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WRC 2 Extreme

Sony's answer to Colin McRae revs-up for the challenge.

Picking up this game the title really excited me. Extreme had me racing to my bedside tissues and wiping myself clean. Was I going to see a Rally game with rocket boosters and cannons. Landmines strewn across a remote rallying destination? This, sadly, isn’t what the game is all about but, as with the original, this is one heck of a fine rallying game.

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This is without a shadow of a doubt the single biggest rival to the Colin McRae Rally game and playing it I get a real sense of why. It’s addictive, sleek, fun, competitive and accessible. But does it serve up any aces on the originality front to pip CMR to the post?

You can definitely not aim the criticism that this is just your average rallying game. With a plethora of gaming options from the WRC to WRC challenge and multiplayer modes you will be engaged for hours. Being the official game of the World Rally Championship you get to race as all of the current top Rally drivers, with one notable exception, across all the complete stages of the actual World Rally Championship and there are over 100 different tracks. Combine this with commentary from the real commentators and you’ve got a very precise little game. The Challenge mode is also a welcome addition with the ability to set time records and practice all of the tracks against a ghost car. The multiplayer stops you from becoming a total recluse as you can get your friends over to make them eat your dirt. You do end up giving a bit of the graphical finesse in playing on a split screen but it doesn’t seriously affect the game play. The best, and most important thing, which tips the balance in favour of WRC over CMR, is the addition of a custom championship mode. You have the ability to choose who races and on what tracks. You could create a whole championship on racing through Great Britain! It is a very enjoyable extra but I fear with the addictiveness of the “real thing” you might never get round to utilising it to it’s full capacity.

The graphics are then a bit of a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying they are bad but for a genre as competitive as Rally games you have to set the benchmarks incredibly high. The cars are impressive to look at but you never get the same intensity of snow piling onto the windscreen like CMR 3 does when you are in the ‘in car’ camera mode. The replay options are quite fun to watch but there seems to be a heavy compromise to be made when playing in split screen mode and with a game like this the discrepancy needs to be minimal. The cars seem to take little to no damage also even though you can flip and spin the car so easily. The ability to roll the car is really enjoyable and looks so realistic its scary, but occasional glitches where you can get the car stuck against a wall with just the bumper on the floor can sometimes get a tad annoying. The draw distance is also noticeable at times with the ‘pop-up’ of certain scenery.

The sound is pleasant enough and for die-hard fans of the real thing it contains all the TV music in its original form. The in-game car noises are also much less imposing than in CMR3 and I didn’t find myself turning the sound off or straining to hear what my co-driver had to tell me. A battle won for the WRC camp.

The handling of the cars and the impressive overall look of the game were a big plus factor for me as a novice could quite easily pick this game up and get involved without the die-hards starting a riot complaining that the difficulty settings were too easy.

In this tense battle, unfortunately, only one contender can come out alive. The Christmas sales are really hotting-up now and no-one can really be sure who will win, CMR3 or WRC 2 Extreme. On playing and thoroughly enjoying both, the only thing that comes out clearly is that nothing is clear-cut between the two. On the one hand you have CMR3 which has incredible visuals combined with a very addictive experience for the true fan, and on the other you have WRC 2 Extreme which is accessible and technically more accurate if not a little flawed in the visual department. I really do think that the jury is out on this one. For my final opinion get back to me after Christmas when I’ll have played both a little longer, and if you can’t wait that long then get both and decide for yourself.

89%

1. Draw distance - CMR actually hides its small draw distance very well - it's all in the track design, but on WRC you can see for miles, as it's based on the real tracks. There is popup though.

   Finbar Sunday, 12 May 2002, 07:32:22

2. I Have a question about WRC 2 Extreme. can you play 4 players at same time on splitscreen?

   Rancor Sunday, 22 December 2002, 17:04:34

3. Good question actually. Got two more controllers over christmas so I'll find out for you.

   Chris Tuesday, 1 July 2003, 06:44:11

4. No you can't, sorry : (

   Shane Friday, 1 August 2003, 05:22:46

5. Will WRC Extreme work on my PS2 here in the United States? I ordered it from GB and hope to play it here.

   Don Saturday, 1 February 2003, 17:10:31

6. no it wont man, the GB version is PAL system while the american is NTSC...it wont work :(

   ptrix Saturday, 1 February 2003, 18:21:9

7. Excellent game!

   Gaz Sunday, 2 March 2003, 11:35:22

8. how many cheats are there to the the game cause ive completed it but didnt write the cheats down!

   Gaz Sunday, 2 March 2003, 11:38:44

9. when is wrc 2 going to be released in usa?

   OvanesG Monday, 17 February 2003, 04:51:20

10. when yo grannma gets new knickers mate. lord knows we smellem from ere

    tommi mac Thursday, 20 February 2003, 15:04:12

11. how do you get the chteat codes

    dope Sunday, 23 February 2003, 12:00:22

12. i noticed pop ups at one stage in the background but soon forgot as the rain on the camera was amazing.

    m.mackenzie Wednesday, 26 February 2003, 09:38:39

13. wrc 2 extream kicks ass

    karl Sunday, 2 March 2003, 13:28:43

14. I think that rally stuff is cool

    Mason Thursday, 13 March 2003, 11:15:0

16. I think that rally stuff seriously kicks ass

    Michael Mason Thursday, 13 March 2003, 11:17:21

17. wrc2extreme has already five shortcuts...

    fast_edy Wednesday, 19 March 2003, 06:19:48

18. NEVER!!!

    IRAQI Thursday, 20 March 2003, 04:36:15

19. bh,ngkbjkbhjk

    gfdbfdghjf Thursday, 20 March 2003, 15:37:51

20. You're absolutely right my friend!!!

    Electra Friday, 21 March 2003, 20:26:20

21. what cheats did u get

    robbie Friday, 28 March 2003, 05:00:31

22. da kan ik beter

    krikke Sunday, 6 April 2003, 15:27:44

23. da kan ik beter

    robintje Sunday, 6 April 2003, 15:29:20

24. When will it be available on P.C?

    Herbz Tuesday, 22 April 2003, 00:35:34

25. How Many cheats are there?

    Because i have got 5 cheats

    Evos kangaroo nitro satelite

    helium.

    Chad Friday, 9 May 2003, 17:12:25

26. If WRCII is so good then why isnt it gone platinum

    because the makers now that thay can still make money off it cause it is soooooo good

    Chad Friday, 9 May 2003, 17:23:19

27. you can play with up to 4 players

    kit69 Tuesday, 20 May 2003, 09:44:15

28. it's well good

    lewis j Wednesday, 21 May 2003, 06:17:1

29. Recently I bought Colin McRae 3, I thought this was the best Rally game, then I saw WRC2 unfortunatedly the NTSC Version is delayed here so I hope the game really kicks, somebody can tell me something about the Virtual Rally 3

    by the way NASCAR Sucks!

    43 Wednesday, 21 May 2003, 17:49:24

30. I bought CMR 3 and i'm a little upset because in Championship mode it really works just for one player! Is it the same by WRC2 ?

    Also i have a Steering Wheel from "Speed Link" and this isn't kompatible with CMR 3...it works but not perfektly. What can i do?

    By Options can I set something, so that I can use my Steering wheel?

    lucky_one Saturday, 6 September 2003, 00:12:43

32. I bought CMR 3 and i'm a little upset because in Championship mode it really works just for one player! Is it the same by WRC2 ?

    Also i have a Steering Wheel from "Speed Link" and this isn't kompatible with CMR 3...it works but not perfektly. What can i do?

    By Options can I set something, so that I can use my Steering wheel?

    lucky_one Saturday, 6 September 2003, 00:12:45

33. Hey do you know how long is the NTSC version being delayed for the states?

    Joe Sunday, 22 June 2003, 11:26:50

34. why is wrc 2 not on xbox

    bee Wednesday, 2 July 2003, 22:47:2

35. cool game but no cheats to get extra stuff.all the cars look really lifelike.

    TOM Sunday, 13 July 2003, 12:07:33

36. the game is ok but i think there should be more cars :-)

    the grafix are good its worth a look at .

    but if your going to buy it soon dont wait for colin mcrae 4.0

    kevin smith Sunday, 31 August 2003, 12:32:4

37. can i use the pal game in a plataform play2 buy in usa ....

    and tell me where i can buy this game on internet...

    agi Thursday, 11 September 2003, 23:48:40

38. this game is class how can u only give it 89% its more like 99%

    james Thursday, 9 October 2003, 14:18:39

39. Actually evos entered in secrets will unlock super versions of originals

    Andy Thursday, 9 October 2003, 18:04:49

40. U all got a get da life dis is bes rally game WE gis it 99.99%Know wat am sayin

    G-Unit Monday, 15 December 2003, 15:31:5

41. jhffhjahgjgsjggjhghjsjhgñfgjfjgjjfdjhjhfjfhjñdshfhjhajfahgjahgjghfjghjdghgh

    ignacio Tuesday, 30 December 2003, 11:32:14

42. jhffhjahgjgsjggjhghjsjhgñfgjfjgjjfdjhjhfjfhjñdshfhjhajfahgjahgjghfjghjdghgh

    ignacio Tuesday, 30 December 2003, 11:32:16

43. jhffhjahgjgsjggjhghjsjhgñfgjfjgjjfdjhjhfjfhjñdshfhjhajfahgjahgjghfjghjdghgh

    ignacio Tuesday, 30 December 2003, 11:32:17

44. go to australia track 2 and you might get a go-kart because that ia what i did and i got one.:-)

    fred Sunday, 21 March 2004, 19:00:17

45. SDSDSSDS

    SD Monday, 5 April 2004, 19:58:44

46. Hi i do no like

    Mi Nca Monday, 5 April 2004, 19:59:33

48. päris igav mäng

    yugioh Tuesday, 3 August 2004, 14:29:34

49. how can i complete the game easy?

    esc Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 17:40:59