WRC 3 review (Xbox 360)

Rally enthusiasts are a rare breed, with ardent followers having rather slim pickings over the years in terms of dedicated rally games. One series that has spanned nearly a decade is WRC. After its inception back in 2003, WRC has evolved with improvements both graphically and within driving accuracy; but have developers Milestone done enough this time around to garner loyalists’ support for this somewhat declining racing niche?

At first, when starting up the game, you’re welcomed to an unadorned Main Menu littered with cartoon-like illustrations that comes across “youthful” – for a lack of a better word; and unfortunately this sets the theme for the entire racing experience. Broken down into 3 modes, your options include: “WRC Experience”, “Road To Glory” and different online game types.

WRC Experience, lets you take the reins of arcade races such as Single Stage, Single Rally or even Championship races. All of which lack proper training modules to help newcomers ease into this technical sport – evident when your co-driver shouts out his pace-notes, sometimes leaving you baffled.

Vehicle physics are lackluster all around. With no sense of vehicle weight, accurate surface control and exaggerated steering mechanics make WRC unrealistic and, more-often-than-not, frustrating. All the 2012 WRC Season vehicles are in the game with welcomed additions of older 70’s and 80’s legends.

Visually, the game is pretty and will often surprise you with beautiful landscapes rich in contrast, as WRC 3 whisks you away to detailed race tracks from around the globe. Environments are something special too, but destructible aspects of the tracks are kept to a minimum, disallowing you to plough through certain barriers. This does leave a sour taste in one’s mouth, as the full balls-to-the-wall rally experience is left feeling a little watered-down.

Vehicle damage is what you’d expect from a WRC title, featuring both cosmetic and mechanical damage. If you ‘over-cooked’ the throttle too much on that hairpin corner and wrapped your car around a tree, WRC 3 has a rewind function (popular in racing games these days) that places you back a couple of seconds for another attempt.

Drifting, Slalom style courses and Special stage routes are just but a few other options that keep you enthralled and excited, bringing you back for more racing action. These races diversify the overall racing experience but bring nothing new or vastly improved to the franchise.

WRC has been with us for a while, but after its latest iteration it seems developer Milestone has been too idle. WRC 3 feels unfinished, with inadequate racing physics and a lack of innovation. These shortcomings leave this potentially great racer mediocre at best. Unfortunately, WRC 3 was a more of a breakdown then a breakthrough.