PC Release Date: Summer 2004
Developer/Publisher: Warthog/SCi
Official Website: https://www.richardburnsrally.com
Richard Burns Rally Game Guide

Gameplay teaser:
Tackling the Rally Mont Blanc's first stage seemed to be a wise decision as the Subaru handled like a real monster. One tire off-track and the car slid toward the trees; impact was imminent and inevitable. I backed off a little, played carefully with the throttle and the steering but even that wasn't enough, the car seemed to be floating on the tarmac surface and behaved like a pinball as it careened off obstacles along the way. I had to cool down and focus on the driving and imagine that I'm driving a simulator - you really have to shift your mind onto that thought. After numerous restarts (meanwhile I also tuned down the damage level from Real to Low), I started to feel the car, but RBR really is a title that you should taste and chew at home, as it is completely different from all the other rally-games available. You virtually have to train yourself to drive it, but you'll be rewarded for your efforts.

As this game had so much information available before E3 I was just curious how it would really drive once I was able to try it for myself. I started my journey at the Logitech booth, where the PlayStation2 demo of the game was equipped with a steering wheel and pedals. As you would expect, my first 2 minutes into the game were really hard as the tracks are very narrow. Once I lost grip with any one of the tires, a spin was nearly inevitable. Whenever the car got stuck, I called for help (on the steepest difficulty setting, if there are no people around the area of your accident, you'll fall out of the race) and lost some precious time before the trackside spectators were able to put me back on track. Then I started to learn how to drive the car, using the throttle with caution and respecting the track. I tried all damage settings and there was definitely a huge difference between realistic and basic - having the latter setting, your car even rolls and frontal crashes can be fun, but in no way will you enjoy those with realistic settings enabled.

I then made my way to the SCI booth to meet up with Gareth Ramsey who previewed the X-Box version of the game and talked a lot about the competition and how Richard Burns Rally will bring new blood into the market. We have heard that RBR is about realism. As Gareth showed me a car-setup before starting a stage, it was pretty obvious to me that Warthog has done an enormous job on setting up the different vehicles. I can only compare the setup to the Papyrus' setup screens. You can tune everything down to the last minute degree.

I was particularly curious about the dynamic weather, but this version of the game had only preset weather stages, no rallies or championship were yet implemented. We did play the first stage of the Pirelli In. Rally, first at dry, then wet. At the second run water filled sections of the track and it was literally a pool of mud with very little grip. Then we jumped onto tarmac with the Rallye Mont Blanc where Gareth put the pedal to the metal to show us how unforgiving the game is: actually he rolled several times and completely demolished his car after hitting a small trackside tree at about 106 MPH.

What I saw at the E3 made me believe that the final game will be a superb ride and we shall prepare ourselves for an experience previously unknown to us. With all its stages recreated meticulously after real-life stages and its 8 fully licensed cars, RBR will be surely wearing the rally-simulator crown when it hits stores in summer 2004. I'm all excited to put my hands on the demo; it should be out prior to the PC release of the game (which is only a few weeks away).