"Finally, a 'rally' good game for the PS2 (geddit?!)"

Okay, cheesy lines aside in my review header, this really is something worth having for your hi-tech black box. Rallying is really only now starting to attract some mainstream coverage even here in the UK where it's been a prominent motorsport for some years. Looking at the overall number of reviews for this game at the time I write perhaps justifies this. I understand from friends in the US it's still not huge news out there yet. Therefore, Evolution Studios' attempt at this game is probably immaculately timed. This vastly playable game, coupled with increased awareness of the sport and network TV coverage, could (should?) finally bring the thrills of the sport home to a whole load more new followers.

GAMEPLAY
The meat-and-potatoes of the game has to be something special and WRC will not let you down here. Car-handling is spot-on. You will need to get used to the handling but before long you'll be chucking your back out and power sliding through each corner when necessary and even landing straight on the many jumps throughout the season! You can opt to 'time-trial' around any of the stages in any of the rallies you've currently unlocked (more about that a bit later) and practise shaving off one or two more of those vital seconds. You can practise a single rally in a single country. One of the rounds of the championship bugging you? Still not too good on snow tyres yet? Use this option to hone your skills. The biggest challenge inevitably comes however from entering the World Rally Championship itself. Choose from nearly twenty drivers spread over seven teams and away you go. You will be required to race seventy stages of varied terrain and surfaces around fourteen different countries of the world, five stages to each one. All the other drivers will be competing against you, HOWEVER, you will not see them on the track other than their 'virtual' times at each split around each stage letting you know how you're going against them. Hey, that's rallying, and if you simply want to bash and crash your way around each course with seven or more other cars next to you, you've probably not even read this far in this review! This is what it's like, you know! Unlike the obviously comparable Colin McRae Rally games on PSone, you WON'T however have to finish in the top six on each rally to progress to the next - once you've entered the championship, you complete it! If you're last all the way then tough! When you win each rally however, that's where those tracks then become playable in single-rally or time-trial mode. Only four are available in these modes at the start. Back in the championship, you can save of course at the end of every single stage on every rally. So make sure you get some rest! The replay options which then follow each stage to show you what you just did honestly have to be seen to be believed - they're awesome! Check out the helicopter cams, chaser views or in-car (if you've not played in that viewpoint)! And you can save them to impress your mates and family when they visit!

There is a two-player option within this game also. Only tried it briefly so can't say a lot about it. It seems okay but certainly isn't as smooth as the one-player game. Check out other reviews on this site which say a little more about it.

GRAPHICS/SOUND
Graphics are fab with sun-light, weather effects, and night-time stages standing out the most. Squint carefully at the screen when playing in-car or watching the replays - check you're not running a video of TV coverage by mistake!

Sound is also very authentic; all the cars sound different, co-drivers have different voices and the varying surfaces you're racing on sound amazing. Be impressed by this game!

BAD BITS
Hey, there's got to be some isn't there or you'd wonder why I haven't given it a straight ten! Well, there are improvements that need to be made in the next version of the game (and next version there will be - Evolution Studios have apparently picked up the rights for this game for a few years to come as yet). Drive off the road in a stage, crash into a rockface, fall down the side of a cliff etc (as you inevitably will) and your car will get damaged, naturally. Damage physics are good - they will affect your drive for the rest of the stage and the car crumples and breaks in more ways than you'd imagine. But WHY is it all completely and totally fixed by the beginning of the next stage?? You break it, you suffer for a bit, that's what I'd like! None of this namby-pamby ''it'll be alright now Mr Rally-racer, your car's as good as new'' stuff! Yeah, by all means have a controllable service-area every two or three stages where you get the option to fix bits, but not automatically!

Whilst this game can't be called easy either, it's not exactly hard on the 'normal' mode. And simpler still on 'Novice' where if you have a bad stage, you can simply start it again! Once you've got the handling of the cars sussed, you certainly won't be last in each stage. AI may need to be tweaked a bit in future versions. And you've always got 'Professional' mode!

LIFESPAN
You won't finish the game in a day. In fact, you'll never 'finish' a driving game anyway. You'll complete championship after championship seeing as you can play as all the different manufacturers (official ones of course) and each car really does handle differently on different events in the championship. Two-player may add further life still. If you don't like rallying, you'll get bored quicker. But then why have you bought the game in the first place?!

SUMMARY
If you love motorsport and enjoy a great driving game then WRC is thoroughly recommended. If you're new to the Rally world, perhaps rent it first but make sure you've got some cash spare 'cos you will want it! An excellent first attempt from this games developer using an official license. They've set themselves quite a standard to follow but do you know what, I can't wait for WRC 2002!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/02, Updated 03/27/02