Rallying, the sport of the insane and people who have no fear. Great in real life,, but harder to match the adrenaline rush when it comes to a games form. Sure, some have been great, like Colin McRae, or V-Rally, but it is a tough job to attempt to translate the fear, excitement and sheer tension that is the real-life world of Rallying.

Alex: "Will the next contender please step up, please. Ah here, you are.Your name?"

Game: "Rally Trophy, Sir"

Alex: "Format?"

RT: "Pc and Xbox"

Alex: "And just what is it that makes you stand out in the crowd?"

RT: "Well... here are the facts:"

• First "historic" rally simulation
• 11 famous classic car models
• Latest state-of-the-art technology used
• Superior visual effects
• Extremely accurate and realistic car physics and damage model
• Digitally captured textures and extremely detailed graphic models create a realistic atmosphere
• 42 exciting, challenging and visually stunning race tracks
• Different seasons and weather conditions make tracks fresh and varying

Alex: "And when will you be released for the Xbox?"

RT: "March 2002"

Alex: "Thankyou, please take your seat"

So there you have it, Rally Trophy takes a slightly different slant on the genre by having historical cars to race, so all you Maxers out there will have the chance to drive cars that you would kill for in the real world like the Ford Cortina and the Mini Cooper. All tuned to the max for your driving pleasure. However, you will be able to alter the standard settings and get your hands dirty under the bonnet by allowing you to fine tune your engine.

There are 42 tracks to race on in five countries: Russia Sweden Finland Switzerland Kenya Each will have its own set of weather effects and graphical style, hopefully allowing for a good variety of scenery and tracks to react to. Physics is extremely important in driving games, and the developer JoWood has certainly not been a slouch in this department. They say that "Our objective was to achieve a realistic and accurate behaviour of the combination of car, the tires and all the various surfaces.

The physics system is based on real physical formulas, which are also used in the automotive industry" which makes for very interesting news, as if implemented correctly, you will have the closest driving experience in classic rally cars without having to shell out thousands for the real thing and then trashing them on the first corner.

Sound plays a vital part in Rally Trophy, and JoWood have gone to great lengths to bring you the authentic engine sounds from each of the cars by tracking down each model and recording the engine noise to place into the game. More accuracy can only be a good thing as well of adding variety to the game.

As usual, the game will have the Arcade and Championship modes, where Arcade gives you a quick fix, racing five computer controlled cars in a mad dash to the finish, cue bumps galore and shouts of "Aaargh! Stop ramming me!". Championship mode will allow you to unlock hidden cars by winning races, as you progress through the tracks. Rally Trophy looks to be an accomplished game, but only playing will tell if it's accurate to the point of frustration or whether JoWood have got the balance of realism and fun just right. With six months to go before release, JoWood really have no excuse to produce a highly polished game.

Preview By: Alex