| WRC: Rally Evolved review |
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Not for the first time, the World Rally Championship finds itself in the midst of a brewing turbulence. Since the pulsating developments in the late '90s with WRC-spec machines and the unforgettable, down-to-the-wire championship contests, the sport has suffered previously unforeseen setbacks, raising a sense of déjà vu amongst veteran spectators. Barely half a decade has passed, but gone are the likes of Burns, Makinen, Sainz, and McRae. We have witnessed the tragic events of Possum Bourne and Michael Park, and, of course, rallying will see the exit of both Citroën and Peugeot after the current 2005 season – a year which, for the most part, was dominated by one driver, one car. With fewer manufacturers and drivers competing for top honours next season, the sport is heading towards an increasingly predictable and indifferent period of development. Surprising, therefore, that barely 12 months since the release of WRC 4, Evolution Studios give us yet another instalment, WRC: Rally Evolved. Apart from the familiar sequel conspiracy of ‘Have we milked this genre sufficiently before the year’s end?’, there is an added contention that this particular sequel carries more weight on its shoulders than any of its predecessors – due partly to rallying’s current climate, but also as a means of reinvigorating interest in the genre.
The immediate impression is the difficulty of spotting precise differences between WRC: RE and any of its prequels. Visually, it retains a stylish appearance and faithfulness to anything WRC-related, from the smallest, most insignificant logo to official team line-ups: little or nothing is absent. After progression through a few stages, however, more telling additions gradually become apparent. Take, for instance, the added commentary before, during, and after each stage by the co-driver. Instead of just spewing out pace notes, he now gives you extra information about retirements, your current position, or just a shout of ‘come on!’. Then, there’s the welcome introduction of unpredictable rally incidents to challenge your progress. These include cattle obstructions and crumbling scenery such as falling hillside rocks and logs, the most notable of which is the sight of stranded fellow WRC drivers, which can be anything resulting from spectacular offs and engine fires, to stricken competitors hobbling along the roadside, impeding your line and vision with a mass of gravel dust as in the real world. These additions, though only minor excursions, contribute towards a more realistic interpretation of rallying.
The complexity of driving your chosen WRC machine depends largely on the extent to which the available steering, brake, and throttle aids are employed. Leave them on and respectable times on any difficulty level are possible, but for the most part, you do not feel in complete control of the car – the game feels almost a tad easy for those more attuned to the unforgiving gameplay of Richard Burns Rally (RBR). Switching the aids off, however, morphs WRC: RE into a more challenging prospect. While not as demanding as RBR (mainly due to the car’s greater tolerance of abuse before receiving serious, crippling damage), RE’s driving experience is squeezed somewhere in between those found in Colin McRae Rally and RBR – enjoyable, demanding, and for better or worse, you won’t be taken to the cleaners after every little error. Indeed, WRC: RE finds itself placed in this position for many other aspects. Service halts are presented only if damage is sustained, and are simple to deal with. Car configuration is broad and tyre choice moderate (again not quite near the extremes set by RBR), but are easy to overlook by using the recommended settings. The stages themselves are, as expected, visual treats, with impressive variations of terrain, gradient, weather conditions, and complemented with most of what you’d expect to see in specific rallies across the globe – life-threatening kerbstones in Rally Germany, Margam Castle in Rally GB, and the long sweeping crests of Finland, amongst others. (However, eagle-eyed fans will notice a slight error in the way drivers reach to the side when changing gear during replays, something which no longer occurs with modern, finger-operated gears of WRC cars.)
You’ll have to delve deep to find any serious fault in WRC: RE. Despite featuring all 16 rounds of the 2005 season, each round consists of only three stages, which themselves aren’t particularly long (typically three to five minutes each). Granted, while this gives a total of 48 competitive stages (about average for the genre), only after completing a few rounds of a campaign does the experience feel short-lived, as you find yourself moving on to the next round just as you’re getting to grips with the idiosyncrasies of that particular event. Compounding this is the issue of it being virtually impossible to make up lost ground if you’re playing on medium or hard setting. Attempts to expand longevity include a 1600CC championship, turn-based multiplayer mode, and the usual unlockables such as Extreme and historic cars; an arcade-based multi-car rallycross mode is also available, but doesn’t really fit in with the spirit of this title, especially there being no simultaneous multiplayer option. (Although the online mode may prove worthwhile, given the PS2’s poor reputation for online play, only time will tell.) As a result, don’t count on any of the offline features to extend interest for any significant amount of time; indeed, they just make you wonder why the time wasn’t spent on putting more stages into the championship mode where the core of the game resides.
Curiously, then, WRC: RE has failed to fully deliver on what should have been a highly respectable title. Unarguably, the new and commendable in-rally incidents contribute towards heightened realism, but despite these minor achievements, the game feels neglected on certain key elements. While the handling and aesthetics are very well implemented, the experience is deflated by the anaemic three-stages-per-round structure. Frustratingly, WRC: RE is a polished title, but would have been a considerably more satisfying experience if only more attention was placed on adding more stages rather than fiddling around with secondary aspects. Ironically, the problem can be attributed in large part to the sheer quantity of rounds in the current WRC season, which means that in order to fulfil the potential of the licence, one can only imagine the mammoth task of producing, say, a more respectable six stages per round, to give a total of 96 stages. Be that as it may, rally and race fans will find this an adequate and challenging iteration to quench any lingering thirst for rallying, and depending on your expectations, you may even find it easy to forgive its flaws. As for reinvigorating interest in the genre, WRC: RE is unlikely to achieve that, but if the developments in rally games throughout the current generation are anything to go by, the inevitable Next Gen instalment should be something to savour indeed.
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System: Sony PlayStation 2
Genre: Racing
Developer: Evolution Studios
Publisher: SCEE
Players: 1-4
Version: European
Reviewed: Nov 2005
Writer: Barry Ip
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Pros:
- In-rally incidents as in the real world
- Impressive visuals and improved pace-notes
- More involving car handling than prequels
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Cons:
- Too few stages per event
- Uninteresting peripheral modes
- Bland service halts; car configuration can be easily overlooked
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WRC: Rally Evolved Video: 8.4MB
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