StAnZo\'s got WRC 2001... Mini Review Inside...

Well i managed to get this today (Sat 24th) and after playing it for a couple of hours this is my little mini Review...

Right.. for those who played the demo the immediate differences are that the grip levels have been
turned down a touch.. no more blasting around tight left/rights.. you\'ll find that you\'ll have to use the brakes a lot more often.
The handling seems to have gone under a couple of little tweaks and it\'s amazing to play esp the gravel special stages.
The weight of the cars has also increased a little so going over crests & jumps seems more realistic. The speed of the
game has stayed pretty much the same but you have the option of gear ratios to get better top speeds.
Overall i\'m very impressed with the game and it\'s the best representation of the sport available..

Right, questions from anyone?

Oh, just heard news that Carlos has had an accident on ss11 of Rally GB.. apparently, spectators were involved.
let\'s hope that nobody was seriously injured.

Update:
"However the concerns of the Frenchman were nothing compared to those of Carlos Sainz the victim of an off road excursion about a dozen kilometres into the Brechfa stage. His Ford Focus struck a group of spectators when his car slid on the road. The stage was immediately stopped as one of the spectators was injured in the accident. The Spaniard eventually finished the stage four minutes back."
 
SS11 & SS12 have now been canceled.. Carlos managed to drive out of SS11 after the off.

so does the car still feels like it floats round the corners??? like it has a pivot in the centre of the car and it turns on it, not the actual wheels...please tell me about the handling in more detail

Thanks Stanzo..
Im gonna have a look at WRC soon

Originally posted by kopking
so does the car still feels like it floats round the corners??? like it has a pivot in the centre of the car and it turns on it, not the actual wheels...please tell me about the handling in more detail

imho kopking it feels excelent using the \'incar\' view.. but from behind the car does look as if it is pivoting from the centre.
if you remember cmr used to do this but in cmr when you oversteered into, say a hairpin, if you tried to
correct the oversteer you tended to fly towards the outside of the corner.. WRC doesn\'t do this as agressive as cmr used to. if youv\'e watched (as i suppose you had) incar footage
this is exactly how the game feels to play..

The cars weight when you go off a cliff are still a little light but for general racing it seems ok.  i\'m unsure on what you
mean by \'floats around corners\' if you felt this in the demo then there isn\'t much change in the full game.

the roadside gravel no longer slows you down, it mainly stops you accelerating as if you would on the road.

Hopefully, this gives you some more information on the game.. i think that you may be better off renting it first
if you are unsure of certain aspects of the physics engine..

StAnZo


Update:
With regards to Sainz\'s accident, about fifteen spectators were injured, but at present we do not know the gravity of the injuries. The organisers of the Rally of Great Britain were quick to reach the scene of the accident and to beginning helping those injured...

Here\'s just something I posted on another site........

WRC 2001 for PS2: My review

Just a few words about WRC 2001....

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a copy of the game before release. If you\'ve played Colin McRae 2, the handling is a little inferior. It took a little getting used to but I was able to get a grip on it totally after about 10 minutes or so.

The game is far too easy. I\'ve was World Champion on 1st try of normal level winning all rallies except one in my Ford Focus. I\'ve started on "professional" level and already won 2 rallies out of 2 (that being, Monte Carlo and Sweden). Colin McRae\'s actual name isn\'t in the game.......he\'s just listed as "Ford Driver" because he\'s got his own rally game coming out so licensing was a bit of a problem. Other than him, all drivers and co-drivers are in the game. All navigation is read by Robert Reid by the sounds of it (Richard Burns\' co-driver).

Movies introduce each rally round is it\'s just like watching TV with a "satellite" shot zooming in on the continent then country then further zoom onto specific rally area. A highlight of the game!!

The damage model is nowhere near realistic. I went too fast into a corner in Sweden (snow rally) and hit the left wheel into the barrier in 4th gear and.....no damage. In the rally of GB, I hit a tree front on in 3rd gear and.....no damage (only cosmetic damage..one of the headlights fell off). In real life, these would have caused certain retirements!

The wheels used in rallies aren\'t necessarily the wheels used by the teams in real life. Eg. the Impreza has a 5 spoke wheel in tarmac rallies whereas this is not the case in real life.

The game is true to life but too short. Only 5 or so rounds per rally isn\'t enough for me!! Load times are also a bit on the "long" side.

HOWEVER......

The graphics and sound is absolutely terrific. Just think of GT3 for rally!! The best thing about the graphics is the depth perception and feeling of speed. You actually feel like you\'re doing 100 MPH!!
The engine sounds are vehicle specific (that is, a Focus sounds like a Focus and a Evo sounds like an Evo in the game) and I can\'t get enough of the flaming exhausts!!  

The way the cars behave is spot on. The way is reacts to bumps in the road and cutting corners....it\'s almost as if you\'re watching the cars in real life. The replay mode is also of high value with views including cockpit, bonnet, cameraman and helicopter views.

Overall, I\'d give it 8 out of 10. In-game menus could have been better and tuning/damage repair department are a virtual no-show!
But graphically and audiably close to perfect!! Rally and racing fans should get a kick out of it but die-hard rally fans may be disappointed from the lack of depth, probably labelling it more of an arcade style game than a pure simulation.

I think the graphics are amazing in this game, but the handling is absolute $hit, the car feels like its on a pole (like kopking said) and is far too floaty, I\'m waiting for Colin McRae 3.

Stanzo: When you hit a wall or barrier, does the game still skip loads of frames like the demo did? One minute you were hitting the wall, the next you were pointing the right way again. How about the damage, does bodywork actually dent etc? All I could get it to do in the demo was make the engine smoke

Sorry tomrob, i didn\'t experience the \'frameskip\' issue with the demo m8.. i also havn\'t found it with the full game.
Damage is probably one of the biggest downfalls of the game, it\'s inconsistent m8. yeah, the cars get a little bit dented
but there\'s nothing to get excited about. there\'s nothing revolutionary about it at all and alongside the incosistancy it\'s
a little bit crap on that side m8.. but then again i\'m on normal difficulty and hard can only be opened once iv\'e finished normal
I\'ll keep you up to date on it guys..

Update:
Fifteen spectators are reported to have been injured after a car crashed during the Network Q Rally of Great Britain.
BBC Radio Wales reported that three people, including two children, have serious injuries.

The Ford Focus of two-time world champion Carlos Sainz slid off the road into a spectator area about eight miles into the 11th special stage in the Brechfa Forest in south Wales.

Rally organisers said that 15 people were hurt but no details of the injuries were immediately available.

BBC motorsport correspondent Jonathan Legard said none of the injuries were thought to be life-threatening.

Organisers have scratched the 11th stage and cancelled the 12th which was also scheduled for the forest area.

Rally spokesman John Horton said: "The medical officer in attendance advises that there are 15 casualties involved.

"All medical facilities on the stage and two air ambulances were deployed immediately.

"Special Stage 12 (Trawscoed) has been cancelled and all cars are returning to the Service Area at Felindre."

Sainz, who was in fourth place at the time, got to the end of the 13.53-mile stage but has now withdrawn from the rest of the rally.

Richard Burns, aiming to become the first Englishman to win the world title, was lying in second place and remained on course to clinch the overall championship

I Seriously hope those kids are ok...  it hits home a little, especially when you\'ve got 2 of your own.. :0(

Yeah, I just heard on the news, I hope they are all ok. Its a wonder it doesn\'t happen more often, there is no protection for spectators, and those cars have virtual any grip when sliding around corners

too short? got the impression from magazine reviews it has plenty of stages, i think one said 500km in total. Is it becasue the game is so easy that makes it short?
How do the stages compare to the demo? Are the bulk a similar length or are those pretty short compared to most, think the demo is excellent but having a few doubts now.

This game is still on my wish list, ill need to get it soon well after Silent hill 2 and Devil May Cry

Originally posted by fugue
too short? got the impression from magazine reviews it has plenty of stages, i think one said 500km in total. Is it becasue the game is so easy that makes it short?
How do the stages compare to the demo? Are the bulk a similar length or are those pretty short compared to most, think the demo is excellent but having a few doubts now.

Depending on your driving skill ( i finished the demo stage in 1.50.77) it\'s a rather short stage.
The stages in the game range from 4k\'s to 14k\'s and they take anything from 1.5 minutes upto 5.4 minutes
so really, it\'s a good mixed bag. Rent the game first if your\'e unsure of the purchase.. i totally enjoy it tho\'

Oh btw... theres 81 stages in the game as far as i know.. more may be available hence the extras option

So, are the graphics comparable to GT3??? Any jaggies, frame issues etc?

Car models any good? What about the tracks? Detailed?

Originally posted by ##RaCeR##
So, are the graphics comparable to GT3??? Any jaggies, frame issues etc?
Car models any good? What about the tracks? Detailed?

Everything I\'ve seen graphically is absolutely comparable to GT3!
Car models are also very accurate.  The level of detail is more so evident on replays....you can get a helicopter view of the replays and the level of detail of cars, tracks and scenery has to be seen to be believed.  A certain feature of the game overall.

Thank you guys for the good info !!!