Colin McRae Rally 04 Review

Platform: Playstation 2 (also available Xbox)
Dev Co: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Release (UK): 19 Sept 2003
Review code: Pal / Europe
Wide screen mode: Yes
S/Sound : Yes – Pro Logic II
60Hz: No
Online content: No

You know Codemasters. You know the game. So you’ll excuse me if I feel there’s no need for creatively written history lessons and reminders of past successes. You probably already have the fond memories and there’s no need to remind you and make you go all glassy eyed.

The die-hards in Europe will have bought the game already, having released September 19th. For those wavering, you get off the fence now fellow member. It’s good, wholesome fun in the traditional addictive gaming sense. Go buy it.

THE GAME

This fourth game follows the well beaten path of the CMR series. For those who forget or have never played, it’s a lesson to other developers in quality gaming. As you race a rally stage the car will become progressively damaged. The turbo might blow, the engine might cut out, the rubber might fall off a wheel, the shocks might fail, the wipers might cease to clear the dirty screen. The damage stays for two stages until the service area when you will have limited (and often not enough) time to fix the components you want to fix. So play is akin to real rallying – you have to push hard enough to make good times, but know when to back off and save the car from damage. All the time you’ll be looking at the gap between the car in front, the car behind and deciding what to repair, how to setup your car and how hard to push.

It’s important to set the car springs, ride height, tires and gearing correct or you’ll simply fail to make the necessary time and it will be game over. This isn’t so bad on the easier cars where timing is less harsh but once you’re into the advanced 4WD cars, it has to be done right. However you can mostly get away with choosing the right tire and gears only – I found it easy to find the right settings – so it never becomes a chore.

Between setting up the car, the quality handling model, some bonus mini-games and the damage model being so integral to the gaming, it becomes an addictive experience and you’ll return to the game to ensure you complete the rally and win the championship.

If you do fail miserably on a stage then it’s easy to quit and restart from either that same or the previous stage. Load times are perfectly acceptable and typical of the hardware.

It’s a tough game to play through if you’re using manual gears and in-car view. The UK stages in particular have such bad weather that you can barely see where you’re going… not from fogging, but from lens distortions and camera work which is brilliantly done.

There’s plenty of variety – 48 stages spread over 8 environments with over 20 vehicles.

HANDLING MODEL

It’s obviously of huge concern in a racing game that the handling feels right. Here the handling model is immediately gratifying because it’s easy to hold a slide. This is because the car hangs on its slide a little too easily – but this aids driver satisfaction and in a rally game it’s quite necessary to keep the game flowing. This works brilliantly on gravel where you feel like a real master class driver. Perhaps on tarmac stages this doesn’t work quite so well, but nevertheless it’s a handling model that is familiar and keeps the game flowing. If the slide-aid was not available, the car would probably spin 180 degrees and frustrate drivers far too often. So as a handling model this is rewarding and allows the game to flow. A hardcore simulation it may not be, but great gaming it is. It’s perfectly suited to this type of game.

The cars feel nice and heavy over jumps – the huge thud as you crash down from a jump makes you shrink in your chair and grimace for fear of damage to your car. This is a very well done audio and visual part of the game.

One last point on handling – the game plays at a great pace – the impression of speed is very good indeed.

GRAPHICS

First the camera choices: In-car is best – it’s very close to the screen which works great. There’s the usual above/behind view and there’s a bumper-cam.

The graphics range from moderate to beautiful depending on the stage and what you’re looking at. On the one hand, some of the tracks appear low-poly and poorly textured (Australia in particular is bland) on the other hand some tracks are really full and look stunning. Very impressive indeed is the number of incidental graphics – the windscreen fills with snow, dirt, grime etc. The wipers look amazing. Swaying flora, amazing sparks, vibrating exhaust, dust blowing over the tracks, rain, snow, a huge number of solid trees, some solid spectators… the list goes on.

The car is modelled beautifully (albeit they’re WRC-alikes not the real liveries). The car damage is similarly remarkable. The car will bend, twist, scratch, loose bits and get filthy.

It’s graphics are a great balance between getting it looking good, but with a huge number of things in there that add to the game and atmosphere.

Finally a word on lighting. The car, ice, some tarmac tracks, some rainy bits and some distant lakes are all subtly lit with dynamic lighting and it really adds to the graphics. The fact that it’s subtle impresses – a dirty sport like this doesn’t want too much shine.

COURSE SELECTION

The stages range from rather poor graphics to utterly stunning. But that’s less important in a game like this. What is important is that the stages are all brilliantly hand crafted pieces of fun. You just know that certain rocks and trees were placed where they are for a reason. You know that a certain corner follows another because it works well together and getting it right puts a smile on your face. Simply put these stages are the finest in any rally game, ever designed. A mention must go to the UK stages where it really feels you’re ploughing through a farmers field and trying not to fall into the deep grass, heading out into country roads or over the moors. You almost feel a little guilt as you clip the farm outbuildings with your rear end.

One minor gripe on the tracks is the low-definition (ie low poly) on the part of each stage you drive on. They’re sufficiently detailed for most occasions but sometimes when the road is a very rocky stage, it looks like the roughness is ‘calculated in’ rather than being under your control. It doesn’t ruin the gaming experience but nor does it take the game further down the simulation path which is a shame.

Whether you prefer snow, ice, tarmac or gravel. Whether you prefer blinding sun or rain. Maybe narrow tracks with threatening trees each side. Maybe jumps, maybe lots of hairpins. You’ll soon find your favorite because they’re all here.

AUDIO

The driver calls are the most important aspect of audio in a rally game. Once you get settled into the game and you’re ripping up the stages full speed, the calls are accurate and useful. The symbol that neatly pops up to show the severity of the corner is quite useful too. You’ll have to concentrate very hard to keep up with all pace notes.

The audio is full of incidental effects of road noise, wipers, gear changes etc. A very effective audio package is the best description.

Of particular note, the audio of wheel traction / engine pitch is well depicted… leading to a good appreciate of what to do with the throttle and the gear choice. In contrast I’ve played other games where it’s desirable but impossible to use manual gears simply because the gearing is too short or the audio feedback is so useless it’s just not possible. Whether this is a deliberate thing or accidental – it works very well. Oh and every car has a unique sound, both inside and out – so there’s no cheap short cuts taken, not even on the bonus cars like the transit van.

FINAL WORD

CMR4 is without doubt addictive and a great rally game. The game seems to have been very well tested and balanced. The difficulty level seems just right to me, it’s accessible immediately but try expert mode and you’ll soon see this is no cheap-thrill arcade game to be mastered inside a few hours. It’s better than all that have gone before it and has a lot of neat touches which you will appreciate with a little smile on your face.

There’s multiplayer options available – split screen or ghost racing.

There’s a few niggles with it. It takes a 3Mb game save, there’s no in-car view for Super Special stages, there’s no Skoda or Hyundai WRC car and neutral gear doesn’t work well, but these don’t really impact on the game experience. Remember too there’s never been a perfect game. There’s always something that just isn’t quite as you’d like it. But CMR4 is close and the best rally game available at the moment.

There’s only one serious competitor to this type of game but it’s exclusive to PS2 and the latest in that series is not available until November. For the time being then, if you’re interested in a rally game, this should be your only option and you give it a try if only for the brilliantly designed stages.

Sim grade 2/5
Game grade 4.5/5