Subterranean Beefworks

More stuff

Judging from the quiver and tingle within the middle joint of my right middle finger, it is a safe assumption that the new Colin McRae Rally game has come out. You could also confidently postulate that I have managed to aquire the game, install it, and devote already about 20 hours to playing it.

You don't need to assume. This is exactly what happened.

I didn't think so at first, but this is a really solid game. Naturally, every pixel and behavior will be placed beside the masterpiece of CMR3 and scrutinized beyond any reasonable degree; CMR3 is my favorite game ever. The good news, however, is that given all the changes, tweaks, and differences, CMR4 holds its own very well against its impeccable predecessor, that is, if you compare the two games as though they aren't sequels.

What CMR3 lacked in its physics engine (eg. if you drove straight into a tree, you could "drive" yourself off of it) CMR4 makes up for (eg. now you have to reverse off the tree, then proceed). I didn't think anything could approach the pleasure obtained from a really serious accident in CMR3, but through some new, painfully realistic sounds, IV takes accidents to the next level. It doesn't end there either. Perhaps it was because they took "Rallying" so seriously in III, but they really didn't emphasize the glory of destroying your car. In IV, however, you now have an after-race "damage view" which pans around the shredded, smoking remains of your vessel. Furthermore, the bone-splitting-violent-slamming-around-jarring factor of big accidents has been given a primally thrilling enhancement. My jaw dropped and my eyes bulged when I took a really bad, really inadvertant spill. I expected human limbs to start flying out of the window as the car tumbled itself beyond cruelty.

CMR4 is definately more complicated. Just in terms of adjustments, repairs, and overall involvement in the racing process, IV really pulls it off. Coming from my insatiable addiction to III, all of this is really something incredible to me. And fuck! Now you can race any car you want in the championship, instead of being limited to the jury-rigged POS Focus. You bet your ass I have won every Rally so far with my trusty WRX.

Which brings me to the next point: The rivalry.

Search around for my last extended post about CMR3 and you'll remember the ongoing rivalry between Mitsubishi and Subaru. Well, it seems that there is a new challenger, one the Rallye world would never have expected, Citröen. They have a 4WD offering this time around, busting out something like 310BHP or something crazy like that. The Mitsubishi handles like a flaccid dong in comparison. Exciting times for racing, no doubt.

Overall, I wouldn't say CMR4 is my new favorite game. My first impression was that the cars handled a bit more sluggishly than in III, making for a bit less excitement. That opinion is slowly changing as I get accustomed to *Semi-Automatic* transmission which allows the computer to shift when I don't need to, and me to shift when I do. But for now, III still holds the throne. The cool thing is, I keep discovering more about this game which makes it ever more incredible. Everything that lacked in III is accounted for in IV, from better engine sounds to more balls-out straightaways. It's there. You really feel like you're going to shit yourself when you're pulling 130 in 6th gear, landing a jump that would surely sterilize any mortal, only for your co-pilot to inform you of the 2nd gear turn coming up in 50 meters.

It lives up to my expectations.

Posted by Alchemae at April 4, 2004 04:03 PM