Colin McRae Rally 3

"Rally damn fine"

]==========Intro==========[
After being shocked by the lack of reviews for this on Gamefaqs, I thought I might add my elusive wit to the more elegant sentiments expressed here. CMR3 is somewhat different to the majority of driving games you may have encountered on your MoleStation. Your opponents are not, generally, the hard hunks of metal and rubber you'd usually race. Your struggle is against the clock, you interact infrequently with other cars. The challenge comes in negotiating the courses you find yourself on, as quickly as possible.

This is, though, the best serious PS2 racer. It kicks the woeful knob-twiddling of Gran Turismo 3 into the last century, where it belongs. The game is structured very simply, with almost no appreciable interface between you, the game and the various road surfaces you find yourself on. This simplicity masks an otherwise complex and rewarding game, and represents the rich design that imbues the rest of the game. Once a profile has been created, you can start the game in five clicks, and continue, barely browsing a menu. This is in total contrast to GT3, where the ability to change your car setup to the nth degree now seems anal, and unnecessary.

In CMR3, pausing the game comes almost as a shock, as you re-enter reality, finding your connection with the gameworld is broken. This is one of almost the only times that this happens - contrasting with GT3's bumper-car sim, where the game's physics feel faked. Needless to say, having to pause in the mid-flow of a stage is a considerable annoyance - your rhythm and composure are broken, and take some time to regain. That you become so involved with every rock, turn, tree, and mound of mud in a stage nearly overwhelms, until you cross the finish line with something approaching elation. The feeling that you wish to see the stage fly past as quickly as possible, never leaves you. Like its arcade cousin Burnout2, you're compelled to find every strategy you can and take the risks required, attesting to the skill of the artists, designers and coders.

]=======Gfx & Sound=======[
This is the first rally game to force slutboyfame into 'cockpit' rather than 'bonnet' view. Purely because of the pseudo-realistic weather effects - these are so impressive that it detracts, should you miss them. The graphics for the scenery are pleasant, though lacking the sublime particle effects of the dusty roads in WRC2. In any case, a solid world is conveyed - especially in the UK stages, which seem very close to home for this reviewer. The idea of making the 'road' almost invisible, and forcing you to trust the instructions of your co-driver on Warwick and Stoneleigh is a welcome one, as it makes the stages even more tense, negating any complacency you might feel after playing other games of this type.

The service and introductory areas are where some of the game's more polished effects lie. As well as some familiar faces (Fabien Barthéz is on time control duty, seemingly) brilliant models of Colin and Nicky compliment those of the sevice team. Equally effective are the wire-frame transitions when you wish to change an element of your Focus. The service area is easily navigated, and if you wish, you can ignore the setup and take your team's recommendations. Repairs, too are undertaken automatically by your team, the urgent ones taking priority. This is what you would usually spend minutes deciding on in other games, not realising that the choices presented are purely artificial. You always choose the repairs on a 'most serious first' basis, anyhow. The only slight niggle with the service area is the sluggish opening of the 'stage info' screens.

The Sound is superlative, the car noise hits all the right notes, and the inspired idea of Nicky Grist creating, and recording real pace notes for each stage makes your involvement complete. To hear 'left 3, don't cut, after the sign on the left' and the like draws you into the game, and gives you some esteem for the talents of your co-driver, even if this isn't shared by Colin dO_=b.

]=======Playability=======[
The first thing that stirs you, if you've controlled petrol-powered vehicles outside of a simulation, is how strikingly the game conveys the feeling of being there, in the Focus. Although some may find the lack of 'options' presented is alarming, the choice between controlling a perfectly-modelled car, and a large number of poorly portrayed ones is easy.

The solid environs mentioned before, can sometimes be too substantial, at times. Some (seemingly fragile) bushes are as sturdy as the largest trees. This keeps you more honest in your approaches, on the easiest difficulty level, as you can't slow yourself on anything but snow (or mud) banks. The treatment of every obstacle as solid, however is a slight deficit on the hardest difficulty.

slutboyfame is somewhat of a petrolhead, and this game, along with Burnout2, fuels my addiction completely. Owing to the choice in difficulty levels, you have the choice to opt between a 21st-century Mario Kart, or something that will affect your day-to-day driving. That the game has this measure of variety in its' approach is due to considerable play-testing, and also because much of the PS2's power is being directed at simulation, rather than glitz. That the game still looks good, especially in-car, is some achievement.

The best thing about CMR3, though, is that it forces you to be totally honest in your driving, perhaps for the first time on the PS2. In almost every other driving game, GT3 especially, if you slip behind, you can retake first place with ease, by various means. There are few, if no, 'cheats' in CMR3, that cannot be applied in real life, and those that can't be are more difficult than approaching a turn at a slower speed.

]=======Overall========[
In conclusion, this game is nearly perfect, easily ahead of any other Rally sim, and almost every other racer on the PS2. Only the slight limitations of the environments, and the super-tough twigs prevent this from gaining an extra point. It's a shame, also, that the Super-Special stages are some of the weakest - I'd have liked to continue onto another, standard stage instead.

To conclude, slutboyfame is an addict, and anyone who can complete a sub-minute shakedown in the UK should be able to say the same. Anyway, the bravery of the course designers in departing from the delineation between road and offroad is to be applauded, as much as the realism of the driving. This game is something new, and ventures to make the 'feel' of the game paramount. Like the first time you played Rez, or Ico, or anything that dares to be even a little different.

Graphics 7/10
Sound 8/10
Playability 9/10
Longevity 7/10
Overall 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/04/03, Updated 02/04/03