Series: The Gear

Colin McRae Rally 04

Xbox, PS2, £39.99 Codemasters, *****
Colin McRae himself is having a tough time this season - Citroën recently announced that due to rule changes to next year's World Rally Championship, it will not be retaining his services. If he does find himself with a lot of time on his hands, the videogame that bears his name will provide plenty of consolation.

Colin McRae Rally 04 is, simply, one of the best driving games ever. This year's iteration boasts graphics and visual details that are simply astonishing and, more importantly, hitherto undreamt-of levels of car feel and driving realism.

For the first time in a rallying game, bumps in the road really do unsettle the car, and even through a gamepad, you can feel the differences between surfaces and between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive cars. Codemasters has added an awful lot of new features, which will please fans of the franchise.

You can, for example, test car modifications between World Championship rallies, a process much like the driving test in Gran Turismo, so that if you complete your allotted (and invariably tricky) task, your car is fitted with the new part. Plus, you can participate in two-wheel drive championships and even a group B championship, featuring many of the legendary rally cars dating from the days when they could pack 900bhp.

Countering criticisms that the previous version of Colin McRae Rally was dumbed down, there is a fearsomely tricky Expert Championship. So all potential buyers of the game are catered for - and none will be disappointed (particularly by the superior-looking Xbox version). McRae still wields total domination over the virtual rallying scene, at least.
Steve Boxer

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