Mobil 1 Rally Championship

The Good
Rally Championship (RC) is a very detailed simulation of the British Rally Championship. The terrain is excellent from tarmac to gravel to mud to snow to rain. The stage have plenty of eye candy to keep you entertained. There are a wide variety of cars, from 1500cc A5 cars to 300 hp turbo 4WD A8s and everything in between. Each stage is simulated. Some events are over 20 miles long! There are a wide variety of terrain from mud to rain to snow to tarmac. It also includes Internet play.

The Bad
The physics model needs quite a bit of work. The traction model doesn't quite "feel" right. Powerslides are almost impossible, as the brakes are just too effective with no way to adjust them. You are not allowed to save until you reach a repair area, which can be two or even three stages later. Damage model is a bit excessive. There are no difficulty levels except in the car class. There are no alternate game modes except "time trial" and "arcade".

The Bottom Line
RC is one of the most detailed rally sim ever. However, being realistic in this case made it not quite as "fun", and its somewhat lacking physics model made the handling quite suspect. Its lack of alternate game modes made driving after a while a chore instead of fun. However, it is realistic and would be one of the most authentic rally experiences you can get on a PC.

The Good
I love this game! The game was released in 1999 and it is still in my HD! What can I say more than that? The graphics are excellent in all perspectives - you can actually feel as if you are in British environment! Well detailed British (and Scottish and Irish and Welsh!) countryside landscapes all coming up real through your windscreen. The cars are very well detailed too although now they seem aged a bit. We are talking about A5 to A8 classes here (the latter unlocked on later stages) having in the garage for you to race: Proton, Honda Civic, VW Golf mkIV, Ford Escort, Citroen Saxo, Peugeot 106 maxi, Renault Megane Maxi, Skoda etc. The best moment comes though when you unlock the Subaru Impreza! Oh this is dream to drive! And it sounds great too (not exactly like the real one though).The special stages are all well detailed and modeled based on the real ones. Another good point is the damage factor, which is very near to the real thing. Yep some might argue that taking so much damage so easily is not fun. Well it's a true simulation this one and accurate piloting is what you need to master here! You'll spend a good week just to get a feel of the cars so that you can be on road for 2-4 miles! Another good thing are the long stages! Yep! Satisfying enough! This is the game for real rally freaks, I know 'cause I'm involved in the sport.

The Bad
Mostly the physics model of the cars. The cars handle a bit like boats on some situations, especially on slow speeds. Also the adjustability of the car is way too arcade here and that is regarding the accurate simulation of the real thing. One should be able to adjust every aspect of the car in great detail, from the break hydraulics to turbo charge pressure, tires pressure, etc. And finally, talking about a real rally simulation, the spectators should be more and closer to the road, so it would be an extra care not to kill the poor guy who came to watch you speed driftin, which is a problem we always have in real life races: The spectators are standing next to the path and always on the "wrong" side of the turns.

The Bottom Line
Well, the truth is that there are two ways you can review this game. Reviewing it as an accurate rally simulation and the other, reviewing it as a racing (arcade) game. I followed the first route, simply because I feel like that about the game and because it has to offer a lot of intuition by seeing it as an accurate rally simulation. As an arcade, the game is ok, nothing too special though. It is indeed the best rally sim for the pc! Some might argue that McRae rally gets the honors, but I find both McRaes (! the games, not the pilots!) to be a bit of "cartoonish", or to be more exact, way too arcade. They are both excellent too though, only this one gets the crown for realism. Alas! The game was tested by most of the British championship participating pilots! Do not play this game if you don't have a steering wheel for your pc!!! Playing with keys will only give you 30% of the excitement this game has to offer!!! If you ever wanted to own a rally car and race it, but haven't got the money to do it in reality (like most ppl) then go and get this game now, this is the closest you can get in the sport for now!

The Good
I liked everything about the game. The graphics for the game are outstanding and you get a good variety of tracks to race on (36 courses in all) The cars also look very realistic as they have been accurately modelled using the real life vehicles. Also the crashes in the game are very realistic. If you hit a tree your bonnet will get crumpled, if you constantly hit objects your windscreen will crack or if you set the suspension too low on a gravel track you run the risk of damaging it.

The Bad
The high system requirements. The recommended system is a Pentium III 500MHz! This means that some people will not be able to play the game because the requirements are so high. Apart from that the only problem I have is the fact that the in game music has a tendancy to turn itself off which means you have to turn it back on each time you start the game. It just seems a bit odd that such an advanced game should have such a bizzare little problem. Sometimes the track lengths can be a bit extreme. Some of the courses are very long and some people may not be able to sit in front of their computer for 20 minutes doing the same track without getting bored.

The Bottom Line
Overall the game is an excellent simulation with good graphics and overall design but the high system requirements and the sheer length of some of the tracks let it down a bit.