Silicon Fusion >> Reviews >> Colin McRae Rally 3

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Review:

1st December 2002:
Colin McRae Rally 3
Codemasters' Colin McRae Rally 3 on the Xbox is a superbly realistic rally simulation but can it compete with the current pack leader - RalliSport Challenge. Read on to find out ...

Posted by Mel Hull - Xbox - UK and Europe

Colin McRae Rally 3 is the first version of Codemasters' rally series to make it to the Xbox and expectations were high. From the supporting material it is obvious that Codemasters have tried to simulate a rally championship experience as realistically as is possible on a home console. Unfortunately the realism tends to get in the way of the game play. The physical modelling of the car's performance is probably the closest most of us will ever get to driving a World Rally car. It certainly handles very differently to a Focus road car but only a few will know how realistic it is.

Only two game modes are supported: championship and stages. Championship mode covers 3 seasons making-up a typical driver contract. Each season visits 8 counties with six stages plus a super special stage. Stages mode allows a number of different cars, including classic and bonus cars, to be selected and driven around any of the rally stages.

Three skill levels are available: Normal, Hard and Very Hard. Car damage is reported before each stage but can only be repaired at designated Service Areas. A vast array of car set-up options are available, some of which become unlocked as you progress through the championship. Fortunately the default settings will suite most of the stages but to optimise handling the "shakedown" session at the start of each rally can be used to fine tune the set-up on typical terrain for the rally itself. During these test runs, telemetry data is recorded and can then be used to indicate comparative performance during the best three.

Unfortunately for Codemasters they do not hold an FIA licence and therefore cannot use real driver names or rally stages. This is a shame because the fictional names detract from the sense of realism. It would have been nice to battle against the likes of Marcus Gronholm and Richard Burns.

Loading times are good and the average stage times are short enough to allow rapid progress through the rallies. At the start of each stage the lead car is shown leaving the stage. This is one of the few times in championship mode when the other cars are shown. The intro shots before each stage look quite impressive the first few times but the repetition becomes a problem. Fortunately these shots can be skipped to get to the driving action as soon as possible.

There are a few instances where the reality of the simulation have been sacrificed for the sake of game play and sanity. If you totally mess-up a stage then you do not have to limp round as Colin would normally have to. Instead, an option allows the stage to be repeated.

The car is very responsive and can be retrieved from awkward situations rapidly. This also applies if it ends up in a lake or over a cliff edge - it is soon returned to continue the battle. This is just as well as there are very few spectators on the stages to help recover the cars.

A bar on the left of the screen shows split time differences compared with the fastest car at that time - unless you happen to be first on the stage then you do not know how fast you were until the other cars have completed the stage.

The stage mode allows rally stages to be tried before entering the championship. Certainly in Normal level this is not essential since it is fairly easy to do well if you follow the pace notes closely. These notes are provided by Colin's former co-driver Nicky Grist and can be supplemented with direction arrows on the display. For added realism the arrows can be removed but I wouldn't recommend it. Except for the spoken pace notes and the basic engine and car noises, the sounds during the game are not very inspiring - again following the concept of realism.

The Super Special stages are the only time during a championship when you get to drive head-to-head against another car. Even then you only see glimpses of it since it is on a different part of the track.

The graphics are good but not cutting edge. The shots of the cars themselves and the car damage is impressive but the scenery in many stages is very often dull. The realism extends to rain effects on the windscreen but only from the in-car camera angle. The two other views are from behind the car and on the bonnet.

Multi-player modes allow alternate (as in a real rally) or split screen displays. Replays are shown from many different angles including a very impressive view looking back at the driver and co-driver from the front of the car.

How does CM3 compare with other rally games on the Xbox? The current pack leader is RalliSport Challenge, one of the launch games. Unfortunately, in most respects CM3 loses out. Car performance and car damage are probably the only areas in which CM3 beats RalliSport, but for shear enjoyment and visual effects, RalliSport is more appealing.

CM3 is still a very good game and will probably appeal most to true rally enthusiasts.

Mel Hull

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Review Summary:

Codemasters have created probably the most realistic rally simulation game available on any platform. Does this make it the best rally game ever - unfortunately not. There is no doubt the physical modelling of the car's performance is very impressive. Combining this with superb display of car damage and the ingredients for a top-notch game are certainly present.

For shear fun and excitement, RalliSport Challenge is the current rally pack leader on the Xbox. CM3 however is a very good game for rally enthusiasts but too realistic to keep most gamers interested for long.

Related Games:

Colin McRae Rally 3
for Xbox

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