The underdog of today's rally games.
First of all, yes there is not a lot of cars in this game, but that is due to the always decreasing list of car manufacturers in WRC. We cannot blame the game for being true to the series. There are about 8 different categories, starting with the Suzuki Swift S1600 up to the Subaru Impreza or Lancia Delta Integrale HF '91. Each category contains about 4 cars, which is enough for me considering that you will do several races with each of them, giving you the time to appreciate or hate them.
Same thing for the tracks, they are all there: France, Germany, Great Britain, Portugal, name it. There are also few tournaments consisting of 3 or 4 rounds battles, 1 on 1. This was the worst race for me, since all you do is racing 4 times in a row the same circuit, against a car that you will not really see since the other racer starts on a different part of the circuit. This is just long. However, the real circuits vary from snow to asphalt, passing by dirt and gravel. They can be bumpy, wet, large or shallow. I really enjoyed each of them.
You have to build your own team, hiring mechanics and public relations representatives. The more you have, the more parts you will be able to upgrade ath the same time or the more you will be able to have sponsors. This adds a nice managing aspect to the game.
There is a tutorial for the beginners that shows you the basics of rally. It is really nicely done. If you are familiar with rally, do not spend time on it, just skip to the Road to WRCC Championship as they name it.
I had several crashes to desktop when upgrading a particular car when I was in the menu. So much that at some point, I could not change my sponsors at all when I used that car. At least, the game was saved since I was in the menu. Also, it happened few times that in the menu, I only saw the car skeleton until I entered a race, completed it and then came back in the menu.
Graphics look dated, as it is the case for almost all of MileStone games. The in-car view is also not the most detailed, compared to Forza or Gran Turismo. However, it is still so pleasant to race using that view.
For the more enthusiasts, you can tweak a lot of settings on your car, although you are not forced to. You can or not use flashback, which will allow you to rewind if you made a major mistake. The difficulty level can be adjusted at anytime between the rallies, allowing you to set brake assist, traction control assist and few other options. So, it gives the chance to the beginners as well as the more experienced drivers to play this game, as long as they keep in mind that this is not an arcade game, this is a rally simulator. Do not expect anything close to Dirt 3.
I played the whole game with an XBOX controller, but I guess that it is more fun and realistic to play with a steering wheel. The controls are correct since you can map them the way you want.
A lot of improvements were made over the first game, and for sure there are a lot that still need to be done, but I really look forward WRC 3. If you are like me and were disappointed by Dirt 3, run to your local game store and buy this game.