Rally Championship - PlayStation

Rally Championship is made up of six rallies spread across the British Isles. A total of 36 stages, featuring varied terrain and weather conditions, have been painstakingly recreated from detailed reference material, including Ordnance Survey maps, filmed footage and extensive photographic records. Add to this 20 of the world’s most exciting rally cars, accurately modelled in every detail, plus support from some of the biggest names in Rallying, and you have one of the most complete motorsports games on the market.

Rally Championship offers five game modes, including Time Trial, Arcade and the titular Championship of course. There’s no music on the soundtrack, now and then a small crowd of spectators will cheer you on. Otherwise it’s just the clunks and clanks of metal and gravel. The car set-up options are present and correct, so you can get “tuned and tyred” for maximum performance, and the controls are customisable. There’s just one thing missing though, control-wise, which really does bug the dedicated rally enthusiast: the lack of analogue control. For a 21st century PSX release, it’s plain unforgivable. However, if you’re new to the PlayStation or rally titles in general, then Rally Championship will metaphorically throw you in at the deep end and order you to swim. And all for a bargain price too.

If you can live with the digital controls in Rally Championship, or you have a hankering for something that feels old school but looks pretty, then this game will serve you well for quite a long while. 36 Stages long, remember?
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