WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship

I have always felt that WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship right from the get go was going to struggle against that year's offering from Codemasters. Looking back now, what we have here is a decent, but rather unremarkable rally game that is really only worth playing if you are a big-time fan of the sport.

A Career Mode Stuck In The Past

The main game mode on offer in WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship is the career mode and when you look now people say it is “dated” and I can kind of see why, but I do think it does some things right. You start by creating your driver and co-driver, you pick a manager, and your career starts.

You start off at the bottom, but rather than making you play through a ton of boring and slow Junior WRC, you only play a couple before progressing. I liked this aspect of it and wish it was something more rally games would do. Apart from that though the career mode never feels all that exciting.

Hauling Through The Mud

Most of the time you play WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship you are racing against the clock and this can be a lot of fun. You do also have other modes that are more basic than career mode such as the rally mode where you pick a class and win a championship as well as multiplayer races with other cars on the track at the same time.

The gameplay is certainly more of a simulation than something like Dirt, but I think it is still accessible to most people. Flying through the mud and nailing a corner just right so that you lose very little speed is very addictive. It is perfectly serviceable and there are a decent number of tracks, but it is just all rather unremarkable. The worst thing about the “gameplay” is that they got rid of all the classic rally cars from the previous year's game!

A Better Engine Under The Hood

While the gameplay of WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship has not changed much from the previous entry, the same cannot be said for the presentation. I am sure they had to have used a different engine or an enhanced version of the existing one as this looks so much better than the previous game. The cars look more detailed, but it is the tracks that really shine in this game. It has some great lighting effects that really showcase just how much better these environments look.

One area that they should have worked on was the sound, specifically your co-driver. This dude has the most boring and monotone voice I have ever heard! It lacks any kind of excitement and makes even the most exciting track that little bit extra boring.

Pros:

• There is a lot of variety to the tracks
• You have a decent selection of cars
• I liked how career mode go straight to the point
• The game looks better than its predecessor

Cons:

• The game is not bad, but it is just kind of bland in every regard
• There are a million rally games that are better than this