79
This rally game is very good at making you feel like you're actually driving. The steering is very accurate and this game is definitely underrated.
87
Although there is no other racing game I can compare WRC to, I think it is awesome and quite addictive. And I do agree that it is quite hard to master. I use the 'arrow' keys to steer. It may be easier to use the joystick, but I am stuck now and can't change my habit.
Some observations
• The start of each rally is the hardest part. You need to take a really fast start, and gain a few positions in the first minute or so. In the second half of each race WRC becomes a little more forgiving when you make litte steering errors. But in the first few curves, you need to be very precise and lightning fast.
• Some races are quite dark. I need the PSP to be in position 4 - thank you for the tip on how to 'fix' the PSP screen on the brightes position - I really need this when driving in mountainous terrain whit no sunlight in places or in tunnels. Sitting in a pitch dark place (toilet!) helps as well.
• To finish among the first 5 is hard in most races. Try to use the brakes as sparingly als you can.
• It must be hard for players who do not drive a real car: controlling the speeding car esp. In bends, is very realistic.
• I agree about the missing gear box: you are stuck with an automatic gears, and you miss the ral thing, when going uphill.
• Taking hair pin corners fast is essential. You need to pick up speed to turn the car around the corner, while picking up speed.
• I never use the hand brake. I can't control it, while still pushing the the main brakes. Do you need the hand brake? Does it matter?
• You need to know the stretch really well to be able to take curves fast. In fact, you need to have a clear picture of each bend to do them right.
• When you think you're going like a madman, go faster.
All in all, this game is worth the money. It is hard and sometimes frustrating, but in the end the goals seem to be feasable if you keep trying. At least in 'novice' mode. Have fun on the WRC.
85
For now, this is the only rally game I've had chance playing with. I am a tad dissapointed from this game, since I traded Ridge Racer for it, but there are alot of other things to look forward to.
Graphics - 5
The main thing that dissapointed me was the graphics, considering that I have played games like RR, WP and Burnout. The graphics remind me like the one on the PS1, but with time you'll get used to them. Many things have been detailed, such as the car damage, the nature and surroundings, etc.
Music - 10
Only 6 tracks! Thats not all, you can only select one track to play and keep repeating itself, either in the menus or in the race, until you manually change it! I don't know what the hell they were trying to prove with this, but it's a big minus.
Sound - 90
Nothing to complain about here, good, nice and solid sound of the engine, co-drivers and effects.
Load times
Great load times, you won't even feel them.
Gameplay - 90
Finally something thats worth in this game. 16 official rally events from around the world (each has 4 tracks), 17 registered drivers and 30 fully deformable cars. I have to say that this game is not easy, you will need alot of practice to progress anywhere. It's a very technical and realistic game. This is perfect for pick up and play moods, you can choose single race, time trial and championships, each race taking no longer than 5 minutes, you have a random select option which makes it alot easier to start the race.
Downloadable content - 90
This is one of the few games that supports downloadable contents from yourpsp.com . This is an option I really looked forward too, it's awesome.
Overall - 80
I recommend you rent this game first, it may not be in everyones taste, but overall, it's pretty good and well done for a portable rally. I have alot of fun playing it. I haven't compared it to Colin Mcrae yet, so I am not sure which is more worthy.
87
WRC is a PSP version of Sony's first party rally game for the PS2. The game includes 16 official rallies around the world, 30 rally cars from 6 manufacturers, and all 17 WRC drivers from the 2004 season. The manufacturers include: Citroën, Ford, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Škoda, and Subaru.
After the initial startup and short intro movie, the main menu comes up with several game modes: Quick Rally, Time Trial, Single Rally, Championship, and Multiplayer. Quick Rally takes you to a random location with a random car for one stage without any opponents. Time trial is what you think it would be: a time trial on a selected stage. One ghost car will accompany you on the TT which denotes the fastest time for that stage. Single rally is a stage to stage rally with opponents. Championship allows you to compete for the WRC crown against all the other drivers across the 16 rallies. Multiplayer is ad hoc for 1-8 players. Multiplayer game modes include: wireless time trial, turn-based time trial, turn-based single rally, and turn-based championship.
The first thing I noticed about the game was the amazing graphics. They are on par with Ridge Racer. The game has a very steady framerate. The stages where it is snowing really show off the power of the PSP. I did notice a few times when there were some problems with displaying the pavement, but this was limited to only part of one stage out of the 64 total stages.
There is not much in terms of presentation for the game, but if you are in a hurry to get in a few stages you won’t mind the absence of an intro or anything. The stage loads, displays what place you need to advance and then you’re off. While on the topic of loading, the loading times are very manageable. I have not timed any loading screens but I would guess in the neighborhood of 10-15 seconds before and after each stage.
The gameplay is the real meat of the game. Regardless of everything else the gameplay is what makes you come back to play a game, and this is where WRC shines. It is very fast paced and enjoyable. It also is a great pick up and play game; the longest stage is no more than five minutes. There’s nothing revolutionary about the gameplay yet I always find myself drawn towards it. My only gripe about the gameplay is that you can only use an automatic gearbox. While this wouldn’t be too much of a problem if it worked all the time, I usually find once or twice a stage I will be driving up hill and the gearbox won’t downshift. I’ve found sometimes you can release the X button and press it again to help initiate the downshift. The inclusion of a manual gearbox would be nice but with the control scheme and two less buttons than ps2 it is understandable that a manual gearbox was left out.
If you are interested in the controls, they are as follows:
X: Accelerate
Circle: Handbrake
Triangle: Change View (bumper, bonnet, behind)
Square: Brake / Reverse
R: Handbrake
L: Look Behind
D-pad / Nub: Steering
Start: Pause
Select: Change Background Music
There are four difficulty settings to choose from; Novice, Professional, Expert, and Extreme. When you start the game only Novice and Professional are unlocked. To unlock Expert you have to complete a championship on Professional difficulty and to unlock Extreme you have to complete a championship on Expert. When racing on Novice or Professional there will be visible damage to the car but it will not affect handling. However, on Expert and Extreme difficulties the damage will affect handling. To advance to the next rally on novice you need to place 5th or better, 4th or better for professional, 3rd or better for Expert, and you have to place 1st for Extreme to advance.
The sound of the game is good but by no means great. Each car has a different sound which is nice and realistic. The music is where it falls flat on its face. There are only six songs and they do not automatically change while racing. So if you want to change songs while racing you have to press the select button. I ended up just turning the music off. The game offers downloadable content, of which there is not any yet, and I think the music would be a great place for the developers to add to. Ideally, I wish the game would support custom soundtracks but alas it doesn’t.
Overall, I would definitely recommend WRC to all rally fans and racing fans in general. Since it is an import title for US users, it makes it a little tougher decision since it will be in the neighborhood of $55-65 USD depending on where you buy it from. If you’re appetite for racing games hasn’t been washed out yet and you’re looking for a great racing game look no further than WRC.
I rated WRC a 87. With custon soundtracks and a manual gearbox, we could be looking into the high 90's.
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