Colin McRae Rally [U] ISO
Description :
Colin McRae Rally is a Rally / Offroad Racing game, developed by Codemasters and published by SCEA, which was released in 2000.
Rally is one of those sports that really polarise people. The same thing
that most will never understand is like a drug to others. For instance
racing souped-up family hatchbacks and saloons where sometimes even
off-road vehicles would fear to tread instead of taking a proper sports
car to a racing track. Or, worse still, watching others race the
aforementioned souped-up family hatchbacks and saloons on said locales. I
love rally but I admit that putting up with all the discomforts of
watching it live is a bit much lot for me, so I only did it once or
twice years ago. This is why I have all the more respect for the true
rally aficionados, and Colin McRae Rally, a game by rally fans for rally
fans (this tired cliche actually rings true here), feels like a tribute
to this strange but admirable crowd.
To start with, the graphics, which were no more spectacular when the game was released in 1998 than they are today, accentuate that Sunday morning racing feel quite incredibly. Rallying isn't supposed to be glorious like Formula 1, and making a game too polished would definitely take away from the grit that rally racing is all about. This means rough polygon seams, washed-out colour palettes, lots of fog, and scenery made of low-resolution sprites instead of 3D objects - and I for one wouldn't want it any other way. Yes, there are niggles, as well: if you smash one tail light, they usually both go out (and that happens a lot, I might add, as no matter how you crash, your tail lights always end up getting smashed), and every once in a while, pop-up may disorient you, yet this by no means justifies all the bashing that Colin McRae received for its supposed ugliness. The car models are perfectly proportioned owing to the laser mapping process used, although, admittedly, the low resolution treats boxy body shapes, such as Lancia Delta's, far more favourably than the more curvy ones. Damage modelling, both visual and mechanical is quite advanced, though the sequel, Colin McRae 2.0, took it to an even higher level.
The sound effects are exemplary: all the thuds, bumps and screeches are perfect, and the engine sounds convey the insane power of rally cars just as much as the fast, slowdown-free graphics. They also allow you to change gears by sound alone, which is very useful when you can't take your eyes off the action (i.e. most of the time). Still, the designers were aware of this potential problem and implemented one of the most ingenious visual devices I've seen in a long time: the rev indicator bar changes colours as the revs increase so that you can have a pretty good idea of your revs through your lateral vision alone - brilliant! There is a bug that occasionally mutes the car engine sound channel which does act as a distraction; fortunately, it occurs very rarely. The little music that there is in the game feels like it was included only because it would feel odd to release a game without music in this day and age (and, on a semi-related note, so does the two-player mode). The piece de resistance, however, is Nicky Grist, Colin McRae's real-life co-driver at the time, who reads out the pace notes with amazing precision - there are maybe five corners in the entire game where the pace note confuses rather than helps, and I can only imagine how much work went into perfecting this crucial feature. It goes without saying that pace notes are indispensable in rally racing, but I suggest that you turn off the visual aids, i.e. arrows and stage progress indicator, and drive by the spoken notes alone for maximum immersion.
Simulating the essence of rally racing, going really fast without going too fast where you shouldn't be going fast at all, is where Colin McRae truly triumphs. This effect is achieved by combining excellent game design - the stages, 52 in total, are well-thought out and extremely unforgiving of mistakes - spot-on controls, and an interesting take on car physics. A physics engine is definitely there: arcade-style full throttle antics aren't going to get you very far, especially not on slippery surfaces. Still, Colin McRae isn't realistic in the true sense of the word; to put it into perspective, the original PlayStation controller (without the analogue sticks) isn't as essential to play Colin McRae as it is for Gran Turismo, Formula 1, or Codemasters' own TOCA. Furthermore, the scenery, especially trees, don't stop (or, for that matter, damage) the cars nearly as much as they should do when a crash occurs, the cars tend to brake too well when changing down and turning into a curve, and they take curves at rather unrealistic speeds anyway, especially off-tarmac - but somehow, none of this takes away from the challenge or sheer fun of the game. After all, both V-Rally 2 and Colin McRae 2.0 have more advanced physical engines, yet Colin McRae still stands up to both of them.
Owing to its great controls and play mechanics, the game can afford to be difficult and unforgiving of the player's mistakes, but it's rarely unfair: if you crash or lose time, you've either driven poorly or chose the wrong car set-up (which is mostly quite intuitive once you get to terms with the effects of various settings). The game does force you to cheat on night stages by turning up the brightness on your TV set as the opponents are driving just as fast as they would during the day, and I'm not sure what the designers were thinking with the hard difficulty mode. While "novice" and "intermediate" were perfectly suited to my learning curve, I could barely keep up with the opponents on "expert". There are two possibilities for this: either the game designers wanted to give the three Group B bonus cars a purpose (though they should've gone the distance in this case and included a fourth one to make a Group B expert championship), or I might just be a sub-par rally driver. Unfortunately, I can't check my stage records against other players because Codemasters removed the Hall of Fame, which is extremely disappointing - their decision made me take whole point off the game's final score. If you feel they should re-instate the Hall of Fame, please stop by their web site (http://www.codemasters.co.uk/support/contact.php) and let them know. As it is, the stage records aren't sorted by car group, only by absolute time, which is another minor, yet unfortunate oversight by the designers.
For a game this good, Colin McRae was surprisingly unpopular. Outside the rally fan community, it didn't do nearly as well as it would've deserved to, and as far as I'm concerned, only the gamers' misconception (further propagated by a number of press reviews) that a racing game without direct competition against the opponents isn't worth their attention can be to blame. I'm sure that the developers were well aware of that but evidently still refused to incorporate any impure elements into the game. Such integrity - Codemasters themselves got over it eventually - is ever so rare in the gaming industry but fortunately, it does happen every once in a while.
To start with, the graphics, which were no more spectacular when the game was released in 1998 than they are today, accentuate that Sunday morning racing feel quite incredibly. Rallying isn't supposed to be glorious like Formula 1, and making a game too polished would definitely take away from the grit that rally racing is all about. This means rough polygon seams, washed-out colour palettes, lots of fog, and scenery made of low-resolution sprites instead of 3D objects - and I for one wouldn't want it any other way. Yes, there are niggles, as well: if you smash one tail light, they usually both go out (and that happens a lot, I might add, as no matter how you crash, your tail lights always end up getting smashed), and every once in a while, pop-up may disorient you, yet this by no means justifies all the bashing that Colin McRae received for its supposed ugliness. The car models are perfectly proportioned owing to the laser mapping process used, although, admittedly, the low resolution treats boxy body shapes, such as Lancia Delta's, far more favourably than the more curvy ones. Damage modelling, both visual and mechanical is quite advanced, though the sequel, Colin McRae 2.0, took it to an even higher level.
The sound effects are exemplary: all the thuds, bumps and screeches are perfect, and the engine sounds convey the insane power of rally cars just as much as the fast, slowdown-free graphics. They also allow you to change gears by sound alone, which is very useful when you can't take your eyes off the action (i.e. most of the time). Still, the designers were aware of this potential problem and implemented one of the most ingenious visual devices I've seen in a long time: the rev indicator bar changes colours as the revs increase so that you can have a pretty good idea of your revs through your lateral vision alone - brilliant! There is a bug that occasionally mutes the car engine sound channel which does act as a distraction; fortunately, it occurs very rarely. The little music that there is in the game feels like it was included only because it would feel odd to release a game without music in this day and age (and, on a semi-related note, so does the two-player mode). The piece de resistance, however, is Nicky Grist, Colin McRae's real-life co-driver at the time, who reads out the pace notes with amazing precision - there are maybe five corners in the entire game where the pace note confuses rather than helps, and I can only imagine how much work went into perfecting this crucial feature. It goes without saying that pace notes are indispensable in rally racing, but I suggest that you turn off the visual aids, i.e. arrows and stage progress indicator, and drive by the spoken notes alone for maximum immersion.
Simulating the essence of rally racing, going really fast without going too fast where you shouldn't be going fast at all, is where Colin McRae truly triumphs. This effect is achieved by combining excellent game design - the stages, 52 in total, are well-thought out and extremely unforgiving of mistakes - spot-on controls, and an interesting take on car physics. A physics engine is definitely there: arcade-style full throttle antics aren't going to get you very far, especially not on slippery surfaces. Still, Colin McRae isn't realistic in the true sense of the word; to put it into perspective, the original PlayStation controller (without the analogue sticks) isn't as essential to play Colin McRae as it is for Gran Turismo, Formula 1, or Codemasters' own TOCA. Furthermore, the scenery, especially trees, don't stop (or, for that matter, damage) the cars nearly as much as they should do when a crash occurs, the cars tend to brake too well when changing down and turning into a curve, and they take curves at rather unrealistic speeds anyway, especially off-tarmac - but somehow, none of this takes away from the challenge or sheer fun of the game. After all, both V-Rally 2 and Colin McRae 2.0 have more advanced physical engines, yet Colin McRae still stands up to both of them.
Owing to its great controls and play mechanics, the game can afford to be difficult and unforgiving of the player's mistakes, but it's rarely unfair: if you crash or lose time, you've either driven poorly or chose the wrong car set-up (which is mostly quite intuitive once you get to terms with the effects of various settings). The game does force you to cheat on night stages by turning up the brightness on your TV set as the opponents are driving just as fast as they would during the day, and I'm not sure what the designers were thinking with the hard difficulty mode. While "novice" and "intermediate" were perfectly suited to my learning curve, I could barely keep up with the opponents on "expert". There are two possibilities for this: either the game designers wanted to give the three Group B bonus cars a purpose (though they should've gone the distance in this case and included a fourth one to make a Group B expert championship), or I might just be a sub-par rally driver. Unfortunately, I can't check my stage records against other players because Codemasters removed the Hall of Fame, which is extremely disappointing - their decision made me take whole point off the game's final score. If you feel they should re-instate the Hall of Fame, please stop by their web site (http://www.codemasters.co.uk/support/contact.php) and let them know. As it is, the stage records aren't sorted by car group, only by absolute time, which is another minor, yet unfortunate oversight by the designers.
For a game this good, Colin McRae was surprisingly unpopular. Outside the rally fan community, it didn't do nearly as well as it would've deserved to, and as far as I'm concerned, only the gamers' misconception (further propagated by a number of press reviews) that a racing game without direct competition against the opponents isn't worth their attention can be to blame. I'm sure that the developers were well aware of that but evidently still refused to incorporate any impure elements into the game. Such integrity - Codemasters themselves got over it eventually - is ever so rare in the gaming industry but fortunately, it does happen every once in a while.
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