Colin McRae 2005

[Commander Marklar]

Yep, you hit them. Review code, supposed to be complete.

edit: on closer inspection, they're not invisible -- there are large gaps in the texture used to cover the wall.

[MonkeyWrench]

Everything seems so realistic, the handling, wheel spin seem so realistic, no longer does your car turn on a pivot point and it handles exactly as you would imagine a normal rally car would

Imagining and knowing are two different things Honestly the game is no more realistic than the previous games, which is fine if you're after some easy access rallying action, but all they've done is tweak the physics engine from the 4 interation.

I will no doubt be picking a copy up as soon as it hits the shelves...I'm a sucker for any racing games based around 4 wheels

[VR46]

I've spent 2 days proper rallying so have some idea, be good to judge this on the proper release on Friday.

[MonkeyWrench]

Did you drive rally cars that are incapable of locking wheels, have extreme amounts of grip and rotate around the middle when steering?

[VR46]

Almost, it was in a Peugeot 306 about 5 years ago.

Sure I've locked the wheels in CM05 though.

[ZeroRisk]

Same here actually, it's amazing how much grip an Escort Cosworth rally car has. I did a whole day at Brands hatch. Awesome stuff.

Also, they have sorted the pivot turning in 05. At least thats what I got from playing the demo.

[VR46]

Prehaps the tyres are a bit too grippy, but apart from that everything seems spot on to me, takes some getting used to though after playing RSC2 for over 100 hours.

Mind you, those little white posts by the edge of the road on the German stage are fooking annoying.

[Commander Marklar]

The handling has changed a little, maybe. It's hard to say, almost like the increment from 03->04 but it's still pivotal. The car still moves around its axis, obvious at lower speeds -- check it out.

[Super Monkey Balls]

If anyone wants to save a few quid it's 45 CAD at VG+, but that might have been mentioned elsewhere.

[VR46]

I forgot to mention there are no night stages in the final game, thank god, a rally game where you can always see where your going like real rallying (except the spectator orientated super specials)

[MonkeyWrench]

There's plenty of rallying that takes place at night. I assume you're talking specifically about the WRC?

[VR46]

yep, they do some very early starts that are fairly dark, but all stages except the specials finish before it gets dark

[VR46]

Well, have the final release now, played for about 6 hours I guess, it is much improved over the demo. Handling is much better and more realistic, career mode must take about 12 hours (driving time) to complete, plus championship mode, Live play and Time Trials, loads to keep you amused. I personally am enjoying it just as much as RSC2 (if not more) everything is spot on as far as I'm concerned, couldn't be happier, and Codies have put all Live leaderboards online also.

Hint Hint 6th place

http://www.codemasters.co.uk/colinmcrae2005/xboxlive.php?lid=154

[MonkeyWrench]

Heh...realistic indeed

[VR46]

I had a quick go on the demo last night and can see how people thought it was crap, the car set-up is absolutely awful, the opposite of how you would set a car up or even miles off "the default" settings. The full games handles a million times better.
If anyone (apart from me) has actually bought it and is enjoying it, PM me and I'll direct you to a little tournament I have running on another site.