Colin Mcrae Rally 3

Rally driving is, according to some, the most challenging racing discipline there is. It involves tremendous skill and the ability to adapt to the ever changing terrain configurations and weather conditions. Its about relying on your co pilot just as much as on your own reflexes and quick wits. Rally driving is all about skill, teamwork and dedication. Making a good rally game is sort of like that, too. Over the years, many rally games have come and gone. Besides DICEs RalliSport Challenge not many have been able to challenge the undisputed champion of the genre the Colin McRae Rally series. Throughout the years, Colin McRae games have been hailed as the most realistic simulations of rally driving on the market. After playing Colin McRae Rally 3 on the PC, the only thing I can do is wholeheartedly agree.


OK, before I go on, I should refer you all to our hands on preview of the PC version, as well as our Xbox review, which should provide you with enough basic info on the game. For this review, Im going to try to concentrate on the crux of the matter the gameplay and technical aspects of the PC version.

For all intents and purposes, Colin McRae Rally 3 features the most realistic interpretation of rally driving Ive ever seen in a video game. Two aspects of gameplay that are most noteworthy are the physics engine and damage model, and the incredible attention to detail when it comes to car handling and its interaction with the terrain. a technical standpoint, the top of the line physics engine allows for the objects in the game to exhibit properties that correspond to their weight, and for the car to behave on the track and slide in bends in accordance to the forces that affect it and the type of terrain its on. There are a few obscure bugs here in there (like certain objects being able to stop the car dead in its tracks, despite their rather low mass), but in total, the games physics are about as good as it gets in a racing game. The most important thing about it is that the car reacts to bumps, water, and centrifugal forces very similar to how it would in real life. Depending on the type of tires or shocks youve outfitted your car with; it will react very differently to dirt tracks, tarmac, and slippery surfaces.

Its obvious that a lot of effort went into creating a game world that can react properly to your input as a driver, not to mention that with the help of Colin McRae, the designers were able to include some of the aspects of driving that would surely be overlooked by an amateur driver. The damage model is closely related to the physics model, and in a way, its just as good. I rarely get to play a driving game where my reckless driving can cause such havoc on the suspensions, chassis, engine, etc. The damage model is still not completely believable, as there are moments when I thought I would surely be turned into a harmonica after hitting a stone wall at full speed, but you have to remember that this is a game after all, and not a completely realistic rally simulation. Besides, the amount of CPU required to achieve higher levels of realism would surely present an insurmountable obstacle for todays mid range systems.

After you get familiar with your car, track types, and so on, youll have a lot of fun just modifying your car in a way that best suits the particular stage. This is surely a testament to the quality of design, programming and the aforementioned attention to detail. The programmers had the technical know how, and more importantly, help from a professional rally driver to clue them in on what aspects of rally driving are absolutely essential and must be done right for Colin McRae Rally 3 to be believable and truly immersive.