Richard Burns Rally

"The Most Realistic Rallying Simulation To Date..."

There have been many rallying games in the past from the V-Rally series to Rallisport Challenge and of course, Colin McRae rally. So what makes this, yet another rallying game, different from the others? Well, Richard Burn's Rally has been in development for some time now – it's aim: to be the most realistic simulation of motorsport rallying game ever. Has it been worth the wait? It has, and I'm proud to say, succeeded in a lot of respects.

Starting on the tutorial and training which Burnsie talks you through to get into the controls and feel of the game, once the basic steps have been covered you can go onto advanced training for further technical driving tips, a real challenge - pass with all perfects and you get a bonus car – haven't done it yet!

Onto the main game, Rally season; has all the usual setup and screens you'd expect from this type of genre.

This is a rally simulation -- forget your pedal to the metal rallying games such as WRC, Rallisports Challenge and even the mighty Mcrae - this is pure hardcore rallying at its best - it requires lots of practice and concentration, getting the perfect racing lines, controlling accelerations, powering out and such, but its not unplayable to the extent of Dreamcast's F355, in my opinion F355 was totally unforgiving... In RBR, you make a mistake, you pay for that mistake, so it's very convincing and realistic - physics/damage-wise you can choose from light, reduced and realistic. Choosing realistic, i gassed it down the road at 90mph and headed head-on into a lovely piece of tree, needless to say the engine was knackered lol called for spectator assistance, they pushed it back on track but it just couldn't move!

Graphically, its incredible, the colours are just right, the details of locations and terrains are the best i've seen on a rally game, at many points its photo-realistic - easily surpassing Rallisports Challenge and Mcrae's generic-ish textures et co. There is some frame rate issues in the external and in-car dash views, but the best view in my opinion is the bumper cam right in front of the car, no framerate problems whatsoever and you can see for miles without any pop-up. The dust trails and debris which kicks up during the race (viewed in replay) has got to rank as the most realistic particle effect ever – just like the real thing!

Sound wise, all the sound effects and engines noises are replicated precisely as you'd expect from real life models, as well as precise and clear pace notes from your co-driver - special mention must go to the superb Dolby Digital 5.1 sonics, it's just like being there. Funnily enough for a simulation, it has a custom music feature so you can rally around to your favourite soundtracks if you so wish (not particularly appropriate in rallying but a nice addition for gamers all the same).

For once in a rally game/simulation – spectators aren't just standing there like pieces of cardboard, they're actually animated and from time to time run out in front of you with camera-in-hand taking pictures of you! Also wildlife creatures such as deers can be seen hopping across in front of you. As with real life rallying you can or they can cause you to lose control and you can make contact with them - so you've got to be careful and alert. You can even drop down a mountainside and call for helicopter rescue!

The replays are top-notch too, none of those fancy rotating in-front of the car 360 degree views, in RBR you get proper camera angles as in TV broadcasts as well as auto zooming in-and-outs along with shaky camera work and the odd helicopter view from the sky from time to time which really adds to the authenticity of it all - you can save the replays too.

The more you spend on the game the more you'll get out of it, just trying to perfect a stage without losing control and going all over the place is a challenge in itself, hugely addictive and challenging.

If you're a rally fan, a true rally fan you'd really appreciate how much detail and effort they've put into this title. The only other rally simulation that comes close to RBR's realism is the awesome Rally Championship for the PC.

This is a game designed for die-hard rally fans that want the most realistic rallying experience ever created. Richard Burn's Rally passes with flying colours!

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/04