COLIN MCRAE RALLY 3 WRC MOD SERIES
COLIN MCRAE RALLY 3 WRC MOD TV

The king is dying, long live the king.ДЄs we all know from watching TV and reading the daily papers, the nation is gripped at the moment by a strange new phenomenon, dubbed by one high-profile social critic as 'rally-mania'. This is backed up by the working relationship Codemasters has with the Ford team, which includes an access-all-areas tag that got the developers anywhere they wanted 3 during the 2001 rally season, and info and data from the technicians to ensure that the in-game physics are as accurate as possible.ДЄll of which points to the fact that j once this is released in the latter half of next year, thereвЂ™ll be a new benchmark for the rally game on the PC. Impressive stuff, and the Codey boys are at pains to point out that although the improvements arenвЂ™t going to be purely graphical, the new level of detail, which includes the driver/co-driver (who even grabs hold of the roll cage to steady himself in a collision) as well as opening andДetachable panels, doors, tailgates, bonnets, bumpers and wheels, makes the experience all the more immersive. The polygon count for the Focus model is up to a staggering 13,000, as compared to about 800 for the previous game.' 'Graphically, the in-game models will be over 16 times more detailed than those in Colin McRae Rally 2.0.

Rick Nath, associate-producer was quick to cut us off when we tried to pooh-pooh the idea. However, a quick call to Codemasters reaffirmed the fact -what youвЂ™re looking at here is actual in-game models of the new Ford Focus RS WRC. For that reason we were - to say the least - a touch sceptical when what were obviously a bunch of touched-up photographs landed on our desk claiming to be ingame models from forthcoming drive Colin McRae 3. WeвЂ™re left with little choice but to declare Colin McRae Rally 3 the best driving game of E3.ДЇor the past couple of years weвЂ™ve had to sift through buckets of mocked-up screenshots that purport to show in-game action when we know for a fact that youвЂ™ll never see the same detail when you pay your $34.99 and play the game proper. Of course the Colin McRae games have always been known for their excellent driving model: this time the game recreates every other aspect of a real rally season as well. WeвЂ™ll never lose sight of the fact that people want gripping entertainment from this game.' Which is good to hear. Part of the success of the previous games has been the balance between realism (in-car handling for example) and the fictional element (such as the stage design) which makes it a very rounded, wholly playable game. 'The physics are much more detailed and complex than before. We asked Guy if this was a conscious decision.

Despite this, CMR3 seemed to retain all of the entertainment elements of its predecessors. Probably the most notable technical enhancement is evident in the gameвЂ™s physics, which are feeling even more realistic than before, and it was a constant battle to keep the car under control on the slippery and loose surfaces. A few quick (if cack-handed) laps round one of the eight stunningly replicated real-life courses confirmed theyвЂ™re well on the way to achieving this. What we want to capture in CMR3 is that event experience,' claimed Guy proudly. However, the main point about CMR3 is that we've been working with Colin and the Ford team for many years, and go out on the rallies with them, so we get to appreciate the excitement of the whole event. weвЂ™re taking the graphics and physics to a level weвЂ™ve always wanted. 'With CMR2 we enhanced the original game, which had set the agenda and defined rally sport games. apart from the graphics (there are 14,000 polygons in each car as opposed to 800 in CMR2) which are looking little short of stunning. So we promptly accosted studio head and producer of the game, Guy Wilday, and bombarded him with questions to find out more.ДЇirst off we wanted to know exactly whatвЂ™s changed since CMR2.

COLIN MCRAE RALLY 3 WRC MOD SERIES

While we were gliding round the Codemasters stand (we were still fresh and keen at this point), we were taken aback by just how much this third instalment in the series stood out from the all the other racers at the show. ItвЂ™s not often a racing game really catches our attention, but the Colin McRae games have always proved exceptions to that rule.

Colin mcrae rally 3 wrc mod