Cast your mind back to a cold, drizzly winter’s morning in November 2003. Richard Burns was on his way to a Special Stage during Rally GB, when he collapsed at the wheel of his £300,000 Peugeot World Rally Car. Hours later, it was discovered that he was suffering from astrocytoma, a form of brain tumour. In such unfortunate circumstances, he was forced to withdraw from the rally and subsequently the 2004 season in order to undergo treatment. At the time of this game’s release, Burns was on the way to recovery and, for rallying at least, the sport has temporarily (let’s hope) lost a hugely talented driver. Somewhat ill timed, therefore, that a game accredited with his name is released to go head-to-head with the mighty Colin McRae Rally, especially in view of the fact that neither driver is currently competing in the sport. Let there be no doubt, however, that they are amongst Britain’s very best racing drivers – of any discipline.

It’s taken a while for someone other than McRae to take centre stage in a rally game. None of the recent or popular world champions have been as privileged – Kankkunen, Sainz, Gronholm, and Solberg to name just a few (Makinnen did, however, make a brief appearance we’d much rather forget). As with their real-life personalities, Burns is not as flamboyant as McRae in terms of driving style, instead adopting a calmer, more constrained approach, but one that is no less efficient, and as things turn out, this is how Richard Burns Rally (RBR) transpires. Before you’re even allowed to step foot on a rally stage, players are required to go through a series of driving tests akin to those found in Gran Turismo (just to prove that your handling ability adheres to some sort of coordinated manner). You’ll notice at this point that the graphics are those of function over form, but the sounds of exhausts crackling and popping are distinctly satisfying. After this, a whole other series of tests follow designed to test and hone your skills to a minimum level required for the rest of the game, the difficulty of which borders on the fastidious. Not only do they have to be completed within the given time, but the correct techniques must also be used. Should you decide, for instance, that the suggested speed of 60mph over the flat-left over crest is too pedestrian and, hence, take it at 90mph, you will fail – this of course, is complemented by a constructive critique by Mr Burns. The further you progress, the more you will begin to appreciate the distinct feeling of the car’s weightiness and its association with the road surface that simply isn’t present in other rally games. Swinging the car on its axis, whether via Scandinavian flick or left-foot brake, is convincing and extremely difficult, yet never patronising. Completion of the tests culminates in access to the championship, and a high-speed passenger ride with the man himself (arguably the next best thing to being in a real WRC with a former World Champion). Strange as it may sound, the latter is a serene and satisfying experience as you witness seemingly perfect car control and the harmonious balance of throttle, brake, and steering through the stage you’ve just completed. Whether or not Burns actually did this is another question (one might question his ability and motivation to master a videogame given his condition), but the person behind the pad is certainly gifted at that, and worthy of his name.

Onto the core of the game, the championship mode is comprised of six rounds spanning 36 stages (not as much as other titles in the genre), while car selection is patently limited to the most popular models. What is more important is the choice of difficulty between rookie, professional and champion; and for car damage, in which there’s safe, reduced, and realistic (experienced gamers should be confident in choosing the ‘realistic’ option, especially those who consider themselves to be proficient at such games). As someone with a degree of experience within the genre, I opted for what appeared to be the sensible option: professional-realistic. Before the stage begins, there’s the ability to recce various stages (in layman’s terms, to drive through the stage at your own leisure), and try out the vast combination of car settings. Certain features of this put even Gran Turismo to shame, with possible adjustments to toe, camber, castor, ride height, front- rear- and centre-diff, diff lock, rebound rates, gear ratios, brake bias, the list goes on and on. Inexperienced mechanics are advised to consult the manual or stick to the default settings for now, and go straight to tyre selection. On the stage, there’s an unshakable level of confidence to be had: after all, you’ve passed all the tests, the car’s been set, and you’ve already conquered all the other rally games out there. You are the king. It’s surprising, therefore, how quickly things change. An incident with the wall at the first straight (caused by, amongst other things, a massive pot-hole which unsettled both the car and joypad) means the left suspension feels untoward as the car pulls awkwardly around the first K-right don’t cut; then, before you know it, an innocent collision with a small tree damages the gearbox and the car no longer accelerates properly. Next, a minor distraction while assessing the vehicle’s status puts the front into a rock. The engine refuses to start, the water temperature rises, and you’re advised to retire – all this after only 36 seconds from the start line! Service Park? Forget about it. And don’t think you can cheat your way out – retiring saves your position by default, and puts you in the next rally on the calendar – the only option is to reset the machine before retiring and go through the whole process again. This, rally and race fans, is the compelling experience we’ve been waiting for!

A month will easily go by before you even re-consider your original selection of professional-realistic, and longer still for the holy grail, champion-realistic, as you desperately try to master the control of the car, your urge to driver faster than is physically permissible, and the unswerving concentration at preserving the vehicle at all times. The combination of these three components is thus at the heart of RBR, and is something which is rarely implemented with such authority and conviction. One would think it cannot be difficult to achieve such a feat (all designers have to do is allow the car to break down in a realistic fashion), but in doing so, certain risks are imposed upon the production team that may otherwise be averted (or in same cases, unbelievably, games are simply not allowed to portray damage). As independent factors from the game itself, corporate and political restrictions such as these are a real shame. RBR commendably negates this by going against the grain, which results in a truly satisfying and rewarding experience. As with all games, there are faults: relatively poor visuals, longer than desired loading times, questionable pace notes on the rare occasion (these are, on the whole, nicely put together using Burns’ real-life co-driver Robert Reid, and can be adjusted for speed of delivery), and other minor imperfections, but nothing that cannot be swept aside on general principle. As far as multiplayer goes, there’s a turn-based mode for up to four players, but in the absence of an online facility, players are probably better off indulging in the Richard Burns Challenge to go up against the times set by a true master (Burns or otherwise).

At the rate things are going with ever-enhancing visuals, unimaginable budgets, overrated licences, and insipid familiarity, it is inevitable that greater realism will play the vital role within certain genres. With the onslaught of resources placed on graphics and licences in racing games, RBR proves that realistic damage is concomitant - and probably essential- to heightened enjoyment, and that this fact has been grossly overlooked in recent years. Those seeking a temporary adrenaline rush need not apply, but to discerning race fans, let this be the new dawn of real driving simulators, even if it means pressing the reset button every so often.