I have a tremendous love for rally games and I've played quite a few of them, but it wasn't always like that. I remember 3D-Hot Rally back in the old days, where Mario and Luigi drove a 4x4 monster truck on this never ending road that went to different surfaces. Back then, I barely knew what rally was, and I didn't have fond memories of that title. It was reminiscent of Sega's Outrun except that the car had damage and Mario and Luigi would need to make repairs at the expense of time, which you chased against. I could never finish that game, nor do I even want to try. It was practically impossible for me to play these games. Everything seemed so random. I passed on this and never looked back to playing it... and that gimmicky 3D goggles suck!
My next foray into rallying came in Lombard Rally on PC, in the good old CGA days. I still had no idea what rally was and played this game wishing it was much easier. The co-driver held a map, and you as the player had the responsibility to drive and look at that tiny map to figure out where to go. It was not easy, and chasing clocks were never my thing. I pretty much gave up on any racing game at that point. It just never seemed fun at all and I always lost.
Incidentally, after many years of playing different game genres, I found a motorsport I could connect with, Formula One. This is going to be brief, but I have to stress this. I played Video System's F1 World Grand Prix on N64 and it was nothing close to easy at that time. But instead of folding, I put in some good time and played some good laps. It was my reinduction to racing games.
From my beloved N64, I played Top Gear Rally, which was intriguing in terms of decal options, was not the kind of rally game I wanted. It felt like a standard racer and nothing more. I also played the atrocious V-Rally '99. And to think Eden Studios was supposed to be one of the best ones at it. The cars felt strange, and floaty. While this game was difficult, I was less interested to put in the time to it. In fact, I didn't want to.
Some time later, I found WRC on tv and managed to get more informed over what rallying was all about. It was a shame I missed the tighter years of WRC, but I could accept Loeb's battle against Petter and co. At this time, my brother played and eventually completed Sega Rally 2 on Dreamcast. While I was opened to playing it and put in some laps, it just never really felt like rallying to me. It was understandably an arcade game, but it just never clicked, and playing a racing game on a split screen is never the way to go. I love to hear my engine. I love to see what my car did. And with Sega Rally being a game that seemed so much like other arcade racers, I just hung up my gloves on it.
Incidentally, it was at this time where I'd eventually find rally games that I loved. First up was V-Rally 3 on PC. It was unforgiving, but it felt 'right', at least at the time. The car choices were limited, and I was a little less interested in going the full mile, but I was content in running the stages and setting good times and doing it over and over again. That is more than I can say for any of the previous rally efforts.
When my new PC could no longer play V-Rally 3 due to potential issues with hyper-threading, my brother was indeed looking for another title. Colin McRae Rally 2005 or Richard Burns Rally. Unfortunately, he picked Colin's.
This isn't to say Colin's game is terrible, because it's far from it. I put in good stage times. I used the class B cars, class A cars and drove at my favourite stages. But the game just never gave me the satisfaction V-Rally did. It felt OK, but not mind-blowing. It was at that point that I needed to know what Richard Burns had to offer.
Unlike Colin's title, where most reviewers praised to high heavens, Richard's title had more mixed ones. Preposterous physics and a constant comparison drawn over Colin's effort were what I felt was the overall tone. But I played Colin's title, and I wasn't interested in what some bloke said made Colin's title better than Richard's. I had to find out for myself.
My first run at Rally School in Richard Burns Rally lasted approximately less than ten seconds. I didn't know, I wasn't looking at the clock. The first ford section threw my Impreza to the trees and the car never recovered. But somehow, for a title that seemed inhumanly difficult, it put a smile from ear to ear. It felt like gold. It felt really good. It felt like rallying. Those ten seconds I had with it was worth more than the days I put on Colin McRae Rally 2005.
I loved it. And I put a video to show my sample run, albeit not too good, was good enough for me.
Strangely though, it wasn't the last rally game I have fond memories of. I put in some time on portable space in the form of Colin McRae Rally 2 on GBA. It's an old title, needless to say, but it felt remarkably similar to its brethren, albeit in a smaller screen and on the go. It's good and it ultimately defined what my choices were on the portable space and the PC platforms.
As I think about all this, and wonder what Petter Solberg Rally will be, I tend to hope it would be as good or even better than Richard Burn's effort. And I also hope it runs on my computer. Here's to hoping for a great simulation and a very satisfying game. After all, it's all in the feeling.
My next foray into rallying came in Lombard Rally on PC, in the good old CGA days. I still had no idea what rally was and played this game wishing it was much easier. The co-driver held a map, and you as the player had the responsibility to drive and look at that tiny map to figure out where to go. It was not easy, and chasing clocks were never my thing. I pretty much gave up on any racing game at that point. It just never seemed fun at all and I always lost.
Incidentally, after many years of playing different game genres, I found a motorsport I could connect with, Formula One. This is going to be brief, but I have to stress this. I played Video System's F1 World Grand Prix on N64 and it was nothing close to easy at that time. But instead of folding, I put in some good time and played some good laps. It was my reinduction to racing games.
From my beloved N64, I played Top Gear Rally, which was intriguing in terms of decal options, was not the kind of rally game I wanted. It felt like a standard racer and nothing more. I also played the atrocious V-Rally '99. And to think Eden Studios was supposed to be one of the best ones at it. The cars felt strange, and floaty. While this game was difficult, I was less interested to put in the time to it. In fact, I didn't want to.
Some time later, I found WRC on tv and managed to get more informed over what rallying was all about. It was a shame I missed the tighter years of WRC, but I could accept Loeb's battle against Petter and co. At this time, my brother played and eventually completed Sega Rally 2 on Dreamcast. While I was opened to playing it and put in some laps, it just never really felt like rallying to me. It was understandably an arcade game, but it just never clicked, and playing a racing game on a split screen is never the way to go. I love to hear my engine. I love to see what my car did. And with Sega Rally being a game that seemed so much like other arcade racers, I just hung up my gloves on it.
Incidentally, it was at this time where I'd eventually find rally games that I loved. First up was V-Rally 3 on PC. It was unforgiving, but it felt 'right', at least at the time. The car choices were limited, and I was a little less interested in going the full mile, but I was content in running the stages and setting good times and doing it over and over again. That is more than I can say for any of the previous rally efforts.
When my new PC could no longer play V-Rally 3 due to potential issues with hyper-threading, my brother was indeed looking for another title. Colin McRae Rally 2005 or Richard Burns Rally. Unfortunately, he picked Colin's.
This isn't to say Colin's game is terrible, because it's far from it. I put in good stage times. I used the class B cars, class A cars and drove at my favourite stages. But the game just never gave me the satisfaction V-Rally did. It felt OK, but not mind-blowing. It was at that point that I needed to know what Richard Burns had to offer.
Unlike Colin's title, where most reviewers praised to high heavens, Richard's title had more mixed ones. Preposterous physics and a constant comparison drawn over Colin's effort were what I felt was the overall tone. But I played Colin's title, and I wasn't interested in what some bloke said made Colin's title better than Richard's. I had to find out for myself.
My first run at Rally School in Richard Burns Rally lasted approximately less than ten seconds. I didn't know, I wasn't looking at the clock. The first ford section threw my Impreza to the trees and the car never recovered. But somehow, for a title that seemed inhumanly difficult, it put a smile from ear to ear. It felt like gold. It felt really good. It felt like rallying. Those ten seconds I had with it was worth more than the days I put on Colin McRae Rally 2005.
I loved it. And I put a video to show my sample run, albeit not too good, was good enough for me.
Strangely though, it wasn't the last rally game I have fond memories of. I put in some time on portable space in the form of Colin McRae Rally 2 on GBA. It's an old title, needless to say, but it felt remarkably similar to its brethren, albeit in a smaller screen and on the go. It's good and it ultimately defined what my choices were on the portable space and the PC platforms.
As I think about all this, and wonder what Petter Solberg Rally will be, I tend to hope it would be as good or even better than Richard Burn's effort. And I also hope it runs on my computer. Here's to hoping for a great simulation and a very satisfying game. After all, it's all in the feeling.
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