|
|
|
CMR 2.0: Colin's Back and Better Than Ever |  Arend Hart from Michigan says (14/Feb/2001): | The most anticipated rally racing title of the PSone is finally on the shelves and it's far better than could be expected. Kudos to Codemasters, the developers of the best simulation racing titles on the market (see: Colin McRae Rally, Jarrett and Labonte Racing, TOCA series). These people do their homework, and they get all A's.
I know reviewers are always bragging about "I did some skateboarding and this is the best skater game ever," and "I did some supercross back in the day and this is the most realistic." Hell, I've even been prone to some of that bragging in the past. Well, guess what kids, I'm gonna do a little more for ya' now.
For many years, my buddies, Bruce and Tony, and I have had this tradition of doing the "Sunday Morning Rally" after a hard Saturday night of drinking (we won’t talk about the Saturday Night Rallies here). Generally, we wake up at 7:00am or thereabouts, whip up some breakfast and hit the road, stopping at the Clark station for our bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino® (liquid speed) and Nantucket Nectars (no high fructose corn syrup to fuel the hangover). We're pretty lucky to live in our area of Michigan, with it's never-ending dirt backroads along numerous bodies of water, making for a fun and twisty drive. And although we know should be careful on Sunday mornings, with church goers and all, we somehow always end up heavy on the pedal while perfecting our e-braking methods trhough the razor-sharp corners. So far, we've burned up clutches (one at 105mph), sprung struts, and tweaked CV joints, all in the name of fun. Expensive, dangerous and stupid fun, mind you. Thank God, knock on wood, we have yet to receive a ticket for our exploits. So, anyway, whenever a new rally game come along, we're always first to get it to compare to our real-life experiences. So far, none come as close as the Colin McRae series from Codemasters. The first incarnation was art, the second is a masterpiece.
In order to really compare physics, you have to race with an in-car view, or similar. I prefer the "hood" view, since the in-car is clouded by the windshield reflections. Saying that, the following info is with the hood view.
No rally title has ever been able to match the physics of the CMR series. V-Rally 2 is good, but the title definitely goes to Codemasters, and in particular CMR2.0. You really feel the weight shifts, the loss and gain in traction and the speed, and the stomach-dropping elevation changes. I don't know how they do it so well, but it's ten times better than an IMAX movie. CMR2.0 is on the par of GT2's physics for road racing, and a zillion times better than GT2's rally events. You have to learn to feather the brakes (front and rear) and massage the pedal, or you'll end up in the ditch. This feels real, people. You really have to check it out.
Another staple in the CMR series, which hasn't been executed very well in other racing titles, is that I have yet to find a true "invisible wall" keeping me on course. This is good. Y’know, there may be a wall of trees, or a fence which cannot be plowed through (which is actually more realistic in a way since hitting things causes a lot of damage in the real world), but generally, if you aren't careful, it is very easy to slide way off course and lose precious time.
All of the cars from the current FIA World Rally season are here, although the drivers names (except for Colin, obviously) have been changed. This is a bit of a bummer, since I've followed last years season with a passion and it would be cool to feel like I actually could beat Grönholm or Makinen, or at least got to team up with Sainz as well as Colin. (Note: I have the PC version of CMR2.0 as well, and there is a patch to change the names which works excellent). Mr. Grist is no longer present lending his co-driver skills in the US version of CMR2.0, but his replacement does a fine job of calling the turns (although the calls are very different than in the original CMR, so read the manual carefully). It sounds like the same annoying old man from Jarrett and Labonte makes an appearance with his southern drawl, announcing the intros to each rally. He's easily shut up with the X button, however, so it's not a big deal.
Back to the cars, you have full modification and repair (I should say replace) options. Each setup change makes a significant difference in the handling and speed, so a lot of effort will need to be done on your part to tune in the perfect car for each set of stages. There is also a set time limit on repairs and changes between sets of stages, making good driving and good decisions all the more crucial.
As for gameplay, the great single-car action is present as well as the newly added Arcade mode. Although there's a little graphical slowdown in this mode, it's still cool, and a great addition which will appeal to the more mainstream racing fan. As for the challenge mode, I think I read that there is like 92 courses in all. That's pretty incredible. Sure some take one minute, some three or four. But still, there's a lot of variety here, and given the weather and terrain changes, that makes for an awful lot of setup planning.
All in all, this game is truly awesome. I don't understand how the jokers at ZDnet can say what they do about this game, then rate it as FAIR. Take a look and you'll see what I mean. I guess they are looking at mass appeal, and a rally title isn't ever going to score as well as a Ridge Racer or something equally as trite. But all I care about is that CMR2.0 appeals to me, and I'm a proud owner of the best rally game ever, period.
| rallying at its best | | Brendan De Souza from Oakville Ontario Canada says (24/Jul/2003): | colin mcrae rally 2.0 was a hit it was also the best rally game in the states until wrc (world rally chapionship) when that rally game came out in the UK many people bought it sold over 1 000 000 copies in the UK colin McRae rallying series only sold 500 000 copies i was disapointed that Colin McRae rally series was going to go if the Wrc game had less features than Colin McRae rally series would still be the best but i would think both Colin McRae rally Series Vs the WRC series both games are great but the Colin Mcrae Rally series should have a full chapionship like WRC had but still Colin McRae's game will still be a hit so remember buy both there very good rally games
| its hard but its good | | Az from England says (17/Mar/2003): | i agree maybe on expert its a little hard to get first place, yet this is the game that made me get a playstation to play the game on. one of the best parts of the game is that you can take short cuts and the cars handle the same as the real thing ( trust me on this) this title is the best rally game and it is slightly better then CMR3.
| The best rally game on playstation | | Tom Ellison from Newcastle, UK says (24/Dec/2000): | The game is great and especially appeals to dedicated fans of rallying due to its high level of realism. The graphics are very good showing all manner of things from giraffes to skidoos. The games handling is incredibly realistic and it really feels as though you were thundering down a dirt track on the edge of adhesion. THe variety of surfaces is like no other racing game and the cars all have individual handling characteristics, especially the later bomus cars which are almost frightening. A fantastic game.
| Colin McRae Rally 2.0 | | Mano Saarinen from Vaasa, Finland says (15/Aug/2000): | This is the best rally game that have ever made! Graphics are great, but not so sharp. Car´s handling are realistic and sounds are good enough. Only thing that i don´t like in this game is that the game is maybe too hard.
| | |
