Rallisport Challenge Review

Platform PC
Dev Co: Digital Illusions (DICE)
Publisher: Microsoft
Release (UK): 2002
URL: www.rallisportchallenge.com
Minimum requirements: Win98, 733Mhz, 128Mb.

Advertising blurb (Features)

– 48 Tracks across 4 different rally sports (Rally, Hill climb, Rally cross & Ice racing).
– 29 Fully licensed rally vehicles including the infamous Group B cars. Chose from the Mitsubishi lancer Evolution VI, Audi Quattro S1, Saab 9-3 Viggen and more.
– Take on your mate in network multiplayer competition. Play intense wheel-to-wheel grudge matches with up to four players.
– Experience realistic damage with deformed car bodies, Damaged glass and performance degradation.

The graphics

I think the graphics are very good you could compare the graphics to Toca Race Driver even though it is not a rally game. They are very hard on you system if you put all the graphical options on full.

The best way to use the graphics is up to you see what you like best or what suits you system best. Work it out between fps and the looks. If you have a system with a high enough spec to run the game at full with a good fps, then game is very good with no slowdowns and no speed up’s. It is up to you what options you have to turn off for a slower system.

The cars are very very shiny all the time and when you smash parts off your car it still remains shiny no matter what you do to your car.

Animation is good – not the best compared to TRD but is very close to being as good. There are pretty but could be improved just a tiny bit.

To sum up this section you need to have a good spec system to run the game at full belt but the game looks good even at the lowest spec machine. Just enjoy the game no matter what it looks like.

The game play

The game play is a bit of a disappointment if you thought this was going to be a hard game you a very very wrong. If you are racing against the AI (not just in time trials) you will be able to ‘use’ them to get around corners without braking at all. Just smash straight into them -they spin but you carry on going with the minimal of damage. If you get ahead of the AI it is very easy to keep there and build up a very big lead even lap the AI. A similar problem occurs in the time trialling mode, but instead of getting a helping hand from the AI cars, they’re ‘ghost’ cars, so without due diligence, you’ll be using the available barriers instead as an easy way round the track (If the track has barriers).

You can select whether you want manual or auto gears, gear ratios and what tyres – these are quite basic though.
If getting a lift from AI cars or borrowing the barriers wasn’t making life easy – Mastering Rallisport becomes even more painfully easy when you realise that it’s best to keep with the same car until you move up to the next level when you get more cars then use the same tactic over again. Well this is what I used anyway and found it very easy.

The game has some very enjoyable tracks and when you get use to them all you can try to beat your times over and over again. The cars are not the best simulated as the car is very easy to race around quite a few tracks with out touching the brakes at all.

People may have seen much better damage models but it is ok but as I have said the car remains very very shiny not matter what you do to the car. The car differences from each class are very noticeable in all areas not just in Horse power and handling but the cars do tend to get no felling for handling at a high speed as you can turn without a touch of the break.

I think the handbrake needs a bit more bite to help you out – not just do nothing to get you round a sharp corner. This by no way kills your enjoyment it probably makes it more fun because it makes you try just that little bit harder to get a faster time. This area could be improved a lot but is still very good just a few tiny tweaks to make it better.

The four game modes are good fun but you get hit by the AI if they get anywhere near close to taking the lead from you.

There are many camera angles for you to choose just pick you favourite one and play the game.

The Track Design

This game has the best tracks I have ever driven just because they are all completely different even if they are in the same event. I think this is a standard for the future and if CMR3 is going to be a success I think it should beat this standard.

The only tracks that have ever come close to this standard are in Racer (look out for an RSC review of this in the coming weeks) This is only because the amount of time it takes the racer track developers to make them just perfect.

The Vehicle Design

This is the best part of Rallisport Challenge. The cars are all based on real cars but different liveries (I think this is some thing to do with the licences).
The cars are very fun to drive and are very rewarding and the very tight tracks. You can go round some tracks in some of the slower cars without braking at all but this can be fun though if you do not do it all the time. You can have tons of fun in every car when you get used to them.

They do look completely the same as their real life counter parts, but just different in paint. They have the same stats and are quite different from class to class.
These are standards that I would like to see in the future. It would be nice if all future games would have cars of this standard.

Multiplayer

I have not tried any of the multiplayer features yet but I have been told it is very good.

So should I buy it?

It is the minor things that make this game stand out so much on a market with so many rivals. If you think it stands out above all other rivals buy it I think it is one of the most brilliant rally games I have ever bought. If you buy it you will see just how good it is.

I give it 4/5 for it final mark and think it will give CMR3 a good run for it money.