Roll on another month and another XBOX racing game, This like most recent XBOX offerings gives the player a feeling that they have ''Been Here Before''. MSR on Dreamcast had its engine tuned and evolved into PGR, Super Runabout had a entire new graphics engine installed and became Wreckless.
What Microsofts Swedish developers have done here is to not overhaul their past P-C offering Rally Cross, Rather imitate Codemasters Colin McCrae Rally like RUF imitate Porsches with much the same impact...PLENTY OF MUSCLE & EYECANDY!!!

GRAPHICS

The saving grace of every XBOX title with no exeption here!.
Yes the graphics are solid, detailed & polished to high heaven allthough not without small niggles. The niggles are that the headlamps & brake lights dont look as if there is a bulb behind the casing such as Gran Turismo 3. I also found that the whole thing has a very P-C look about it with its hard to describe in words ''Boldness'' which we expect from P-C titles. The Graphics dont have the Warmth you get with PS2 racers such as Gran Turismo 3. Most of you will not even acknowledge these minor issues but will stare in awe as birds fly in the distance and the blazing morning sun reflects off your bonnet and blinds you in the desert stage. The most Graphically pleasing elements in this game are the draw distance and constant 60 frame per sec with no slowdown what so ever. The bump mapping and use of textures is also very good as slippery tarmac reflects sunlight with trees and scenery shimmering off your paintwork. I will make a point about the trees in this game and how they sway individually if you stop to notice, these Trees are not Polygonal blobs neither..they are highly detailed and worthy of applause. If I am not mistaken Sony promised this sort of quality with the emotion engine but failed to deliver!. Grahically then this is nothing short of ranking up there with Wreckless, DOA3 & Halo.

GRAPHICS 9/10

GAMEPLAY

This game has a learning curve of about an hour in order to negotiate how to approach bends and toggle acceleration & Braking to powerslide to victory!. The controls are very good for this sort of game, Rally veterans will feel right at home with none veterans slip sliding into walls and muddy banks!. This is not a flaw with the gameplay or controls but rather a well balanced characteristic of console rally racing. As mentioned above this plays almost identical to the Colin McCrae games which is a good thing as they are arguably the best rally experience money can buy. Put simply the gameplay is nigh on perfect which anybody willing to give this sort of a game a try along with rally veterans will love, I feel that gamers who are not keen on rally games from past experiences should steer clear as this will annoy and certainly not entertain.
There is the usual assortment of options here with Time Attack, Quick Race and a EA Sports type option titled Instant Action which from the main screen pits you in a random race with a randon car. There is also a Career Mode which we have come to expect from such titles to increase longevity and allow the player to unlock cars & tracks on a point based system...Which I must say keeps you hooked.
The difficulty curve is also good in Career Mode as it slowly increases to suit your newly found rally skills as you progress in the game. Overall a good gameplay experience for anybody willing to give such a game a go.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

SOUND

The music is not a memorable score with kerrangs and drums you expect from such a title with no voice talent which is a shame. The sound fx as you tear up gravel and throttle up with bangs from your muffler are all played with conviction.
The whole thing sounds very Colin McCrae with what I am sure is the same Co-Pilot saying ''Hard Left'' and such like over the C-B in a frightfully similar fashion to the McCrae games. So all in all there is nothing new on offer in the sound department yet it does what it sets out to.

SOUND 7/10

OVERALL

This is a great game which deserves to become part of any racers collection, Allthough not quite as flawless as rave reviews are suggesting at present. If you have a negative approach towards this game from the off dont bother parting with your money...You will only spend too long despising it to be bowled over by its well honed charm!. Rally fans and hardcore racers step up and enjoy..The rest of you who prefer tarmac more should purchase Project Gotham Racing.