Colin McRae Rally 04 Preview

Developer	Codemasters
Publisher	Codemasters
Genre	Driving
Release Date	3/2/04

Rally racing is a sport that Europe lives and dies by while we Americans are watching rednecks take left-hand turns all day. But NASCAR jokes aside, it’s really a wonder that we Americans – being edgy and extreme – are content with road racing while the real nutcases are over in Europe flirting with cliffs around hairpin turns on dirt roads. Luckily, our failure to grasp the sport of rally racing doesn’t mean it has to be lost on us totally. Codemasters has been giving us the ultimate rally fix via their Colin McRae Rally series since the PS1 days (selling upwards of 6 million copies), and the fourth and latest installment is just around the corner.

Colin McRae – arguably the world’s best, but certainly the most famous rally driver – Rally 04 looks to take the prestigious series to an even higher plateau in response to Microsoft’s own Rallisport Challenge series, and early builds of the game show that they’re well on their way to that goal… in most areas.

Codemasters hopes to draw you in on one key selling point, which just happens to be the literal selling point: $19.99! That’s right, CMR4 will be a mere twenty bucks when it ships in March – partly because the game has already been released in Europe (a rarity). Continuing with the numbers game, CMR4 aims to please by sheer quantity: you’ll drive over 20 cars on 48 different tracks across 8 different countries. Details says you? Read on says I.

The rally cars themselves are hot, and will be easily recognized by dirt nerds. The four wheel models include the Mitsubishi Evo 7, Citroen Xsara and Subaru Impreza with two wheel models such as the Ford Puma and Fiat Punto rounding out an impressive garage. Several “Classic” cars are even included for the true gearhead to take for a spin.

In fact, gearheads are going to find no shortage of nifty diversions in CMR4. New for this installment is the concept of testing out new parts for your vehicle. Mini-games will be inserted between rally events that allow a player to test and “earn” new technology for their vehicle. These tests will take place in all different locations and terrains based on the equipment you’re testing at the given time (everything from “tyres”, suspension setups, or even engines). Obtaining these new technologies becomes imperative if you want to keep your competitive edge in the actual championship events, so you’ll want to make sure you can get them when they become available. Carrying the concept further is the return of the workshop, which allows players to make necessary repairs after every other stage of a rally event. Adjustments can be made to virtually any aspect of the vehicle, right down to ride height, brakes, and even the anti-roll bar.

As for the rally events themselves, you’ll certainly find no shortage. As previously mentioned, CMR4 will take you across 48 different tracks (mostly brand new, but remodeled tracks from previous games also make special appearances) in 8 different countries – including Greece, Australia, the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, and the good ole’ U.S.A.). The tracks vary almost endlessly. You’ll encounter combinations of 34 different surface types throughout the game, against which you’ll have 19 different tyre types to aid you. Throw in realistic elements such as rain and snow and you’ll find yourself in a different situation nearly every time you take the road. Luckily you’ll be given a detailed brief before each rally that will break down the terrain types and estimated difficulty of each individual stage, so you won’t be driving into the dark.

Actually taking the road is something you’ll do in several different ways, though. There is a championship event for both the four-wheel and two-wheel drive categories (featuring normal and advanced difficulties), in addition to individual Rally races, stage races, and the Group B Championship where you can run all of your classic cars. However, for the ultimate challenge, there are few difficulty levels in the realm of video game driving that promise as much challenge as CMR4’s Expert Mode. You’ll face the toughest times to beat and the most unforgiving damage settings while being locked into the in-car view and manual gear shifting.

In fact, damage is something that the CMR series has made its trademark of sorts, and it doesn’t disappoint in this newest version. In fact, after the completion of each stage, players will be presented with a cut-scene that will swing 360 degrees around their vehicle to show them just how much damage they managed to inflict upon their poor car. The details will astound you and, depending on how bad you wrecked up your ride, possibly frighten you. Have no fear though – each difficulty mode (and car category) has specific damage settings that make sure you don’t destroy your car as a result of newbie mistakes. As you progress through the stages, the damage settings become less and less lenient, slowly building up to the previously-mentioned “no second chances” Expert settings.

However, if you do wreck your ride to shreds, you’ll happily discover that wrinkled sheet metal has never looked so good. In fact, you’ll likely think that about almost every aspect of CMR4. Trees look real (and not like plus-signs), grass blows in the wind, and dirt even collects on your windshield in real-time (until your wipers clear it away… if you have a windshield left at all). The sunlight in the game will create some nice views along your drive through the countryside – just try to keep your eyes on the road most of the time. The world of CMR4 promises to be one of the most lively environments that racing games have seen – and they’ve got plenty of environment types to play with and show off.

Adding to the immersion is the audio effects of the game, which support surround sound for full effect. You’ll hear the purr of not only your engine, but also those around you (surround sound helps you to figure out where competitors are trying to make a pass in head-to-head mode) – as well as every single random bit of junk that bounces off of your exterior. Rain sounds real, sliding in mud sounds real – you’re going to find a lot to like in the sound aspect of this game; not too mention how much it will facilitate the actual playing of the game. This is the best that a CMR game has sounded to date.

In fact, CMR4 only takes one step back from the previous games in the series. The steering aid of previous installments is no longer in use. For those new to the series, the aid would essentially steer the car around a central pivot point on the car. Although it may seem like that losing the aid would be a critical loss, you’ll actually come to find that CMR4 has a much more realistic feel than previous versions that gives you a more natural sense of handling. Combine that with all the improvements above, and the CMR series has never been more realistic than this.

Random other additions worth mentioning include a brand new bumper-cam, which delivers an almost-nauseating sense of speed from the view of the bumper There will be a Custom Rally mode that will allow players to create – you guessed it – custom rallies including any combination of terrain their little heart desires, as well as an online mode, though it consists only of leaderboard posting – there will be no head to head racing modes.

And of course, what would a racing game be without some multiplayer action? Each championship will feature both head-to-head and co-op modes, while the rally and stage modes will allow for split-screen action for up to four players.

Codemasters has put together a solid package for CMR4 – but are you surprised? With the competition of Rallisport Challenge 2 on the horizon, Codemasters has done their best to deliver a terrific rally experience for a mere $19.99. And folks, for that price, you can’t afford to miss this one; I promise it’ll make you never want to drive in 2,000 consecutive circles ever again. Look for Colin McRae Rally 04 to hit American shelves on March 2nd.

Preview by Greg Joachim