E3 2002: Colin McRae Rally 3 News

Colin McRae Rally 3 isn’t just about cars and tracks. Colin McRae Rally 3 is about giving gamers the professional rally driver experience in what’s tipped as one of the most wanted games of the year. <br /> <br /> Unveiled for the first time at E3 [Codemasters booth #1168, South Hall], Codemasters astounds with the rally sport title that makes a massive leap in terms of playability, motor sport detail, and rich visuals. Above all it delivers a game that captures every drop of sweat, the 150 decisions a minute, and the team work that goes into actually being Colin McRae. <br /> <br /> The original Colin McRae Rally game defined rally sport games. Colin McRae Rally 2.0 enhanced and drained every last bit of gas from the PSone to lead the genre. Now, as the world leading series comes to the new generation of formats, Colin McRae Rally 3 accelerates to surpass all expectations. <br /> <br /> Colin McRae Rally 3 will launch on September 27th for PlayStation 2 and Xbox and is set to be an unbelievably personal experience. Capturing the emotions and consequences of being a professional rally champion it takes the gaming experience to the limit as the player attempts to become the globe’s greatest rally driver. <br /> <br /> In a career centred game, the pressure is on as the player takes on the role of Colin McRae as he’s given a three-year contract to win a series of championships for the Ford Rallye Sport team. <br /> <br /> Between the adrenaline-rushing rally driving, the game is seamlessly blended with stage starts, stage checkpoint, end stage and service area sequences. It’s these sequences, when the Ford team attends to the Focus itself, that builds the atmosphere of actually being part of a championship rally team. <br /> <br /> Colin McRae Rally 3’s development team is eyeing a level of visual and technical detail that surpasses any other racer. It will provide a breathtaking sense of being on and, often, off the road in a fully weighted and authentically functioning 2002 Ford Focus RS WRC. <br /> <br /> Detailed information and data from the Ford team’s rally car technicians is being used to redefine the in-game car physics. These improvements are seen in the overall handling, the changes to the performance for different set-ups and how damage will effect various parts and car control. <br /> <br /> Visually, McRae’s 2002 Ford Focus RS WRC car is hugely impressive. It’s over 16 times more detailed than the model in Colin McRae Rally 2.0. The polygon count for the Focus model is up to a staggering 14,000, compared to about 800 for the previous game. <br /> <br /> This level of detail effectively gives players a Focus simulator to take on the rally stages, making the gameplay intensely richer. The car interior is fully detailed, as is its engine bay, chassis detail, right down to the brake discs. <br /> <br /> The recreation of the Focus in game is not just limited to the vehicle’s body parts – both McRae and co-driver Nicky Grist are fully animated and react to every movement of the car. They will sway under cornering, pitch forward under braking and Nicky will even grab hold of the roll cage to steady himself in a collision. McRae operates the car’s controls realistically, using the pedals as well as steering and changing gear or using the handbrake. <br /> <br /> McRae’s co-driver Nicky Grist is personally pace-noting every stage featured in the game as he would for a real rally. Again, this commitment to detail is an essential part of capturing the spirit of the player being part of a rally championship. <br /> <br /> However, E3’s staggering reveal is that it’s not just the 2002 Ford Focus RS WRC that gets this incredible in-game replication. Beyond the main championship mode, players will be able to drive all of the game’s featured cars, which are being implemented to the same standard as the Focus. Three 4WDs join the Focus along with four 2WDs, also featured are classic and bonus cars. <br /> <br /> Featured cars include: Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7, Subaru Impreza WRX 44S, Citroen Xsara Kit Car, Ford Puma Rally, Citroen Saxo Kit Car, Fiat Punto Super 1600, MG ZR and the Ford RS200 and Lancia 037 from the classic set. <br /> <br /> The main championship game is a gruelling series of races across eight international rallies: Japan, Spain, USA, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Australia and the UK are all included offering tarmac, gravel, dirt, and rain-soaked road surfaces. <br /> <br /> As always, unpredictable weather conditions can make all the difference when every second counts and, for the first time, the visualisation of this is incredible: just witness the raindrops falling, exploding onto the windscreen, then streaking up the windscreen. What many games have promised, Colin McRae Rally 3 delivers in immaculate detail. <br /> <br /> The championship game pummels players through a three-year deal. Like the professionals, players will compete in the full year and drive in every rally. Fall foul on a stage or damage the Focus beyond immediate repair and you’ll be retired from that particular rally and without the all-important championship points. The driving seat beckons at the beginning of the next rally, but points will have to be made up to stand a chance of becoming a champion. <br /> <br /> Demanding total McRae commitment and total McRae determination, Colin McRae Rally 3 will deliver the total rally experience when it launches for PlayStation 2 and Xbox on September 27th. A PC edition will follow in 2003.