If the lengthy Indy 500 is comparable to running an exhausting marathon, rally racing is comparable to competing in a triathlon.  Whereas America’s most popular NASCAR drivers drive around in a manmade oval bumper-to-bumper at insane speeds, rally drivers tear through some picturesque landscapes against the clock through all sorts of weather conditions.  Rally drivers are the postmen of the auto world; they race through rain, sleet, and snow in addition to mud, dirt, and gravel.  The 4WD Rally cars are a delicate combination of toughness, practicality, and muscle.  Rally drivers rely on ‘feeling’ their car, as various surfaces are going to effect their automobile in different ways.  Codemasters really captured this feeling in their latest release, Colin McRae Rally 3.

The Colin McRae Rally series has long been the standard since its inception in 1998.  The latest version, Colin McRae Rally 3, is the first of the series for the Xbox, and although it has its share of shortcomings, it is still one of the better racers available for any platform.

Colin McRae Rally 3 has sharpened up much of the driving of Colin McRae Rally 2 while simultaneously stripping down the game to two simple game modes.  Simulation driving games should first and foremost be about driving.  The controls and physics of the car essentially make or break a racing game, and Colin McRae Rally 3’s excellent job of simulating the handling and feel of a rally race will bring cheers from hardcore racing fans everywhere.  On the other hand, when putting together a great racing game, some creative extra game modes or bonus features make a game replayable and offer distractions from lengthy career modes.  With only two game modes to play, Colin McRae Rally 3 offers the bare minimum of options, much to the dismay of casual racing fans everywhere.  As you can see from those two points, the pure sim feel of Colin McRae Rally 3 is a plus for some, and a negative for others.

The main play mode of CMR3 is the Championship Mode.  In Championship mode, racers compete as Colin McRae and drive a Ford Focus RS WRC.  That’s right, in Championship mode you don’t get to pick your driver or your car.  Ouch.  Each stage is divided into seven smaller stages, three stages on day one and four stages on day two, the final stage being a head-to-head race against another computer-controlled competitor. 

One of the great features of CMR3 is the realism throughout the Championship mode.  The time of day changes throughout the competition, meaning shadows and light greatly come into play.  Driving through a forest at 100 mph on a path 8 feet wide at dusk often entails wrapping the car’s bumper around a few tree trunks, and that bumper can’t be fixed until the next day.  Cars retain damage throughout stages, and only get a little tune-up between days, so if you lose your hood on stage one, expect to drive without it for the rest of the day.  I once even finished a race with three wheels. 

Advancing through stages unlocks certain car parts that can be exchanged between days or stages.  The parts and customizations in CMR3 aren’t nearly as detailed as Gran Turismo 3, but are more extensive than your average racer.  There’s little to tinker with, unless you are a grease monkey, since the crew chooses the best set-up for each race, but some specifications, such as steering sensitivity, can be adjusted for personal feel rather than performance on the road.  Finishing atop the leader board may also unlock more rally cars that can be used in the Stages mode of the game. 
 

As drivers tour through different countries, the exceptional feel of the handling of each car becomes very apparent.  Not only are cars driving through dirt, they’re driving through different kinds of dirt, each with their own feel.  The light dirt of the US countryside feels much different from the gravel of the Australian outback.  The Swedish snow makes cars slide across the track like an air hockey puck at Chuck E. Cheese’s, and the muddy trails of the UK are more slippery than a Congressman with a closet full of skeletons.  There’s nothing like the relationship between a man and his car, and the slingshot action of transitioning from dirt to asphalt on some tracks really gives racers a connection with their tires that most racing games don’t offer. 

In rally racing, there aren’t any courses made specifically for the races.  The race is held on countryside with little more than tire tracks and flimsy plastic borders to guide the way.  There are no repeat laps to learn from and no maps to guide the way, so success in CMR3 relies more on quick reactions and an innate driving feel rather than memorizing tracks and knowing when that fender-bending hairpin turn is coming.  Thankfully the rules of rally racing allow for a navigator to ride in the passenger seat and shout out upcoming turns seconds before the car meets them.  Nicky Grist, Colin McRae’s co-pilot, will bark out clues such as “30, long six right into three left” which, if you can decipher the British accent, translates to a thirty yard straightaway into a lengthy gradual right hand turn followed by a fairly sharp right hand turn (turns are graded on a 1-6 scale).  Rally racing is very rhythmic, and Grist’s advice, which is a bit irritating at first, becomes vital when a blind turn is right behind a hill. 

Colin McRae Rally 3 is a beautiful game.  It sizzles along at 60 fps with no noticeable glitches.  The environments look fantastic and the architecture of the buildings in each country is very authentic.  While many claim the graphics of the popular Rallisport Challenge surpass CMR3, I personally saw nothing that tarnished the beauty of CMR3.  The only complaint I have is that the cars don’t get dirty enough; it is rally racing after all. 

CMR3 doesn’t feature any soundtrack while racing, but does have some incredible sound effects.  The revs of the engine, the crash of car hitting tree, and the various braking and shifting sounds add to the unparalleled realism of rally racing.  When not racing, CMR3 offers pulsating electronic beats of the British house and break beats variety. 

Colin McRae Rally 3 is a must have for die-hard rally enthusiasts who enjoy the feel of a real driving simulation.  Its lack of extra features will alienate casual racing fans, but the game is designed for gamers who appreciate the true racing feel that CMR3 brings to the Xbox.

Colin McRae Rally 3 supports peripheral driving wheels and is rated E for Everyone.

Gameplay: 8.5

One of the best rally games out there, Colin McRae does a crack job of throwing gamers into the driver’s seat.  The feel of the car on the road, the sound effects, and the controller vibration make CMR3 one of the best feeling racing games available.

Graphics: 9.2

Aside from the graphics on the cutscenes, CMR3 looks fantastic.  Looking from the driver’s seat view during rain is a landmark graphical achievement. 

Sound: 9

The driving sound effects add the final touch of realism to CMR3.  There’s no soundtrack to mar the hum of the engine or your co-pilot’s voice, which may leave some bored, but CMR3 continues to offer the most realistic rally game available.  You think Colin McRae pops in his DMX cassette at the starting line? 

Difficulty: Medium

Driving fans will love the feel of the car, but each surface takes a while to get used to, so expect a few dingers in the bumpers.

Concept: 7

CMR3 is more of the same from the Colin McRae series, with less gameplay modes.  It’s almost as if the developers backtracked and focused on the driving at the cost of extra game modes.

Multiplayer: 7

CMR3 wasn’t really meant for head-to-head competition, but there is a split-screen mode in which both competitors race simultaneously for the best time.

Overall: 8.8

If you know your Subaru Imprezas from your Mitsubishi Lancers, Colin McRae Rally 3 is for you.  Racing fans looking to pick up an arcade style racer should head over to another title.  CMR3 is all about realism and shaving tenths of a second off of personal bests.