose from
including the standard Championship, Single Race and Practice
options, as well as Historical Battle, Super 1600 and Rally Cross.
First-time players will probably head to Championship as this is the
main part of the game, but by no means the whole of it. The
Championship consists of all of the sixteen official races of the
WRC, each with three Stages. Players are timed across each Stage and
the driver with the shortest time is declared the winner. The winner
of each Race is given ten points, the second eight, and the third
six and so on. These points add up over the Championship and the
driver with the highest score at the Final Race wins the title. A
tried and tested system, but it couldn’t really be anything else.
Rally Cross has more of a traditional racing system using cars the
player has unlocked, pitting the player against three AI opponents
to win Gold Medals, this mode boasts an expansive collection of
tracks very different to the Championships’ and adds a huge amount
of playability to the title. Historical battle is again a different
mode in the style of Championship in which you must beat a  time
in order to win some of the sport’s classic cars such as the Audi
Quattro and Lancia Delta. Super 1600 is a version of the
Championship using a selection of lower powered cars, a simple but
effective way of adding even more content to the title.
So
how is the actual driving? Excellent. Cars slide convincingly around
corners and always make it feel like a mad dash to the end of the
Stage. Not since the Gran Turismo has a game brought the
thrill of driving so completely and realistically to a console; this
game is no Mario Kart! Different track surfaces offer very
different driving experiences; gravel causes the car to slide
greatly when cornering whereas asphalt is perfect for a high speed
sprint. The game features customisable options for rally enthusiasts
including suspension and gear ratios, but for the average gamer
there are default options known as the Engineers Recommendations,
because, let’s face it, some people just want to race! WRC:
Rally Evolved also features Driving Aids; CPU aided braking and
steering and traction control which are essential for the first-time
driver as without them you will have a difficult job keeping the car
on the track, let alone winning the stage. Seemingly similar to
those presented in F1 2005, these Driving Aids can be
gradually removed as your skill increases. One of the original
features of WRC: Rally Evolved is the random events. From
time to time certain incidents will occur, from horses running
across the track to rock falls and occasionally, other drivers
breaking down. This is a very good innovation as it keeps the tracks
feeling fresh and original each time you race.
Another
great feature in the title is the spectacular crashes that can
occur; on your first attempts at the stages you will, no doubt,
crash frequently, but it is always great fun. Taking a corner too
fast can result in your vehicle sliding insanely through a barrier,
off a cliff, tumbling for quite a long time - as it appears, at
least, that WRC: Rally Evolved is entirely devoid of
Invisible Walls - before landing on its roof many yards from the
track. A quick press of Select places you back on the track with a
small time penalty and you are free to get back to driving like a
crazy fool. However, your car does take damage and, fittingly with
rest of the title, is quite realistic, driving through an especially
big puddle can damage your electronic systems whereas crashing head
on into a tree will cause your radiator to burst and spew water.
Repairing this damage takes time  and
you are allocated twenty minutes for repairs, take any longer and
you will be penalised. This damage does have a real impact on the
game, a stuck gear will cause major difficultly in changing gear,
electronics problems can cause the car to stutter as the fuel
regulator malfunctions and brake failure, well, let’s just say you
want to get that repaired…
The
graphics in WRC: Rally Evolved are outstanding and are a real
credit to how far graphics development has come on the PlayStation2
in the four years since its release. Leaves move in the wind,
puddles splash water convincingly and the damage to the cars is
varied and intuitive - from smashed windows to missing bodywork and
buckled wheels. The environments are lush and vibrant and really
make the game look closer to an Xbox title than the closet
PlayStation2 competitor. Draw distances are very far considering the
amount of number crunching that must be occurring behind the scenes,
and the car models reflect light and colour seamlessly. WRC:
Rally Evolved has what it takes to rob the almighty God of
War of it’s spot as the prettiest game available for SONY’s
aging console - and once you have got past the sheer graphical
beauty of this title, you will find that the sound is also spot on.
Your Co-Driver informs you reliably of up coming turns and hazards
as well as shouting at the player for driving poorly or driving just
a little too close to the crowd. He also seems to get great pleasure
from shouting “LOSER” out of the window at broken down
opposition drivers. Crashing into the scenery at high speed produces
a believable crunch and the car engines have a real meaty sound.
In
addition to the already extensive list of features in WRC: Rally
Evolved are the unlockables. These are accessed by winning
Races, which will earn the player points which can then be spent in
the Extras section. The unlockables range from extra cars and tracks
to Cheats such as No Damage and the hilarious Low Gravity and, as
usual, add even more depth to this huge game.
With
all these options available, you could be forgiven for thinking that
there can’t be much more to this title – and how wrong you would
be. WRC: Rally Evolved also sports a well developed Online
Mode which allows players from around the world to race against five
others on any of the tracks in the game. Unfortunately, the title
suffers from some minor lag on many stages, but for the best part is
as reliable an experience as the offline Multi-Player Modes, however
will probably never be extensively used in this country due to the
lacklustre online options for the PlayStation2.
With
all these options, outstanding graphics, extended longevity and not
to mention superb gameplay, WRC: Rally Evolved is probably
the best rally game ever released. Even gamers who do not like
driving or rally games will
find this game a lot of fun. It could be the madcap feel of the cars
or the insane crashes, but what ever it is, this game has endless
appeal and for those who enjoy rallying in any form; this could be
just the title you have waiting for.
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