Colin McRae Rally 2 (PC Game Review)

Colin McRae Rally 2 (CMR2) has finally arrived to the PC, after a very successful debut on the Playstation, nearly one year ago! Don't you strange it took so long to port the game? After all, CodeMasters runs dedicated teams to all the relevant gaming platforms...

The truth is that we are lucky to have CMR2 at all, because the game was very nearly ditched, due to high development costs, new projects which required the human resources usually bound to the PC, AND an increasingly lower profit from the PC market, relative to the console scene. There is even this EDGE's interview, where CodeMasters affirms it "won't be releasing CMR2 on the PC"... Again, gamers are really fortunate to have CMR2 on their x86 compatible hardware.

CMR2 is a "light" rally simulator. "Light" because it features some arcadish options, such as an "arcade" playing mode and a damage system that won't penalize you as "real life" would. For example, when you hit some heavy rocks, the car never loses wheels and when you tip over, you are automatically put back on track, losing very few seconds. Please don't interpret this as meaning that CMR2's damage model is anything less than great... *it is great*, but in order to keep the game attractive to a very wide range of people, the way the car breaks is kind of soft, though it gets spectacularly well rendered on screen, with impressive details, such as the rear wing quaking, smoke, and the side windows breaking, as you swing the automobile to where you shouldn't...

CMR2 gets you inside the Ford WRC of british ace, Colin McRae, against himself and the other drivers of the World Rally Championship... Should you prefer another car, then you can opt for Seat, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Peugeot and even Toyota! My favorite is the Peugeot 206, a small && noisy monster, that dances the tracks, like no other. The Toyota is a surprising presence, as the Japanese quitted their official WRC team, by the end of 1999.

The main WRC events are here, but I've only raced France, Greece and Sweden, which are very distinct races on asphalt, rocks and snow, respectively. The way the car handles, changes *obviously* as the racing conditions vary, and this is a CMR2's very strong point, relative to other rally software, such as the terrible "Pro Rally 2001".

When you play the "championship" mode, you'll race at Sweden, AFTER France (Corsica), and such is the difference from one event to the other, that chances are that you won't be winning both, unless you really are a super star!! Corsica requires great speed and accuracy. On the other hand, Sweden calls for a steady and progressive racing attitude - if you get nervous, full throttling everywhere, then you simply won't score interesting times.

In order to adapt your driving to Corsica and Sweden, practice alone won't be enough. You'll have to learn how to setup the car.

At Corsica, use the harder suspensions, don't use long gear ratios, shift engine power and braking balance to the rear, and increase the braking force. This way, the car will be very low, relative to the ground, and that should generate a higher "glue" effect. When low and using hard suspensions, the car will be harder to slide and to spin, on full throttle, but it will "crack" easier, in the sense that if something goes wrong, you won't "catch" it. The rear brake balance, frees / lightens the direction wheels and that should make it easier to perform sudden corners (hooks).

At Sweden, use soft suspensions, do use long gear ratios, shift power and braking balance to the front, and don't touch the braking force. This way, the car will suck some of your excessive throttle, and corner softly, though it won't be good at fast direction changes. Sweden is a hard challenge, on the PRO level.

CMR2's PRO difficulty is only unlocked, after completing the "intermediate" setting, and this is another clever interface option, because it will lead you into thinking that you've mastered the art of rally, until your very first race as a PRO :), thus extending the game's life.

The only true things missing are #1) an option to save the replays, #2) a "the real thing" damage model, and #3) separate axes for throttling and braking. However, CMR2 hides better than ever, its console heritage and clearly sets a new high standard for rallying on the PC, though it is very close to the one year old "Rally Championship 2000". Again, beware with the "Pro Rally 2001" fraud - that game is no alternative.

Force Feedback quality is, curiously, below that of the original CMR. It simply doesn't feel like it should, mainly on fast transfers from one surface to the other, as when jumping from ice to snow, rocky surfaces to asphalt and so on...

But if one serious patch is to happen, I would really appreciate support for separate axes for braking and throttling. The day that happens this will be a "true" simulator, even if too forgiving.

Overall, this is the BEST rally game money can buy. Buy it! CodeMasters needs your support to even start considering a future CMR3...