• Platform: Xbox
• ELSPA Minimum Age: 3
• Media: Video Game

As you'd expect from a top-flight rally sim, everything about the vehicles can be customised and tinkering under the bonnet between stages really produces a difference. If you're a really bad driver you can also see the difference, as tearing the bonnet, side panels or windows out mid-stage reveals an astonishing level of detail within the car. Engine parts move, suspension arms judder and Mr McRae himself bounces around the car's cockpit in full 3-D--the level of detail is amazing.

With a variety of gameplay modes ranging from races over individual stages to a simulated three-season tour of duty as McRae himself, there's plenty of bang for your buck here--and believe us, by the time you've cannoned off the scenery for the umpteenth time you'll know what bangs are all about.

Thankfully, Codemasters have resisted the temptation to fill Colin McRae 3 with discordant music tracks, relegating the score to intro and menu screens and leaving the in-game sound to codriver commentary and a multitude of engine sounds--a pleasant change in an age where licensed soundtracks are king. Perhaps the strongest element of CM3, though, is in the gameplay. The car-handling is spot on and in wild weather (snow, rain, fog and more) guiding a speeding Ford Focus around sharp bends is a real art.

The Xbox has a wide range of good games and a handful of true AAA titles; Colin McRae 3 falls into the latter category as a real must-have. Chris Russell

Product Description
In Colin McRae Rally 3 players take on the role of McRae himself at the beginning of a three-year contract to win a series of championships for the Ford Rallye Sport team. The heart of the game is its Championship mode, where the pressure is on in rallies over eight global locations. Between the adrenaline-rushing rally driving, the game is seamlessly blended with stage start, stage checkpoint, end stage and service area sequences. Each rally begins with the 2002 Ford Focus RS in the service area where the team's engineers perform the set-up requirements, adjusting the suspension, engine, chassis and other key parts to practically optimum settings. However, should you want to make an inspection of their work there's an opportunity to check the configuration and make manual adjustments. As always, unpredictable weather conditions can make all the difference when every second counts, and tarmac, gravel, dirt and rain-soaked terrain add yet more edge.