23-Jul-2002 This could challenge McRae. And no, that's not a misquote... This could challenge McRae. And no, that's not a misquote...
Think Colin McRae is the only rally game worth watching out for? Well so did we until Rally Fusion arrived. While Codemasters' game is already driving a fantastically realistic rally experience, Rally Fusion looks to squeeze a lot more arcade fun from racing in the mud.
The preview game we're playing has many different play modes, from Sega Rally-style against-the-clock checkpoint racing, rallycross events where four cars race, standard single-car rallying and a couple of original play modes. Elimination takes out the driver in last place at every checkpoint, and Follow The Leader where you get a certain amount of energy which depletes when you're not winning. In both cases, last man racing is the winner.
Graphically, it's looking pretty slick, with doors flapping open on damaged cars and solid, slickly drawn courses. The handling is much more arcadey than McRae, but you can still pay a high price for misjudging slides, as some clifftop corners aren't fenced. The game flips to a zoomed-out view as you fly over the edge, which is nice.
Fusion has a touch of officialness about it with the Race of Champions licence - a one-off event held in Gran Canaria where the stars of the World Rally Championship race side by side on specially built tracks.
We'll have more on this title before its launch, which is due in October.
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