Evolution Studios has confirmed that the fourth official World Rally Championship game has gone into the works, set for a release before Christmas 2004, news that pretty much washes over rally game fans across the globe, possibly because the first three games in the series have disappointed greatly. The tale of the first game is told below.
In a storm of publicity, showing Gran Turismo-beating graphics and genre-busting, unbelievably expansive levels, a true rally sim was promised; a sim so concise, it would have Codemasters and its market-leading Colin McRae series petrified.
And the early builds reflected this. A brilliant and dedicated development house, Liverpool’s Evolution Studios, knew what was required of it. And it delivered a cracking rally sim.
Then something terrible happened. Towards the end of the development, Sony stepped in and demanded that the game be toned down, made more accessible and easier to play. We played a late pre-release version, two rally stages attempted, and set a pretty good time. It was beaten by a non-gamer who just drove across the sides of the roads in a straight line.
Something that could have been beautiful was ruined in a fit of greed and a misunderstanding of what the leagues of rally fans, who had been happy to shell out for the dedicated simulators in the Colin McRae series actually wanted.
A key member of the development staff was as frank as he was mournful. “They told us to tone it down, so that’s what we had to do,” he said.
“After the successful launch of WRC3, you'd expect work to have slowed down here at Evolution,” said designer Si Barlow. “Not so. In fact, work has moved up a gear recently as the team starts getting their teeth into WRC 4.”
Let’s hope that this time Evolution is allowed to do the right things…
In a storm of publicity, showing Gran Turismo-beating graphics and genre-busting, unbelievably expansive levels, a true rally sim was promised; a sim so concise, it would have Codemasters and its market-leading Colin McRae series petrified.
And the early builds reflected this. A brilliant and dedicated development house, Liverpool’s Evolution Studios, knew what was required of it. And it delivered a cracking rally sim.
Then something terrible happened. Towards the end of the development, Sony stepped in and demanded that the game be toned down, made more accessible and easier to play. We played a late pre-release version, two rally stages attempted, and set a pretty good time. It was beaten by a non-gamer who just drove across the sides of the roads in a straight line.
Something that could have been beautiful was ruined in a fit of greed and a misunderstanding of what the leagues of rally fans, who had been happy to shell out for the dedicated simulators in the Colin McRae series actually wanted.
A key member of the development staff was as frank as he was mournful. “They told us to tone it down, so that’s what we had to do,” he said.
“After the successful launch of WRC3, you'd expect work to have slowed down here at Evolution,” said designer Si Barlow. “Not so. In fact, work has moved up a gear recently as the team starts getting their teeth into WRC 4.”
Let’s hope that this time Evolution is allowed to do the right things…
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