Seems we have the first true SIM on a console.
The game (Xbox version) arrived from Simply Games this morning - four days before the street date.
I've spent 30 minutes with the game so far. So here are my first impressions.
No widescreen - bit of a bummer that.
Graphics are rather good. Though they a so understated and realistic compared to the likes of Rallisport that some people will be disappointed. Car models aren't amazing - but look fine in replays. It's all rather smooth.
Handling. Well unless you liked Grand Prix Legends, I wouldn't bother. This game is the complete opposite to those games where you could keep your right trigger mashed. Here you'll hardly ever give it full throttle. I've just played a USA stage where I could use full throttle on a long straight. I got up to top speed then actually backed off because it was too scary.
My first stage was a disaster, crashing at almost every corner. Then I backed off and realised I couldn't play it like Rallisport. Slowed down quite a bit, used the camber of the corners and is started coming together. It's definitely very simmy - with no margin for error and no full throttle showboating.
The physics are excellent. If you drive the game at normal road speeds it feels like a car you would be used to. Then start going rally speeds and you realise you've not played anything this realistic and it's going to be something of a challenge. Watch the car in a replay and you see weight and poise that has been missing from games like this in the past. The movement really does look like a real car.
The options are very thorough. For example you can choose to switch on Nuetral and Gear protection, which stop you dropping down gears too far at high speed. There's a whole menu to control pace-notes - where you can choose how far ahead they are read, how many corners in the stack, distance call outs etc. The car setup menu is very thorough - you can alter all the differential maps, for example.
The rally school is good in that it teaches you to slow down and play steady. Something I haven't done in rally games since Rally Championship. This game is the spiritual successor to that game. So if you liked that, GPL or Master Rallye - then it's worth giving RBR a go. But if you're not into sims then I'd give it a miss - because it really is tough.
And no, there's no pivot.
----------------------------------------
Played the first group of rally schools lessons and then felt more comfortable. The slowish corners do seem very slow, but you're doing 50 kmh which is still pretty fast in real terms. And it's real terms we have to think of when playing this game. I've played loads of Rallisport recently and I'm used to mashing the throttle and not touching the brake very much.
But I'm getting to grips with RBR now and am really liking it. I've decided to play the championship with AI and damage set to the easiest settings, so I can get through all the stages to unlock them. The first event is Great Britain and is bastard hard - but don't let it put you off. It rained most of the time for me and was so difficult. But Japan came next and was a much more pleasent experience.
After that came the snow of Finland. Lots of long open stages here where you can really open the throttle. But just like Rally Championship, you are nervous of doing so as when you do go for it - the game is terrifying. One false move, wheel in a rut, puddle etc. when hit at 150 kmh can result in a spin or much worse. The game is tense, very tense.
Stages tend to be between 6-8km, with some going past 10 km. If that doesn't sound like a lot, then remember you are going much slower than the more arcade based games and the first Japanese stage in the rain took me over nine minutes. That's nine minutes of headache inducing concentration.
Next came a real treat. The US rally on wide, fast, open dirt roads. With a bit more confidence you can open the taps and really go for it. I got up to some mad speeds here and was scared for most of the time. I'm halfway through this event so I will have to report later on the French Tarmac rally and the gravel stages of Australia.
So you can see I'm having a blast. But it's only fair I should mention some faults.
1, Loading times aren't excessive, but it's a pain it loads between menus. Clearly a legacy from PS2 code.
2, On one Finish stage my car dropped through a hole in the space time continuom and fell rolling through a black infinity. Had to reset the machine as retiring would have dumped me out of the rally Didn't happen again for the rest of the day.
3, Kinda related to the above - mid rally you can't quit to the menu, you can only retire. Sometimes we need to leave the Xbox and do some real life stuff. Wish they'd taken that into consideration.
4, Graphics are smooth and look pretty nice. But close up the textures aren't very good.
So overall am having a lot of fun. It's kinda like the GPL of Rally Games. And I'm even happier now I've unlocked the Peugot 206. Remember this is the first game in what will likely become a franchise and it's a pretty good start. It could do with some graphical polish, but the handling and physics are great.
_________________
-----------
Harry
Managed to get a couple of hours behind the wheel again today and worked my way through the rally school. This is an absolute must before evening thinking about tackling the main career mode. Where once I was skidding off into ditches and wrapping the car around trees I'm now (semi) gracefully sliding it through s-bends and flicking the backend out around hairpins. Granted I'm still no master, but I'm slowly re-educating my brain into the ways of proper rally driving.
The rally school gently introduces you to all the techniques Mr Burns uses to get through those winding stages. Even the most basic lessons are a challenge at first, just for the fact your brain has been conditioned from playing so many arcade, and so-called realistic, rally games. After a few lessons it all starts to fall into place. Towards the latter end of the rally school you Richard talks you through the scandinavian flick, which up until now, I've never fully appreciated. The pros just make it look so natural, and I've ended up taking it for granted over the years, but it's not until I pulled it off myself (albeit virtually) I realised how damn scary it is. Flying into the approach of a 90 degree corner at 70mph pointing the wrong way is just plain mental. It goes against common sense, and definitely takes some getting used to.
Now that I've graduated from the rally school I'm able to fully appreciate the handling dynamics of this game. The way the car sinks into the camber of the road through the quick s-bends is absolutely spot on. Looking forward to tackling that career mode now I know how to keep the car on the road
-----------------------------------------------------
've not played through the advanced section of the rally school yet, just the basic section. But I agree with with MW on the value of these lessons. Using the camber on corners is so important in this game. There are corners that seem too tight to take at anything over 50kph, but if you dig the front wheel into the ditch or camber you can ensure the car is pulled round the bend, It really does start to click into place. So where at first the game may seem an annoying stop-start affair, after a while you find youself flying through stages - albeit still terrified (which is a good thing).
I've played through the whole rally championship with AI on the easiest setting and damage on none. The car still takes a beating, but it doesn't affect handling on this setting. I did this so I could unlock all the stages to play in single event mode.
SCI haven't done themselves a great favour in the championship's structure. The first event is Great Britain, and most of the time it will rain. This makes the game look grey and unnactractive, and the handling very diffucult. However get through this rally and things aren't as tough. (Well they weren't until I got to france and it rained all the time on the tarmac rally - but it will be different for everyone every time you play). The UK stages look great in sunshine - there's one through farmland and villages that looks sweet in sunshine - in the rain it looks very drab.
The US stages were amazingly quick. Some real long straights with terrifying speeds. One mistake and you're on a roll. A long car breaking roll. At 200kmh there is no margin for error. So while it does start to come together, and you will flow from corner to corner more, more in fact than seems possible when you start the game - it's still a game where one mistake can mean disaster. So you are always on edge.
There's a stage in Australia called Mineshaft that has the most amazing jump 1km from the end. In the championship I was playing I did the jump and carried on - but at the time I knew it would be a carbreaker. At the end of the rally, once the stages were unlocked, I raced the stage with realistic damage on and went into the jump with the taps wide open. The road drops away and leaves you with a very long fall. That car landed on all four wheels, but the whole suspension and engine were wrecked, and that was the end of the stage. It's so easy to kill the car on Realistic setting - or damage it so badly that you will crawl to the finish. But this is the first rally game I've played where the AI is genuinly dynamic, they are driving too - though you don't see them. Some won't finish and will retire, others will have really bad stages. In the service area there is a text news feed that shows the problems other drivers have had - such as taking wrong turns (I've done that a lot) and car damage. How many rally games have we seen where the same guy will come second every time you win, so that you have to win everything to win the championship. But in the real world drivers will crash out of rallies and still win the championship.
It's not the prettiest game you'll play, not by a long way. And the features and presentation isn't great. But the Dolby Digital sound is good. And there is a lot of depth in there. There's a real sense of accopmlishment in getting a fast time, or even hooking up a couple of corners well. The satisfaction from nicely handbraking around a hairpin, or taking a tight bend sideways. The more I play, the more I'm warming to it.
I hope they get to make a sequel. Because with some more polish this could be a really great franchise. For a first effort, it's bags of fun. Headache inducing fun, but fun none the less.
http://www.granturismox.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2699
The game (Xbox version) arrived from Simply Games this morning - four days before the street date.
I've spent 30 minutes with the game so far. So here are my first impressions.
No widescreen - bit of a bummer that.
Graphics are rather good. Though they a so understated and realistic compared to the likes of Rallisport that some people will be disappointed. Car models aren't amazing - but look fine in replays. It's all rather smooth.
Handling. Well unless you liked Grand Prix Legends, I wouldn't bother. This game is the complete opposite to those games where you could keep your right trigger mashed. Here you'll hardly ever give it full throttle. I've just played a USA stage where I could use full throttle on a long straight. I got up to top speed then actually backed off because it was too scary.
My first stage was a disaster, crashing at almost every corner. Then I backed off and realised I couldn't play it like Rallisport. Slowed down quite a bit, used the camber of the corners and is started coming together. It's definitely very simmy - with no margin for error and no full throttle showboating.
The physics are excellent. If you drive the game at normal road speeds it feels like a car you would be used to. Then start going rally speeds and you realise you've not played anything this realistic and it's going to be something of a challenge. Watch the car in a replay and you see weight and poise that has been missing from games like this in the past. The movement really does look like a real car.
The options are very thorough. For example you can choose to switch on Nuetral and Gear protection, which stop you dropping down gears too far at high speed. There's a whole menu to control pace-notes - where you can choose how far ahead they are read, how many corners in the stack, distance call outs etc. The car setup menu is very thorough - you can alter all the differential maps, for example.
The rally school is good in that it teaches you to slow down and play steady. Something I haven't done in rally games since Rally Championship. This game is the spiritual successor to that game. So if you liked that, GPL or Master Rallye - then it's worth giving RBR a go. But if you're not into sims then I'd give it a miss - because it really is tough.
And no, there's no pivot.
----------------------------------------
Played the first group of rally schools lessons and then felt more comfortable. The slowish corners do seem very slow, but you're doing 50 kmh which is still pretty fast in real terms. And it's real terms we have to think of when playing this game. I've played loads of Rallisport recently and I'm used to mashing the throttle and not touching the brake very much.
But I'm getting to grips with RBR now and am really liking it. I've decided to play the championship with AI and damage set to the easiest settings, so I can get through all the stages to unlock them. The first event is Great Britain and is bastard hard - but don't let it put you off. It rained most of the time for me and was so difficult. But Japan came next and was a much more pleasent experience.
After that came the snow of Finland. Lots of long open stages here where you can really open the throttle. But just like Rally Championship, you are nervous of doing so as when you do go for it - the game is terrifying. One false move, wheel in a rut, puddle etc. when hit at 150 kmh can result in a spin or much worse. The game is tense, very tense.
Stages tend to be between 6-8km, with some going past 10 km. If that doesn't sound like a lot, then remember you are going much slower than the more arcade based games and the first Japanese stage in the rain took me over nine minutes. That's nine minutes of headache inducing concentration.
Next came a real treat. The US rally on wide, fast, open dirt roads. With a bit more confidence you can open the taps and really go for it. I got up to some mad speeds here and was scared for most of the time. I'm halfway through this event so I will have to report later on the French Tarmac rally and the gravel stages of Australia.
So you can see I'm having a blast. But it's only fair I should mention some faults.
1, Loading times aren't excessive, but it's a pain it loads between menus. Clearly a legacy from PS2 code.
2, On one Finish stage my car dropped through a hole in the space time continuom and fell rolling through a black infinity. Had to reset the machine as retiring would have dumped me out of the rally Didn't happen again for the rest of the day.
3, Kinda related to the above - mid rally you can't quit to the menu, you can only retire. Sometimes we need to leave the Xbox and do some real life stuff. Wish they'd taken that into consideration.
4, Graphics are smooth and look pretty nice. But close up the textures aren't very good.
So overall am having a lot of fun. It's kinda like the GPL of Rally Games. And I'm even happier now I've unlocked the Peugot 206. Remember this is the first game in what will likely become a franchise and it's a pretty good start. It could do with some graphical polish, but the handling and physics are great.
_________________
-----------
Harry
Managed to get a couple of hours behind the wheel again today and worked my way through the rally school. This is an absolute must before evening thinking about tackling the main career mode. Where once I was skidding off into ditches and wrapping the car around trees I'm now (semi) gracefully sliding it through s-bends and flicking the backend out around hairpins. Granted I'm still no master, but I'm slowly re-educating my brain into the ways of proper rally driving.
The rally school gently introduces you to all the techniques Mr Burns uses to get through those winding stages. Even the most basic lessons are a challenge at first, just for the fact your brain has been conditioned from playing so many arcade, and so-called realistic, rally games. After a few lessons it all starts to fall into place. Towards the latter end of the rally school you Richard talks you through the scandinavian flick, which up until now, I've never fully appreciated. The pros just make it look so natural, and I've ended up taking it for granted over the years, but it's not until I pulled it off myself (albeit virtually) I realised how damn scary it is. Flying into the approach of a 90 degree corner at 70mph pointing the wrong way is just plain mental. It goes against common sense, and definitely takes some getting used to.
Now that I've graduated from the rally school I'm able to fully appreciate the handling dynamics of this game. The way the car sinks into the camber of the road through the quick s-bends is absolutely spot on. Looking forward to tackling that career mode now I know how to keep the car on the road
-----------------------------------------------------
've not played through the advanced section of the rally school yet, just the basic section. But I agree with with MW on the value of these lessons. Using the camber on corners is so important in this game. There are corners that seem too tight to take at anything over 50kph, but if you dig the front wheel into the ditch or camber you can ensure the car is pulled round the bend, It really does start to click into place. So where at first the game may seem an annoying stop-start affair, after a while you find youself flying through stages - albeit still terrified (which is a good thing).
I've played through the whole rally championship with AI on the easiest setting and damage on none. The car still takes a beating, but it doesn't affect handling on this setting. I did this so I could unlock all the stages to play in single event mode.
SCI haven't done themselves a great favour in the championship's structure. The first event is Great Britain, and most of the time it will rain. This makes the game look grey and unnactractive, and the handling very diffucult. However get through this rally and things aren't as tough. (Well they weren't until I got to france and it rained all the time on the tarmac rally - but it will be different for everyone every time you play). The UK stages look great in sunshine - there's one through farmland and villages that looks sweet in sunshine - in the rain it looks very drab.
The US stages were amazingly quick. Some real long straights with terrifying speeds. One mistake and you're on a roll. A long car breaking roll. At 200kmh there is no margin for error. So while it does start to come together, and you will flow from corner to corner more, more in fact than seems possible when you start the game - it's still a game where one mistake can mean disaster. So you are always on edge.
There's a stage in Australia called Mineshaft that has the most amazing jump 1km from the end. In the championship I was playing I did the jump and carried on - but at the time I knew it would be a carbreaker. At the end of the rally, once the stages were unlocked, I raced the stage with realistic damage on and went into the jump with the taps wide open. The road drops away and leaves you with a very long fall. That car landed on all four wheels, but the whole suspension and engine were wrecked, and that was the end of the stage. It's so easy to kill the car on Realistic setting - or damage it so badly that you will crawl to the finish. But this is the first rally game I've played where the AI is genuinly dynamic, they are driving too - though you don't see them. Some won't finish and will retire, others will have really bad stages. In the service area there is a text news feed that shows the problems other drivers have had - such as taking wrong turns (I've done that a lot) and car damage. How many rally games have we seen where the same guy will come second every time you win, so that you have to win everything to win the championship. But in the real world drivers will crash out of rallies and still win the championship.
It's not the prettiest game you'll play, not by a long way. And the features and presentation isn't great. But the Dolby Digital sound is good. And there is a lot of depth in there. There's a real sense of accopmlishment in getting a fast time, or even hooking up a couple of corners well. The satisfaction from nicely handbraking around a hairpin, or taking a tight bend sideways. The more I play, the more I'm warming to it.
I hope they get to make a sequel. Because with some more polish this could be a really great franchise. For a first effort, it's bags of fun. Headache inducing fun, but fun none the less.
http://www.granturismox.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2699
