After patiently waiting through various half-baked, almost-but-
not-quite rally sims, I've finally found the one. Let me first
state my overwhelming rally bias.
I would be quite happy if the PC version is the same as the
PSX version. If it improves on it, which it is bound to do
with 3dfx and better control devices, then I will be over the
moon.
Of course no sim is ever "perfect",but this one has excellent
handling, nice graphics, good sound, and captures the feel of
driving a rally extremely well (I dabbled in rally in a RWD
Corolla in the late '80s, early '90s). The damage modelling
needs to be beefed up for the more sim-oriented PC crowd, though.
The one thing that really sold me on this rally sim is the
unexplainable feeling you get when you link three corners
together perfectly. Unlike other sims, it's not "powerslide
through every corner", which is nice, and much more
realistic.
As a sensory experience, it's fabulous. Previous sims have sometimes
given me a good sweaty-hand feeling, but these moments are
few and far between (e.g. Eau Rouge once per lap in an F1 sim,
or turns 3-4 at Watkins Glen in an Indycar). Drive a stage of
Corsica in a Subaru Impreza WRC, using the headcam view, and
see if you don't swallow your heart about every 5 seconds.
I can't wait to unlock the Sport Quattro hidden car.
Stephen
