Colin McRea Rally 2005 – Review

Toughness… I’ve always thought of the Colin McRae games, as ‘tough’. Realistic tough though. Trying to race a highly tuned Mitsubishi Lancer VIII at 60mph along tight, gravel covered tree lined ‘roads’, has always struck me as being tough. And the McRae series has always got it just right.

This is my first Colin game for PS2 (the format being reviewed, though it is available cross format), so I was looking forward to playing it and I’ve not been disappointed. The graphics are (obviously) much more tasty looking than the old Playstation. The damage to the cars, the weather, even the spectators is also better (as expected). Although Gran Turismo 3, for me, still looks sweeter. Apart from the damage.

But what about gameplay??
If you’ve played a McRae game before then you’ll have a head-start, but for anyone new to this rally business, be ready to PRACTICE!!! This game will have you tearing your hair out at times, it can be tough (there’s that word again). But if you put in the time, you will get the reward, eventually!!

Some car classes handle better than others. The Escort Mk1 comes to mind, it’s like a slippy thing on a slippy road…..not easy to keep straight. But the 4x4s can, and do, grip much better. Unless you pick the wrong tires, or have the wrong ride height, or put to much braking on the back axles, or have not fixed the brakes from the last race when you smashed the hell out of them. That’s another good thing about the game. The tinkering about with the car. You can change a number of things at the service areas. If you wanna leave it alone then the computer will set what it thinks is best for you. But when have computers ever been right??!!

But you WILL have to do repairs to your car. But what are you gonna fix?? The brakes may last for the next stage?? The engine must be done now….but the body is almost falling off. And you only have a set amount of time for each area of the car….You Decide…..

Are you going to be playing this game for long?? With 23 individual rallys, and over 300+ stages!!!! Yes three hundred plus. Over 30 cars and 9 international locations: UK, Sweden, USA, Finland, Australia, Spain, Greece, Japan, and a new location Germany. It’s a fair bet to say the game’ll last you a while.

I wish i could say about the network play of the game, but my PS2 is not hooked up yet!! That makes me think of the only negative point about this, and almost all rally games. You don’t race against other people on screen. But in real rallying, which is what this game is, you can’t. Your against the clock all the way, apart from the super specials – but they’re not ‘together’ on the same track. That is only a minor niggle, for what is overall a top game.

Female Gamer Angle…. Err…..errmm. If you put an E at the end of his first name it’s Coline….sounds like a girl…. There’s not really a great deal of stuff geared towards the ladies. But in the career mode you put in YOUR name, and pick your country. So it makes it a bit more like ‘you’ driving.

Overall a top notch driving title for fans of the genre. Hop in, strap your safety belt on and hit the skids, it’s gonna be a bumpy but pleasurable ride. Go but it.

Review by Roy