Colin McRae Rally 04 User Reviews (PS2)

SepheroT
from 2d floor of hot, , damn Hell

Mar 26, 2005

Another day, another shockingly bad pun. Another year, another Colin McRae update. And for those who control GameFAQs, another illusory bout of imagined 'self-promotion' from this reviewer. Pfft. For those who have yet to try their luck with any of the series, the game tests your reactions and judgement in a series of races against the clock. You don't race against another car, merely the environment and the next time barrier. This may sound as if it has little to recommend it, but the races are tense, involving and can exhilarate as you are forced to push against the limits of your car's adhesion to the surface you're on.

Gfx&Sound
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The graphics are now superb throughout. The stages are now densely packed with visual cues to the next turn, along with sumptuous peripheral details (like swaying grass, dazzling sunlight and faint dust clouds where appropriate). To say the game is now the second-best looking PS2 racer (after Burnout 2) is some praise, but entirely warranted.

Taking the in-car view, the only one that you should choose, your windscreen is now sprayed with dust, as well as the familiarly excellent weather effects. This is another way for the game to draw you into the world it creates, completing the already unsurpassed sense of involvement evident in the previous PS2 game. The sound design is similarly polished, with the refinement and variety of engine sounds offering you an equally convincing soundstage to compliment the graphics.

The co-driver instructions, however, aren't nearly as good as CMR3. Nicky Grist delivered instructions in a calm, level register that is never garbled by the engine sound. The unfortunate 'Ringer' who replaces him isn't nearly as competent. As well as being drowned out by the competing whine of the turbos, the moments of 'character' (Nicky referring to trackside objects etc) are absent in this update. Also, there are some shockingly bad examples of poorly delivered remarks. In Greece/'Ghardhiki', as in many stages, he seems merely to be reading a shopping list, whereas in 'Rentina' this becomes an indistinguishable rush of instructions to the head, in the more challenging sections of the stage. This means that you are forced to have the co-driver 'arrows' turned on, to ensure you know where to place the car for the trickier sections. The co-driver instructions now take on the quality of a challenge (you attempt to cut every 'don`t cut') rather than that of clear assistance in CMR3.

Gameplay
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The game takes the entirely effective game mechanics from Colin McRae 3, and refines them very subtly. The game hasn't distorted the winning formula too readily, and your cars now seem to respond with a Newtonian precision which involves you to an even greater degree. Your car exhibits more lateral drift (as opposed to the former game's rotation) meaning you can control your slides much more precisely, using simulated heel-and-toe. Unfortunately this means that you are also able to cheat slightly, performing the time honoured 'Scandinavian Flick' into even the hardest rocky bank, to negligible effect on your bodywork - allowing you to drive with easier abandon.

The game has dispensed with the 'easy' option of CMR3, although it seems that the 'normal' mode has simply replaced this - in one of the few affectations in the game. Playing through on 'normal', you will find yourself in an unassailable position (usually about a minute or two ahead) halfway through each rally. If you treat this as a practice mode, there is little to complain about, as the margin for error decreases while you progress through the series. This leads you neatly into the challenge of 'advanced' (read 'normal' mode) where you should be able to lead by around 3 seconds in each stage fairly comfortably on your first attempt. This means that you can crash once in each rally and still win easily.

The stages have seen some familiar additions to the line-up of stages in each rally, from earlier games. One of the most involving rallies, Greece, has moments that will push the acceptance of the virtual world, leaving you on the edge of your seat. This has something to do with the way the stages are designed, and the almost immaculate way your car responds to the immensely uneven surface. As it is taken at high speed, this is among the most thrilling rallies.

Another interesting addition, the parts 'testing', has a great deal of potential, but seems slightly unfinished. The first test, where you do you best to smash the suspension is one of the better, more difficult, ones. Sadly, all of the others were completed on the first attempt, and weren't nearly as entertaining. It might be wise for Codemasters to look into fulfilling boy-racer's fantasies of tyre-meltdown, handbrake turns and the like for the next update.

The biggest disappointment is that the knob-twiddling has returned. You can now 'choose' which elements of your car to repair, although nobody would ever fix their car's bodywork first. Now that you can choose a team to belong to, it seems that Codemasters has missed a trick. To balance the specifications of the car you choose, it would be appropriate to negate or enhance this with a less or more effective 'team'. Having a slower, or less effective, group of mechanics would give a balance which seems lacking at present. Or having a team who better understand how to set up your car, depending on your shakedown performance, would mean that you have to consider something other than the specifications of the car you drive on the selection screen. Also, since there's a time limit to repairs, it might have been an interesting adjunct to permit your team to carry out a repair - which doesn't fit into the hour allowed - but at a potential cost. This cost may mean that the part degrades more quickly, or is rendered into a worse state, or becomes inoperable, or is repaired successfully - depending on how much time is allocated to it, how good your team is, and an element of luck.

Anyway, the game is now slightly 'unbalanced' by being able to select a car, although it makes little practical difference in all honesty. Although in the championship proper, Peugeot have by far the best all-round car, and Citroën the worst, this is reversed in-game, with the shocking amount of understeer on the 206 making it unusable here. Using the Xsara is your safest bet to win the first two difficulty levels, since it mysteriously has the best handling and BHP. After this, you rely on luck, as much as your skill, as in the real-life rally. For those seeking a greater challenge, more fun can be had using the weightier Evo, but it takes a little while to get used to.

Conclusion
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
This game has many moments of sublime brilliance. It also has a few irksome ones. What it gains over CMR3, it has taken away in some other areas. The tarmac rallies are now much more interesting - but they are still quite poor in comparison to the infinitely more involving gravel and mud ones - it's a shame that they still make up a quarter of the rally stages. The graphics are now stellar, but this comes at the expense of the framerate on many more occasions than CMR3. You can now choose which of the facets of your car's damage you repair, but this interferes with the flow of the game. The in-car view has many more refinements, but you're forced into an annoyingly disconcerting pseudo-bonnet view in the 'super-special' stages. You now have a choice of many different cars, but in practice you will only choose one. Despite these minor niggles, a similar number of options apply to anyone wanting a serious PS2 racer - there is only this.

Gfx__________8/10
Sound________8/10
Playability_____9/10
Longevity_____7/10
Overall_______8/10

Colin McRae Rally 04

User Reviews

Series

Colin McRae Rally Series