World Rally Championship II Extreme

"Authentic, fast and fun."

The original WRC Playstation 2 game was pretty average, in fact it’s fair to say that most of it’s success came on the back of the official WRC licence, cars and drivers. It was good in places but generally lacked that extra punch that made legendary rally games like Colin McRae 2 (PS1) and Rallisport (Xbox) stand out from the crowd. Thankfully Evolution Studio’s (the original WRC developers) were given another shot at an official WRC game. The developers were given full access to WRC teams satellite data of the tracks and from this managed to cram in over 800 km of winding, twisting rally action through all 14 rallies in the 2002 WRC. So with the official licence and track data were Evolution Studios able to pump out a rally hit? Read on my friend.

In a rally game the most important feature is how the cars handle. You can have wonderful graphics and authentic sounding engines but it all means nothing if players can’t sit down and race the cars properly. Thankfully Evolution Studio’s got it just right this time round after the decidedly dodgy handling scheme employed in the original WRC. Cars are now more responsive to the controls given by the player and there is also more leeway lending a helping hand to beginners and those easing themselves in the title. Controls are pretty much the standard PS2 racer setup that was put in place by Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec and anyone who has played that title will be right at home with WRC II Extreme.

The sport of rallying is basically one big time trial - a race against the clock first and foremost. At the end of a rally the times for each stage are added together and the quickest racer is crowned the champion. For those of you that want to see car vs. car action there are some super stages where cars time trial side by side over two different tracks that ride side by side. These stages are quite short and intense making them perfect for some 2-player action. Rallying involves some of the worst roads on the planet with long twisting roads covered in snow, gravel and rock depending on the location and this adds up to a nightmare for any driver. Thankfully you have an ally right beside you the whole way through talking each corner and hazard through. Yes the co-driver will quickly become your best friend, or your worst enemy depending on how well you use his calling.

In most racing games you are very limited in terms of where you can go and generally if you veer to far off the track you’ll fall victim to the glass walls marking out the side of the road. In WRC II Extreme you can go anywhere. That’s right, feel free to climb mountains, explore deep ravines or search along river paths. You see instead of limiting players with a glass wall you will instead be returned to the track if you off the road for to long. This is much preferred as you can see some pretty spectacular crashes that are highly realistic but the game still returns you to the action once the off road adventure has ceased and you want to get right back into racing. Be warned in higher difficulties of the game you will be slapped with a time penalty for your foolish trip off the track.

From the outset the game offers plenty of things to do. Whether you want to jump into the authentic WRC mode featuring 115 stages across all 14 countries in the 2002 WRC, including Monaco, Sweden, France, Spain, Cyprus, Argentina, Greece, Kenya, Finland, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Those who are playing for the first time might want to get some practice but I presume many will want to jump right into the action and begin their quest for WRC glory. Thankfully Evolution Studio’s put in three difficulties so players can gradually build up their skills while still being able to compete on the leader board. As players become more experienced they can choose higher difficulties and these up the stakes by adding more stages to compete in, less save points and tougher competitors who race as fast as the times that are done in the real WRC. To succeed on these higher difficulties players cannot make any mistakes and race at break neck speeds, few will compete with the blistering times set and I doubt anyone will beat the expert mode without sinking some serious hours practicing and learning every corner along the 800 km of track.

WRC II developers also threw in the WRC Challenge. This enables players to compete online. There are four rallies that you can compete in and after you finish each you are given a code that you can enter online. The competition closes on May 31 2003 so you’ll have to be reasonably quick to make the most of this mode. And if you win you will receive an official Ford Motorsport showcar, not a bad prize at all.

Other than that there are your standard quick race and time trial modes for you to hone your skills or push yourself to the limits without having to worry about losing a rally championship. The modes come together as a very complete package letting players either commit to a whole season of racing or just enjoy a few races without the pressure of the official championship mode.

Rally junkies will be delighted to know that every single car is fully customisable and to such a degree that there are over 600,000 possible car setup combinations. Setting up your car for each stage is obviously important and taking variables like road surface into account will always be a crucial factor. If you don’t know much about cars and just want to race you can ask your engineer to tune in the car the way he sees best saving you time and effort.

Car models in WRC II are certainly the best in any rally game available. Not only are they incredibly detailed and accurate they also look good in the various lighting and weather situations. Good news to for those who want to smash the living daylights out of their cars, you can, and it is most satisfying! Running your $500,000 beast into a railing at 150 km/h brings the strangest feeling of joy as you see the framework of your beautiful vehicle splinter off in all directions. Bonnets fly off, lights get smashed out and doors plain just fall off as you hit obstacles and hazards that you really shouldn’t be. However the game is quite nice to games and flying off a cliff doesn’t cause anywhere near as much damage as it should. Some will be glad others will be disappointed but it does pull away from the realism a tad.

On top of the awesome car models, all drivers and co-drivers have been incredibly modelled into the game. Those who follow the real WRC will easily be able to recognise greats like Solberg, Loeb and Gronholm. For obvious reasons the Colin McRae has not been included in the fray but every other 2002 WRC driver is in the mix.

Before each stage players can watch a fly over of the level. This is an impressive real-time look at the track and gives you the chance of seeing what’s ahead. These flyovers look so good that TV 3 uses them to preview their WRC coverage. Replays are also awesome and players can change to several views including my favourite, the helicopter view. They are always great to watch if you have the time but both the replays and previews can be skipped.

The highlight of the original WRC title was the sound and this version simply improves on this high standard. The sounds of the engine revving and wheels squealing have never been so good. Genuine rally fans will notice the subtle differences between Subaru’s, Peugeot’s and the like with great individual sampling for all seven makes. Anti-lag and turbo timers have also been added into the mix and this game is one that must really be turned up loud to get full value.

As mentioned earlier co-drivers play a crucial part in your success in WRC II Extreme. Naturally Evolution Studio’s wanted to get this aspect perfect so they simply stole the pace notes from the top co-drivers in the WRC, dubbed their voices into the game and viola, you have the perfect co-driver notes for each level. I found early on the engine noise far too loud to hear the co-driver clearly so you might want to tinker with the options and turn the engine sounds down a bit.

For all the menu’s and replays Chemical Brothers music can be heard playing quite fittingly in the background. I like them so the inclusion of their music was very nice but others may think otherwise. Regardless there are only a few songs so the repetitiveness will eventually get to you, hopefully more music next time around…

With heavy competition from Colin McRae 3 for the supreme rally title WRC II Extreme will probably appeal to true rally fans while Colin McRae would be enjoyed by those looking for a more arcade experience. That’s not to say casual rally fans shouldn’t give the game a go. It gives an interesting insight into the rally scene and may even turn you into a true rally fan. Technically WRC II is brilliant and is only let down by some dodgy crash physics. Certainly a must play for any Playstation 2 owner.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/03, Updated 02/10/03