Most realistic driving game I have ever played (Richard Burns Rally (PS2))

Member Name: DarkestGrey

Product:	Richard Burns Rally (PS2)
Date:	15/11/08 (247 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Realism

Disadvantages: Frustration, getting to grips with the controls, slow loading times, poor menu design

Richard Burns Rally is an all-time classic of a rally game. Available for the PS2 other formats, this is based on the PS2 version.

Weh you first load the game, you need to attend a rally school before you can begin to unlock the full rally events. Don't be fooled however, as unlike most games, this school is difficult to master.

I do find the loading times of the game to be horrendiously long. Fifteen seconds to load in a menu screen with 5 options is simply too slow in my opinion. This can make getting through the school more time consuming than it should otherwise be.

Once through the school various parts of the game begin to unlock.

My favourite is the full rally season, although you can select to race against Richard himself on certain stages.

The options for setting up your car are all listed in the manual. Forunately, experts already have set the car up for you. A good job as there is over 100 settings just for the differentials, so you need to have an idea what you are doing if you want to make adjustments.

Once driving, this game is exceptionally realistic, so realistic that people call it 'poor' or 'band handling'. One friend honestly believed that the controller was broken because he couldn't get it to go around a corner.

Most car games allow you to move the controller (or steering wheel) fully to the left and the car will turn. This is because most other games have limits as to how far you can turn the steering wheel - the faster you go, the less steering input you can put in.

Richard Burns rally doesn't do this. If you are doing 60mph on gravel and go straight into full lock, the car will understeer and you will go straight on.

Further, the differentials are set up so the harder you press the brake or accelerator, the more the driving wheels lock together through the cars differentials. Applying full brake or full acceleration means the car wants to drive straight on.

The game is more about the dance on the controls rather than the brute force you simply apply in other games. This makes it a very difficult game to master. Tiny mistakes mean big accidents. Very realistic.

You can turn accident damage off, if you want to try out a full championship.

There are various levels you can choose from, beginner through to expert. None of these affect the car handling, they simply affect the times that the other cars set.

Tracks come from a number of countries although most are set on types of gravel, the UK, France (Tarmac), Finland (snow), the USA, Japan and Australia.

It is very rare you can drive flat out. Some stages are very, very narrow. To the point you can't really slide the car around some corners as there isn't the room. This makes it a very precise game.

I have been waiting for another game to be released that is as realistic as this one, but I am left waiting still. One friend told me that Grand Turismo 4 was the most realistic game out, but even that felt like an arcade game compared to the realism from Richard Burns Rally.

Thoroughly recommend if you want a realistic driving game. You will need precision and will need patience. And you will need about £3 or £4 to pick this up from eBay.

One negative about the game. As Richard Burns life was tragically cut short due to illness, there will sadly be no follow up to the game.

Richard Burns: World Rally Champion 2001

Summary: Amazing game and highly recommended.