WRC 4 is the latest instalment in the World Rally Championship series developed by Milestone S.r.l. The game allows you to drive cars well known to the rally world and race against the stars of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship in what the developers say is an “incredibly authentic and immersive experience.”
The first major update I noticed was in the menu system, it’s now far more enjoyable to find your way around each sub section in the menu and generally progress from one screen to the next. The menus inside the career has also been updated and now features your car in the center of a garage with your workforce and fans surrounding it, this gives it a realistic tone and reminds me of Codemaster’s F1 series.
The modes included are pretty basic: Quick Stage, Rally Mode, Career and Multiplayer. The Quick Stage allows you to get in to the rally action with just a click of a button, Rally Mode allows you to enter either Single Stages, Single Rally’s or a full Championship. Career Mode lets you prove yourself by leaping up the leaderboards and getting a place in the WRC ranks and finally Multiplayer lets you complete against the best of the best online.
The Career modes is really improved this time around, though I couldn’t help but notice that female drivers still aren’t available to use as drivers or co-drivers, not a fault by any means, but it would have been a nice inclusion for some. When starting a new career you are explained all the basics by a voiceover, so new drivers to the series are very much welcome here from the get-go. After picking a starting team you can drive straight in to the action by choosing your first championship.
Whilst in career you can change how your car handles with the typical settings, allowing you to have full control over your vehicle and how it handles. I’ve also noticed that the staff area (where you could hire and fire you team members) has been completely removed, a plus in my eyes as I felt that it wasn’t really needed.
Between races on loading screens you will be able to immerse yourself in to the racing world by viewing stats about your next stage and read interviews from fellow drivers, some who pass comment on your rally skills and more.
Everything up until this point felt shiny and new, though the feeling soon ceased when I entered my first race. The developers boasted about a completely new, authentic and immersive game and whilst that can be said for how the game feels, it can’t be said for how the game looks. Whilst the camera panned over my next track of choice the textures were still rendering, floors and environments extras would still be changing forms almost right up until I needed to put my foot down. The crowds of onlookers are also disappointing, they do their usual arms swaying and pointing, but that’s really just about all they do. I was expecting more umph, maybe I was expecting too much?
The cars however are a different story; they handle much better and a lot of work has gone in to how they look both when stationary and when being driven. Visually you’re not going to be blown away by WRC 4, having said that you aren’t going to be utterly disappointed either.
WRC 4 is as I expected and a little less, there are some improvements which must be praised, but the lack of effort in the surrounding environments makes me look at this game in another light. The rendering issues aren’t a major problem, but you will notice them, often. The modes are all well balanced and full of content, the mutliplayer will have you playing for at least a few hours, though I wouldn’t bet on it if you’re the losing type. Overall a great effort by Milestone, but I’d like to see the realism really brought to the forefront for the next installment.
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