Xboxer360: WRC2: FIA World Rally Championship Review

Xboxer360's Thomas Mulrooney writes: I haven’t actually properly played a rally game since V Rally, way back in the old ages of the Playstation. It’s not that I’ve actively avoided playing rally games, it’s just not a genre I’ve ever had that much interest in so I’ve never bothered to pick one up since. V Rally used to annoy the hell out of me anyway, which may be part of the reason why I never bothered trying again, but my biggest disinterest is the fact that time trials have always been a bit of a pet hate of mine and I’d rather race against other drivers who are actually on the track at the same time as me. That’s the enjoyment I get out of racing games, fighting that car in front of you for first place and barely squeezing past them on the final straight to clinch that all important victory. I just don’t get the same feeling when I’m only staring at a timer to see if I can stay ahead of an opponent’s time. It can be exciting against real people, but when you’re just playing against the AI it quickly becomes tiresome and, unfortunately, WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship was no exception to that opinion. Even V Rally had staggered starts like real rally, and you could catch up to the drivers in front of you and have to carefully pick your way around them. There are absolutely no other cars on the track with you in WRC 2, so it feels like you’re racing against a bunch of stats and names that mean nothing to the non-rally fan. Obviously I can’t say a game is crap because I’m not a massive fan of its core activity, but there’s a lot more to this game that hammers in the repetitive nail.