World Rally Championship 3

In short, WRC3 is staggeringly good, in fact "good" doesn't even begin to describe how wonderful this is. The handling is up there with GT3 and makes a mockery of Colin McRae 4. The graphics are simply beautiful despite occasional glitches and the stages are massively varied and utterly exhausting to drive. Everything about it is leagues above everything else out there.

Ignore the review stating WRC2 is better. It isn't. It isn't even in the same ballpark. The only flaw in the handling occurs if you use an external view when the steering is too sensitive, but using this view is to miss out on the most absorbing and visceral rally physics model you'll have experienced. Use the bonnet or drivers view and the handling is phenomenally realistic, yet not so much as to be unplayable. In short, this is to rallying that GT3 is to circuit racing...yes, that good!

If you're a rally fan, or a games fan, or both, you have to own this game.

God only knows how they'll improve on this, but I suspect they will...roll on the PS3.

Graphics: CM4: gorgeous, a definate improvement to CM3. Realistic backdrops, highly-detailed cars, impressive particles (like dust, mud, sparks) WRC3: not quite as good. not even as good as WRC2 for some reason! doesn't seem quite as realistic.

Detail: CM4: loads. trees, bushes, ruts in the track, fences, realistic buildings, basically there's stuff on-screen that you'll never even get to see. WRC3: compared to CM4 - bland. the odd tree here and there, the flat road, the detail-less mountains in the background which seem to be one polygon with a muddy texture. A step back from WRC2!

Sound: CM4: the engines sound gruff, realistic and different between cars. bangs, bumps and rattles are also very good. WRC3: the engines sound a bit too smooth and rev too freely, and sound too similar between cars.

Co-driver: CM4: no disrespect to the veteran Nicky Grist, but I think I've heard just a bit too much of his voice. Thankfully there is a new (Scottish) voice. The calls are good, with corner sharpness, distance, and other pointers like "turn right at tree". WRC3: a bland voice of a guy who doesn't really sound like he wants to be there. too quiet even with volume turned up. sometimes you miss something he says. doesn't tell you distance to next obstacle (as CM4 does).

Handling: CM4: an improvement to CM3. not as arcadey but still not too realistic. quite fun and easy to pick up. not frustrating at all. car feels like it's planted on the road. vibration through gamepad really takes you in. WRC3: an improvement to WRC2 which was far too realistic, WRC3 takes a step towards fun so that CM4 and WRC3 meet somewhere in the middle. having said that the car doesn't 'feel' like it's in the game at all. it's like you're navigating the course and theres a picture of a car stuck in the middle of the screen and there's no correlation between the two. too smooth, and sometimes you can't brake hard enough. frustrating at times.

Variety: CM4: 7 base cars, with ability to unlock 'dangerous' Group B cars, plus fun cars like a transit van. mini-games take the form of parts testing where you are supposed to wreck part of your car (like suspension or tyres) to get an upgrade. 8 countries (all very different) and 48 tracks. WRC3: 7 base cars, with ability to unlock extreme versions with double the horsepower, plus the odd hidden car like Mits. Pajero. 14 countries (although some look the same in ways) and 125 tracks.

Verdict: Buy Colin McRae 4 in preference to WRC3 if you like rally games. CM4 is more fun, looks better, feels more real, and gets you involved. WRC3 is plain, harder to control, a step BACK from WRC2 (!) and tends to rely on the licence to sell (to the extent that the title on the side of the game is: WRC3(TM): The Official Game of the FIA World Rally Championship). There are loads of video clips of drivers and cars and so on, but you're there to PLAY the game not watch it!