The 2WD VW Polo, for instance, seems to have slower acceleration off the line than the MG ZR, which is also a 2WD.ĭiverse car selection means little without a similar variety of tracks to drive on. What's interesting in CMR 2005, though, is the diversity in handling between cars of the same performance class. Cars from disparate classes feel quite different from one another, as there is a great deal of performance difference between an Audi A3 and a Mini Cooper S. Notably missing from the game's car list is the Toyota Corolla, a model that found a good deal of real-life rallying success in the late 1990s. The best-known rally cars are all here-the Subaru Impreza WRX, the Lancer Evolution VIII, the Peugeot 206, and the Ford Focus, among others-but CMR 2005 also features a number of classic rally cars, including 2-wheel drive models such as the VW Polo, the Citroën Saxo, and the VW Golf GTi.
The sense of suspension trauma is noticeable and thrilling, especially when using the game's cockpit view. There are no floaty physics here, as the cars require a tremendous amount of speed to get airborne before they quite literally slam to the ground when they land. The vehicles in CMR 2005, of which there are more than 30, have a tangible sense of weight that is especially noticeable when making jumps. This is rally racing, after all, where no road surface is taboo: smooth asphalt, muddy gravel, and even frozen ice are all an option.
If this is your first experience with the series, expect to spend large amounts of time offtrack. The game chooses to err on the side of a driving simulation and isn't necessarily a simple pick-up-and-play experience.
COLIN MCRAE RALLY 2005 PC REVIEW SERIES
The driving model that fans of the series have come to depend on is still rock solid in the PC version of CMR 2005. Colin McRae Rally 2005, the franchise's latest iteration, plays just as well as its console cousin, with the additional advantage of some gorgeous graphics.īig air jumps mean big boom landings in Colin McRae 2005 for PC. What some racing fans may not know is that the off-road racing series has been a mainstay on the PC for just as long. Colin McRae has been a regular guest on video game consoles for years now through the legendary rallying series that bears his name.