First impressions: Colin McRae Rally 3

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 7:06 pm

I got my mitts on Colin McRae Rally 3 for the Xbox today around lunch time.
 
 Anyways, my lunch break suddenly got longer as I had to pop in the game and drive a few stages.
 
 In summary, CMR 3 for the Xbox is sheer rallying bliss. It´s hardcore rally game for hardcore rally fans or fans of past editions of Colin McRae Rally, nothing else.
 
 The driving model is sublime. The grip between varying surfaces is just as different as it was in CMR and CMR 2.0. But from very early impressions, I think CMR 3 is tougher because you need to control your speed even more than previous games as the grip model is even tricker than CMR and CMR 2.0. The grip model in CMR 3 is as far away as possible from the Velcro-like grip on all surfaces displayed in WRC for the PS2, and that´s a good thing.
 
 I considered myself a pretty decent rally driver in CMR 2.0, as I finished second to the mighty Mobiggins -- or was I third behind Mo and BB? -- in the inaugural Sports Reviewers Fantasy Rally. But man, I was all over the road on every surface except for asphalt this afternoon. I´m way out of practice with such a precise driving model. You need to be WAY more precise in steering, braking and gas input with CMR 3 than with either Rallisport Challenge or WRC.
 
 The Stages mode allows you to drive any of the cars on one stage from each rally, out of the box. You can unlock all of the stages as you progress in the Championship mode. One negative on the Stages mode -- I don´t see anywhere you can make adjustments to the car setup. Maybe I missed it.
 
 On to the Championship mode, the heart of the game. Yes, you can only drive a Ford Focus. But still this is a much more full rally experience than the Chamjpionship mode in the two prior CMR games.
 
 Why? For starters, there´s a full shakedown before each rally. You can adjust your car and shake it down on about a one-minute section of a stage from each rally, checking to see you made proper adjustments. You also can look at telemetry traces after shakedown runs, comparing your speed, RPM and one other parameter -- I forgot what -- from run to run. Unfortunately, those telemetry traces can´t be overlaid for comparison, but it is easy to shuffle through them to compare. I found places where I dropped revs too quickly and was able to shave time based on that.
 
 Many here, including me, were disappointed that car setup changes were no longer based on slider bars but instead on one of three or so options. It´s a bummer, but Codemasters has compensated, I think, but offering more tuning options than prior CMR games. Stuff like anti-roll bar stiffness, length of stud in ice tires, launch control and other adjustments. Very, very cool. Trust me, it still should be pretty easy to get lost with your setup even though the slider bars are gone due to the added tuning options.
 
 Graphically, this game is very solid. A better-than-usual effort from Codemasters, which in the past has put graphics on the far back burner behind gameplay. Gameplay is still king in CMR, but graphics are catching up.
 
 The stage surfaces don´t have the lighting or detail of Rallisport or Apex, but it´s still solid. The damage modeling is excellent, and the snow falling in Swedish stages and collecting on the windshield until the wiper cleared it was very cool.
 
 In a nutshell after 30 minutes of play, CMR 3 seems to be a pure rallying experience. Anyone who liked past CMR games should dig this. Anyone who seeks more of an arcade experience should rent this game first. It´s not for the faint of heart.
 
 Right now, CMR 3 reminds me a bit of F355 for the Dreamcast. It´s not very deep with options and doo-dads, but it simulates its chosen form of motorsport in superb detail and precision.
 
 CMR 3 is the best pure driving/racing game I´ve played since World of Outlaws Sprint Car Racing.
 
 Feel free to ask any questions. More impressions to come.
 
 Take care,
 PK [ This message was edited by: pk500 on 24-02-2003 15:19 ]

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 2:30 am

Actually, I was wrong in one part of my first impressions: You can overlay telemetry traces for comparison! Very cool.
 
 CMR 3 is a great game.
 
 Take care,
 PK

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 12:06 pm

Here I am trying to figure out how I´m going to pony up $200 for a new video card for my PC, and you´ve got me wanting an XBox again! Good to hear this turned out to be such a good game.

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 2:53 pm

I Am on my way to the store to pick it up as we speak PK.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 3:28 pm

BK, the sultan of all that is good:
 
 Hope you´ll dig it, man. Let us know what you think after a couple of hours on the stages. Value your input.
 
 Out,
 PK

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 11:33 pm

you know PK your the man behind my recent racing game and especially rally racing addiction. BTW I know you don´t PC game, but Nascar 2003 on the PC is a blast !!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 2:18 am

Yeah, NASCAR 2003 does sound quite good. But no PC gaming for me other than Champ Man.
 
 What do you think of Colin McRae Rally 3?
 
 Take care,
 PK

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 1:11 pm

PK, went to my local gamestop yesterday and they were out of CMR. I am heading to pick it up at one of the other stores today (There are no less than 7 gamestops/eb´s/software etc. with in 10 miles of my house.) . I´ll let you know what I think tonight.
 
 I did manage to get in about 4 hours of Nascar though <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_wink.gif">

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 2:29 am

PK how many tracks are in CM3? CM2 had around 90 which included an arcade mode. Hows the graphics on the XBOX version, I read it´s a PS2 port?
 
 I´m considering picking this up unless the graphics are real jaggy like the PS2, then I may wait for the PC version to show up.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Feb 28, 2003 11:02 am

Rodster:
 
 There are at least 64 stages, as there are eight countries with eight stages each in the championship mode. I think there are some unlockable tracks.
 
 I think the graphics are very nice. They don´t reach the Apex/Rallisport Challenge level, but they´re pretty nice, especially from Codemasters, which always puts gameplay before graphics. The textures are a bit lacking, but the scenery is nice, and the car models are very nice, especially the visible damage.
 
 I didn´t see a lot of jaggies, but then again, I´m too busy concentrating on the stages to examine the graphics. This game requires total concentration behind the wheel.
 
 I doubt the graphics are a PS2 port. After all, the Xbox version was released first in the U.S., so it almost seems like the Codies are porting down from the Xbox to the PS2 for its U.S. PS2 release this spring.
 
 Take care,
 PK [ This message was edited by: pk500 on 28-02-2003 07:03 ]

RandyM · Post by **RandyM** » Sat Mar 08, 2003 1:24 pm

I have CMR3 as well on my XBox. I´ve put in a fair amount of time on it, and I do like it overall, but I have my gripes.
 
 The replays, well they suck, to be blunt. A ridicuous % is from over the hood or in-car, which is a shame because I just got done running the stage in-car... I KNOW how it looked already!
 
 Also, the ´rally car on a stick´ really shows up in replays, and there is STILL too much unexplained ´floating´ of the car on the track.
 
 ALso, if you are having a problem seeing though your windshield in the rain or snow, just run into a tree and knock it out. Then you´ll see fine from in car. Bummer that they didn´t properly make you pay by covering your view with rain or snow whipping into the interior of your car <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">.
 
 No doubt about it, it is the kind of Rally games, but I wish they´d done more work on the replay side so that I´d actually have an interest in viewing them.
 
 Randy

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 2:14 pm

Randy:
 
 You´re a replay-a-holic. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif"> I remember the one time we played NFL 2K3 on Xbox Live, you replayed about every fourth or fifth play!
 
 I´m going to start calling you Cecil B. De Mille or Spielberg. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">
 
 Glad you´re digging the new F1 game. I wish it was available for the Xbox. Woe is me. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_frown.gif">
 
 Take care,
 PK [ This message was edited by: pk500 on 09-03-2003 10:14 ]

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 9:17 pm

PK just curious why did you sell your PS2?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:07 am

Rodster:
 
 I´m a one-console man. Always have been, probably always will be.
 
 I just don´t want to spend so much time and money on video gaming that I have to support two or more consoles. It´s a hobby for me, not an obsession.
 
 Frankly, there just wasn´t much that thrilled me on the PS2 other than a few racing games and Grand Theft Auto III.
 
 I´m very happy with my Xbox. I enjoy the exclusive titles, and the cross-platform titles look better on the Xbox. I really enjoy the Controller S, Xbox Live, the hard drive for nearly unlimited saves, etc., etc.
 
 No regrets. The Xbox works best for this console monogamous gamer. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">
 
 Take care,
 PK

RandyM · Post by **RandyM** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 3:09 am

PK,
 
 Well, ya gotta make yer own decisions. I respect that.
 
 That having been said, I still disagree with it. I´m not sure what you mean by "support more than one console". I don´t "support" either console. I just happen to have 2 platforms that I can play games on, and I buy the best game, irrespective of the console. I´m not buying duplicates, and I´m not buying subpar games just because it´s the best one of its type for my only console.
 
 I just feel like having both expands the pool of choice for me. This way I didn´t suffer from NFS Hot Pursuit 2 stinking on the XBox compared to the PS2, nor did I worry about Ghost Recon on the PS2 being a dog compared to the XBox version. I just bought the best title and didn´t really give a crap which console it was on.
 
 However, in the case of racing titles, the wheel support makes a big difference. If CMR 3.0 had been co-released on both, the PS2 would have had to be inferior in MANY ways to for me to buy the XBox and lose FF wheel support.
 
 When it comes to games, I´m a racer first, so I´m glad I have a PS2. Everything after that is just gravy (and usually XBox fodder <G>)
 
 Randy

Neckthai · Post by **Neckthai** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 4:08 am

Fear not PK,
 
 May is around the corner and the ps2 will probably travel.... now if I could just find a copy of Grand Prix Challenge.
 
 Neck

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:30 am

Randy:
 
 My point about supporting only one console is that there are many exclusives and options for consoles that I would buy if I had multiple consoles -- but do I really need them?
 
 No.
 
 If I owned a PS2, I would be tempted to buy a lot of good exclusives for that system, such as Grand Theft Auto, World of Outlaws, WE6, etc., etc. But honestly, I can live without them.
 
 That´s what I mean by supporting two consoles. Yes, you have the option of buying the best game for each platform with your setup.
 
 My point is, I don´t NEED the best game for each platform. Keeping my options to one console makes economic sense, and I still have a hell of a lot of fun.
 
 Am I poor? No. Do I have a stay-at-home wife and two kids? Yes. Plus I have a rental property that needs work from time to time, in addition to our house. We also refuse to carry credit balances on anything but on the mortgages on our two properties. Hate giving our money to the bank.
 
 My wife and I are compulsive savers, as we´re building a nest egg for the kids´ education, vacation home when we hit our late 50s, travel during retirement, etc.
 
 I don´t want a second videogame system getting in the way of any of that. Plus, if I´m spending that much time on games, something else is suffering, such as reading, exercise, etc. I only have a limited amount of free time per day due to kids and work, much less than before we had kids. So I want to ensure that attention to various hobbies is spread around that time as evenly as possible.
 
 I guess I´m one of those guys who lives for tomorrow as much as I live for today.
 
 Take care,
 PK [ This message was edited by: pk500 on 10-03-2003 07:33 ]

RandyM · Post by **RandyM** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 2:26 pm

>> If I owned a PS2, I would be tempted to buy a lot of good exclusives for that system, such as Grand Theft Auto, World of Outlaws, WE6, etc., etc. But honestly, I can live without them. >>
 
 Ah okay. I´m not really tempted to buy exclusives unless they intersect exactly with what I want. I won´t buy GTA for instance because it´s not my style of game, no matter how good it is. On the flip side, I won´t buy Apex for the XBox, either. I´d buy GPC instead. My only point was that you seem to have lost that choice, and if you had both consoles, based upon what I´ve heard, you´d enjoy GPC a lot more than Apex.
 
 As far as your economic preferences, that´s a very personal thing and I certainly respect it. It´s just a bummer that GPC isn´t an option for you <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_frown.gif">
 
 Randy

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 3:23 pm

You gotta see it as a willpower buttress, Randy. PK and I have had this discussion before...
 
 <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">
 
 On another note, thanks for your comments about GPC. Between you and Calvert, I was sent scurrying around the malls this weekend looking for the thing.
 
 Found it, but as of now I only have the standard dualshock.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Mar 10, 2003 3:58 pm

Randy:
 
 True. But I still feel what I´m getting for the Xbox overall far outweighs what I´m missing from the PS2.
 
 The PS2 is a better racing and soccer console. But that´s just a slice of my gaming pie.
 
 Take care,
 PK [ This message was edited by: pk500 on 10-03-2003 11:59 ]

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 6:07 pm

PK,
 
 I am loving CMR 3 (and now see that I need to pick up Word Racing as well!). Thanks again for getting me into rally racing!
 
 Later,
 
 GreatWhite