![]() ![]() You’ll need to balance event scheduling to make sure you get time behind the wheel, making money, as well as ensuring that your team gets the rest they need to keep your car in top condition. You’ll start out much the same way as in WRC 8, getting used to managing your crew and finances. You can start out from the Junior WRC class, or start a little higher in WRC 2, either way you’ll be aiming to progress into the World Rally Championship in order to win the highest honour in the sport. Perhaps you would rather drive for your own team? It’s career mode for you, then. From WRC 3 and WRC 2 classes, up to the top WRC stars such as reigning champion Ott Tänak and modern legend Sébastien Ogier, driving for their respective teams of Hyundai and Toyota. When watching replays, the way the engines rumble in the distance on wide-angle shots, is exactly how it sounds for fans standing on cold hills waiting for a glimpse of their favourite rally stars. The throaty roar of the engines is something that deserves a good sound system, or a bassy set of headphones that will rattle your bones when you press the loud pedal. The presentation goes above and beyond just the visuals, too, with its magnificent sound. Sure, it’s a shame it can’t do this and hit a smooth, sixty frames-per-second, but it always runs at a solid framerate no matter what the game throws at you. The attention to detail is something else, too, as you notice the camera drone fly by, or when you need to turn on the wipers to clear the dust and grit from your windscreen. ![]() The low sun’s rays piercing the edge of a dark forest, the countryside visible below as you slide around high, mountain roads, even just the sheer level of detail in each car, it all comes together to form some rather realistic views. ![]() Whether played at 1080p, or 4K on a PS4 Pro, it can produce some spectacular sights. Those rain effects are just one part of the quality of WRC 9’s visuals, too. The sense of speed will make your eyes bleed, and when the rain is lashing at your windscreen and your wipers struggle to keep the water at bay, it’s almost as terrifying as a horror game. Whether it’s the snow and ice of Sweden’s opening rally, the tight, asphalt roads of Japan or the rain-soaked gravel and mud of Wales, you’ll need maximum concentration and your best reflexes. When you do find a rhythm, however, the game does do an impressive job of replicating the tension and excitement of driving rally machines at speed. It just didn’t feel within my control at any point. It was never more noticeable than during a Historic Rally event in Career mode, which saw me clinging on for dear life while trying to point a Lancia Stratos in the right direction. It is still perfectly playable, but it either felt a little too sensitive or a little slow to respond, making it quite difficult sometimes to keep your car steady. I was able to fiddle with the (admittedly extensive) settings enough to find something more responsive, but I could never quite replicate what came before. These are merely guidelines.Īfter last year offered some incredibly smooth handling, I was somewhat disheartened to feel a more twitchy, nervous handling in WRC 9. Well, less of a tutorial and more, “here, have a go and we’ll see how you get on.” Depending on how you perform in this opening stage, it will suggest settings such as which assists you should use, though it’s entirely possible to select whatever you want. The official game of the World Rally Championship, WRC 9 kicks off once again with a quick tutorial. WRC 9 takes that formula and runs with it, and although it suffers a few prangs along the way, it’s another winner. KT Racing’s WRC series has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, with last year’s game being one of the best rally experiences I’ve had in a video game. The way they keep control of these nearly-400-horsepower monsters, on the toughests of surfaces and along the narrowest of dirt roads, is nothing short of wizardry. Especially when you see it through the onboard camera. ![]() Maybe it’s the lack of actual racing that puts people off, but if you take a little time to watch some of what these guys and gals can do, it’s astonishingly tense and exciting. It’s strange to think that rally is a niche motorsport, but it really is. ![]()
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