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Excellent Game for those SERIOUS about Racing Games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: May 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Colin McRae Rally 3 is definitely one of the better rally racing games available to date for PlayStation2 in North America. Whereas most rally racing games tend to lean toward the arcade side of the racing genre (V-Rally 3 and especially Shox being two recent examples of this), Colin McRae Rally 3 is closer to the simulation side of the racing genre. With this in mind, Colin McRae Rally 3 is definitely NOT a game for just casual players of racing games.

The most noticeable aspect of the simulation style in CMR3 is the "lack" of ability to win at even the easiest gameplay level. In many rally racing games, winning is practically "guaranteed" at the easiest levels of gameplay; this is good so that those games can accommodate players of varying skill levels, especially those games trending more toward arcade-style gameplay. CMR3, however, makes winning at even the easiest (Normal) difficulty somewhat of a challenge. Proper vehicle tuning is definitely a requirement, with extremely little leeway for tuning errors. Precision steering is also crucial to success, meaning that the player must have an instinctive ability to read the lay of the land to determine all the possibilities for the roadway's next change of direction - this occurring INDEPENDENT from the calls from the navigator and (if activated) the navigation aids at the top-center of the screen. Near-flawless racing skills in general are also a prerequisite to good performance, as is proper pacing (i.e., never overextending neither the vehicle nor the player's abilities). The simulation aspect of the game is also noted in the three-season Championship Mode, CMR3's version of a career mode. Of course, having Nicky Grist as one's navigator (with the English-language audio only) adds yet more realism and simulation to the game.

An interesting and perhaps perplexing aspect of CMR3's simulation focus is in the times posted at the end of each rally. Vehicles begin each rally in accordance with their points in the championship (or how they ended the previous season, if the first rally of a new season); this "running order" is used for the entire rally. At the end of a stage, the player is shown her or his time and rank compared with those who ran the stage earlier. Generally, the only way to determine the player's rank amongst ALL the participants in a rally is to wait until the next stage is about to begin; the only way around this is to be in last position in the points at the beginning of a rally, meaning that the player will then be the absolute last competitor on each stage of the rally.

Interestingly, the final stage of each rally is a Super Special Stage. These are head-to-head competitions on a parallel circuit course (similar to the annual Race of Champions). Here, there are two lanes which generally run parallel to each other (with minor variations) and a crossing point. A vehicle completes one "lap" by starting on one side of the Start/Finish Line and returning back to the same side, which requires this crossing the Start/Finish Line twice. Unfortunately, the player will always start from Lane 1, the left-most lane.

Fortunately, the player is not forced to continually win in order to unlock items in the game. Winning will often reward the player with a bonus vehicle, which can generally only be used in Stage Mode (where the player participates only on a single stage). However, simply finishing a rally is enough to unlock more or better parts, which will often be needed in the upcoming rally. Finishing a rally also unlocks that rally's opening video in Extras Mode.

The graphics and sounds are quite stunning, but the main area of "beauty" in CMR3 is the vehicle damage. The vehicles in CMR3 do indeed suffer damage, and it can be quite extensive. Virtually every dent incurred can be seen instantly. Windows break, bumpers fall apart, the hood flies off, wheels separate, and the bodywork crumples like a sheet of paper. As the vehicle incurs more and more damage, vehicle handling becomes trickier and trickier... and can only be repaired at the next Service Area. The only downside to this is that there is no rearview button - sometimes actually being able to see the damage on the front of the vehicle can persuade the player to modify driving style and/or reduce the level of aggression in order to complete the stage and ultimately the rally.

For those who are very, very, VERY serious about their racing games, Colin McRae Rally 3 is definitely a prime choice. For those who look purely for fast speeds without requiring a lot of finesse, especially on circuits, CMR3 is definitely NOT a very good choice.

You can't replace Colin 2 with THIS

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: August 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I hated this game! Unlike Colin McRae Rally 2, you can't repair the car between stages (you just get a brand new car after each rally) and in championship mode you can only race with the ford focus (which sucks, by the way). If you're thinking about a rally game just try Colin 2.
The only advantage of CMR 3 over CMR 2 are the graphics.

ok rally game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: April 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is ok at best, its not as good as I thought it would be, The presentation of the game is lacking when compaired to world rally championship, a much better game if I might add. The graphics are not as good as the back of the box claims although the car models are quite pleasing to look at, the damage on them is realistic. So if you want a good rally game I recomend world rally championship for purchase and I recomend colin mcrae for rental at best.

Disappointing after the brilliant CMR 2.0

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: July 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Codemasters really dropped the ball on this one, making for a ridiculous championship mode in which you can ONLY be Colin McRae, and in which you can ONLY drive one car. They've also removed all the other options from CMR2.0, such as being able to run full rallies in other types of cars, etc. In CMR3, you can only run stages. If you want to run a full rally, you'll have to do the championship mode, which ends after three seasons.
Ridiculous.

Don't understand all the fuss

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: December 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by listing rally games that are better:
CMR1, CMR2 and WRC.

The gameplay just doesn't match up to those three games. Let me let Codemasters in on a little secret. We don't WANT 100% accurate physics in a video game. That kind of accuracy demands a level of immersion and control that is only possible by doing the real thing. Video games NEED to allow the gamer a "fudge factor", because we are missing g-forces, left-foot braking, the sensations of loss of traction etc. CMR2 came about as close to perfect in this department as is possible.

In addition, 8 countries versus 14 in WRC, car choice limited to the Focus in championship mode, the extremely high learning curve and a general lack of options drag this down further.

On the plus side, the graphics are stunning, Nicky Grist's pace notes are actually accurate and usable and the damage is impressive (albeit too frequent for the average gamer).

I'd skip it for $45, but perhaps in 6 months when you can get it used for $20 it might be worth a look...

Disapointing game, despite the name

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: October 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is highly billed for it's obvious shortfalls:
(1) poor graphics: I've seen better graphics from PSX games, there seems to be no difference between regular RCA output and the SVHS output; the polygons are huge and the color seems flat
(2) poor gameplay: while the driving simulation may be accurate in terms of the physics of driving, the gameplay is inadequate. The driving is extremlely twitchy and just plain not fun. There are too few cars and tracks to drive.

Although it's not a rally game, Gran Tourismo 3 is a far better racing game all around. World Rally Championship 3 is a better game, despite being much older.

Honestly, the best thing about this game is the menu music. What does that say?

Great rally driving, despite a few misses.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: May 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

After longing a great while for a truly great Rally game, Colin McRae Rally 3, comes very close.

Gran Turismo was first to provide a really great rally experience, but was limited mostly to head-to-head racing on short little circuits.

World Rally Championship provided the real WRC Rally racing experience, with accurate courses and proper timing, but lacked Gran Turismo's performance realism, and some environmental realism like varying surfaces and landmarks. And it didn't look nearly as great as Gran Turismo. Still lots of fun.

Collin McCrae surpasses both, though it misses a few details.

The driving experience is remarkably fun. You can sense the changes in handling on a tarmac road, as you push to the edge, encountering dirt or gravel on the pavement, and then as you leave the pavement for raw dirt.

And the environment is incredible. Highly detailed course replicas, with buildings, signage, trees and shrubs, ruts on the side of roads, fencing, etc. Very authentic. It's like everything you'd demand out of Monte Carlo in a good F-1 game, but for Rally. The previous PS2 World Rally Championship game left me wanting.

All the hazards, varying roads and opportunities to turn the wrong way, will inevitably incite the excellent damage modelling on the car. Glass breaks, parts dent, hoods and doors pop open and can be lost along the way.

What Collin McCrae 3 lacks is limited. The ability to review your stage and progression times isn't as good or detailed as WRC. You can't control camera angles on replays, like you can with WRC or GT3, so sometimes it sits on a camera angle that shows you little of interest. Also during replays, the car often seems to slide along the road strangely, which seems to contradict how well behavior is modelled in the game. And like WRC, load times are kind of long, but in McCrae, there is curiously no music or interesting visuals while it loads.

And the final grievance is the co-piloting. Where Collin McCrae 3 gives only vertical line along the left edge of the screen to show progress, WRC would show you progress, as well as a small display showing the contour of the next section of course. And where McCrae 3 has the sign indicators at the top of the screen to show the direction and degree of the next corner, WRC would allow you to see the next 2, letting you better know how you want to exit for what's coming next. I also feel that sometimes, the McCrae 3 co-pilot's audio cues are a bit late to be useful.

On the whole though, I think it's my new favorite racing game. (Well, maybe not more than GT3. That's a hard choice.)

I don't see why everyone is whining about this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

It is VERY realistic and challenging. If you want an arcade feel driving game, go play Gran Turismo 3. CMR 3 requires much more knowledge of how to make the car work in terms of tuning with the actual physics of the car. I like the damage too, and I like it how the car cannot be repaired until the end of the day (a couple stages later)- which is like the real WRC in that teams basically patch things up with safety wire and do very basic repairs between stages. This is not a game for someone who wants to drive all the cars and win every race, it is a game for someone who wants a fairly accurate representation of a season driving with the WRC on a team. Finally, I thought the video/graphics were stunning and well thought out.

Don't buy this game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 10
Date: July 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If u like racing but aren't the best like me this game is not the one to buy it is really hard and u can't even put any codes in to help u unless u call a 1-900 number if i was u i wouldn't buy it and i would tell all my friends about it. Start a revolt against atari...

Simply Amazing!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: May 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was a little dissapointed that the Subaru WRC wasn't available in the championship mode but when you start winning races with the Ford Focus you unlock the numerous stages in the game which are quite unique and fun to drive with any car you want including the Subaru WRC. The game has very nice graphics, a very good collision .buy it now

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