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You'll be playing this for months...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 29 / 29
Date: July 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Game : V-Rally 3
Platform : Playstation 2
Author : Jonathan Beckett
E-Mail : kafooey@yahoo.co.uk

I picked up a copy of V-Rally 3 for the PS2 yesterday evening and played it for an hour or so. I thought I'd share my views with you. In the past I've played GP2 (to death), GP3, GT1, GT2, GT3 (to death), FIA WRC (ps2), Driver, V-Rally 1 (ps1), RallyCross (ps1) and a whole raft of other driving games over the years, so they are my frame of reference.

As far as Rally games go, V-Rally 3 is by far the most involving racing game I've seen to date on any system. I'll get to why at the end of this review, but in the meantime I'll go through the various aspects of the game.

Graphics
Fantastic. Not photo realistic, but very clean, clear and crisp. The car looks fantastic, the landscape is rendered beautifully, the weather is modelled very well - all in all, it really is rather good. When you're in the pits you see inside the car, and several thousand polygons have been given over to that too - along with 3d mechanics working on the car at checkpoints. Damage to the car is represented very well too - pretty much all of the car can be either bent, broken or ripped off... during one particularly determined dash through a stage I was somewhat shocked to leave the "in car" view and see what a mess I had made of my previously showroom-shiny monster :-) More importantly, the framerate is very fast, and gives a great impression of speed.

Sound
What can you really say about sound with a game like this? Unfortunately my PS2 isn't wired into the pro-logic amp at the moment so I can't tell you what the surround is like, but normal engine noises, skids and so on sound absolutely fine. The engine pops and crackles with the best of them.

The co-driver is the first one I've encountered that has some intelligence. Upon careering the wrong way up a farm track he shouted "where do you think you're going!" - and while leading the timesheets during a stage he shouted "keep it up - you're doing well!"... I know it's only scripted comments, but it really does affect you (usually causing you to try and show off - ending with the inevitable spectacular accidents).

Control
I've only played the game with the joypad at the moment. All control is completely configurable for sensitivity, although I've left it on the factory defaults. At first it seems a bit over-sensitive - you'll find yourself fishtailing around quite a lot, but after a while you learn not to steer too much, and everything becomes more natural. The car reacts as you would expect - not unlike Sega Rally on the tarmac stages. Snow and Ice are a hoot - it's a question of "when does this slip angle on the road become slower than pointing the right direction in the first place".

The Game
This is where most titles either win or lose. What's it like to actually play? I have to say that it is the most fun I've had in a very long time. V-Rally 3 is the first racing game I've personally played where there was a good career mode.

You start as a "newcomer" with invitations to test for several of the smaller rally teams. The outcome of those tests (via "email" on your in-game desktop computer) is contracts offered to you by various teams. As a driver you are evaluated by the teams based on your experience, speed, consistency and respect for you machinery. The teams are evaluated in terms of the car's performance, team morale, reliability and budget.

Once you have tested and signed a contract, you are assigned a "goal" by the team - their expectation of you. In my first season I was expected to finish in the "top 13" of my class that year... I finished 7th in the end (it would have been 5th but for a disaster on one corner of the rally of Great Britain). It really does show how such a small event can change your entire career...

Throughout the "year", depending on how the results are going you get e-mails from your team telling you how well/badly you are doing, and maybe invitations to test for other teams if you're doing well enough. You also get tips - as an example I was informed that Ford were upping their budget for the coming year... a month or so later (after a good result) they invited me to test for them. At the end of the season they offered me the contract - and after signing found out they had put full factory backing behind their car, which is now expected to be the most powerful and reliable in the field.

Where's the catch you may ask? My contract. I have to finish top 3 or I get fired.

Finally a game has a good career mode. Do well, and the top classes and cars are waiting for you. Do badly and you'll soon find yourself taking that drive with Skoda... but then that could always be the season to prove yourself :-)

All in all, V-Rally 3 is a wonderful and complete game. It's very polished, looks good, plays great, and the long-term appeal is fantastic. I expect I'll be getting in quite a lot of trouble for spending hours playing it over the coming months.

Jonathan Beckett
kafooey@yahoo.co.uk

Good, Arcadish Rally Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

V-Rally 3 is the first appearance of the V-Rally series on PlayStation2. Not surprisingly, its graphics are excellent, the cars have many more tuning options, the sounds are better and more convincing, and the fun factor has been raised :-) Unfortunately, however, Track Editor (which allowed the player to create original rally stages and circuits) is not included in V-Rally 3, which is a severe disappointment :-(

The main focus of V-Rally 3 is its career mode (appropriately entitled V-Rally Mode). In fact, V-Rally 3 simply CANNOT be played until at least one driver has been created; only then can the various gameplay modes be accessed. The created driver(s) can then be used in V-Rally Mode to progress from the 1.6L FWD (Front Wheel Drive) category up to the 2.0L 4WD (Four Wheel Drive) category of competition. V-Rally Mode is explained in further detail below.

Also available are two quick race options: Time Attack Mode and Challenge Mode. Time Attack Mode is self-explanatory. Challenge Mode sets the player on three or more stages, which must all be completed within a specified time limit.

One of the best things about V-Rally 3 is that there is rather little time spent in loading each stage. For all the graphic detail, this is quite amazing. It also helps that there is a screen providing information on each stage as it is loaded, providing the player something to look at and consider as the stage is being loaded.

The Gran Turismo series, perhaps the most successful racing series on PlayStation and PlayStation2, introduced rally racing in Gran Turismo 2, and then brought it back with many visual changes and a few new venues in Gran Turismo 3. This is likely the first experience with rally racing for many PlayStation and PlayStation2 gamers. While Gran Turismo 2 includes two point-to-point stages (which were unfortunately eliminated from Gran Turismo 3), the Gran Turismo series primarily feature circuits, which are fairly rare in actual rally racing. To this extent, the V-Rally series is much more realistic than the Gran Turismo series, although the Gran Turismo series certainly excels in its vast multiplicity of tuning options.

As for the game's downfalls, there are really only three. The first is that there are only six countries, with ALL of Africa counted as a "country" for the purposes of the game; there is still a variety of terrain types in V-Rally 3, but this does make for extremely short seasons. Second, fans of earlier games in the V-Rally series will be disappointed that there is no Track Editor included in V-Rally 3; with the more powerful graphics capabilities of the PlayStation2, it would have been nice to see how a Track Editor would look on the new console. There are also pop-up issues in V-Rally 3 in those instances where the player has a clear view of distant terrain; most of the time, the roadway is immediately bounded by forests, crowds, mountainsides, etc., so this is not always an issue, but it is definitely noticeable whenever there are no tall obstructions alongside the roadway, such as in some stages in Sweden and Africa noticeably.

Overall, V-Rally 3 is definitely a fun game, although it is an arcadish version of rally racing overall. Diehard rally simulation fans will likely want to stick with World Rally Championship, but V-Rally 3 will certainly provide some good entertainment value.

Flawed, but fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big WRC fan, so naturally, I was excited about this game. I got it off of eBay for about 22 bucks, not a bad deal.

Gameplay - Damn fun. the Career mode is great, because you get e-mails from various teams, wanting you to test drive for them. If you get good times with their test car, they'll offer you a position on their team right on the spot, or sometime in the future. As you get better, other teams with better cars will offer you a test drive as well. Though, the better the team, the more big their demands (i.e., a poor team will want you to finish at least 12th, while a top team will demand that you win the championship). Another cool thing about the gameplay is that you move up from 1.6 FF cars to 2.0 4WD cars. I thought this game was as easy as "WRC", but when I moved onto the 4WD cars, I realized that careful but quick driving needs to be used.

Control - Not bad, but there needs to be more customization. I've been playing the Gran Turismo series for about 5 years now, ever since the first one came out. I'm completely used to using the right analog stick for acceleration and braking. I can't use it in this game, so using the X button is awkward and hurts my thumb. Otherwise, it's fine. I should be getting the Force Feedback wheel soon though.

Sound - Good, but not as realistic as "WRC". in "WRC", the Peugeot's exhaust note, even at idle, sounds exactly like when I see it on the Speed channel. It's still pretty good in this game though.

Physics - Very good, as realistic as I'd think a WRC car would be.

Fun factor - fairly high, but not if you prefer to race wheel-to-wheel. That's not what rally racing is about.

The biggest flaw in "V-Rally 3", and it's a big one, are the PACE NOTES! The co-driver is horrible! The pace notes are undetailed, slow, and inconsistent. For example, sometimes he doesn't even mention a water splash, and other times he does. Other times, he tells me "caution, cliff!" as I'm flying off of the cliff. I crashed off of the same cliff twice in two seperate championships with two different cars because the damn co-driver doesn't warn me about cliffs. I never realized until now how PERFECT the pace notes are in "Colin McRae 2.0". THOSE are some damn good pace notes. In "V-Rally 3", either I'm in the middle of a 2-left, and the co-driver THEN tells me "2-left", or I'm on a straightaway and the co-driver says "3-right", even though it's not for another 250 meters.

All in all, it's a good game, I don't regret buying it. If you're a fan of rally racing, you should definitely buy this. There are some flaws which should definitely be tweaked if there is a sequel. The pace notes are unforgiveable. But you get used to these things, and I'm finding myself enjoying the game quite a bit.

Rally Good Time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I gotta tell ya, I've played some good rally games before, but this most fun I've had playing a rallying video game and I'm more than happy to tell you how addictive V-Rally 3 is. Once you start playing, you know you'll never stop, so let the rallyist in you out of its cage! In V-Rally Mode, you don't compete in championship rallies, you live and breathe rally racing. It s just so immersive.And the car variety is first-rate. In my V-Rally Mode, I'm in my 8th season, have 26 victories and six titles, three in the 1.6L FWD category with Volkswagen Racing and three in the 2.0L 4WD category with Subaru World Rally Team, whose cars carry the Subaru Rally Team USA name and paintjob. All my titles have been three-peats. I own World Rally Championship and enjoy it. I just needed a new challenge and to race as myself. And V-Rally 3 provides just that. As far as downs ar econcerned, I can only think of a few. First, realistic length special stages would do some good esp. to V-Rally Mode. A real life stage averages 15-35 miles. Finland's 1000 Lakes Rally has stages less than 10 miles long, while the recently dropped (by the WRC) Safari Rally Kenya has stages of at least 45 miles in length. One of them is 66 miles long! Oh, and don't forget the super special stages, which are two lap head-to-head races held on specifically constructed dual circuits, kinda like a mini NASCAR race, like those found in V-Rally 2 and WRC. Second, a real (WRC, for example) rally has about 15-20 stages, while the game has only 5. The Safari Rally has about 12 stages, while the 1000 Lakes Rally has about 26. Individual team testing stages would be a cool addition as well. Third, in the game, when you create a driver, its a real bummer that you can't create your co-driver's profile, with features name, nationality and looks.. The driver looks menu needs more options, too. These ideas would certainly work great perhapsin future V-Rally games. But despite all that, V-Rally 3 is one ultra-strong rally racer that's certainly worth a try. I'm going after my seventh V-Rally championship and I still get a huge rush of adrenaline every time the starting lights go out. All those who agree, play this game. Drivers: put on your driving suit, helmet and gloves, tighten your multi-point seat belts and fire up the engine. Co-drivers, get your pace notes ready, tighten your multi-point seat belts and make sure that your voice box is ready to read those pace notes and get your driver safely through the stages. V-Rally 3 Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A fun game, but has a few rough edges.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let me just say that rallying is a sport that is overlooked here in the US in comprision to the other more well known racing associations like nascar, indy and to a lesser extent f1. What I really enjoy about this game is the fact that you DO NOT just jump in and join a big team like subaru, ford, peugeot and so on. YOu actually have to prove that you are able to work your way up and basically make your own career. I like this challenge and I also own WRC for ps2 and also plan to get Colin McRae as well. This game although it isn't lisensed by the WRC (world rally championship) it is fun nether the less. The four player multiplayer option can be decieving, were you each race one at a time and try to bet eachothers time. It can get pretty intense if everyone is racing at the same level. In terms of imporements, my biggest complaint is the sound. I have watched WRC for a couple of years now and I know what each car does and does not sound like. They all sound exactly the same, and should they make a sequel, that should really be added. I do wish they made the seasons a lot longer so more tracks would always be welcomed as well. Peope have mentioned that well, the pace notes aren't always perfect, and yes it is frustrating if you are in a tight points for the crown, the navigator is off you take a corner tight when you should have went outside, clip a rock and totally jack up your car. I like to think of it as, well they make mistakes and its just part of the sport and you have to know when to listen to the co-driver and just go with what your eyes tell you. So in the end, for someone like me who would be very bias to any rally game like this, I feel that it is a great game that may need to be polished in a few areas, but is still tons of fun. The biggest factor is how much you like rallying to overlook some of the few down complaints that people have. So why don't you rent of borrow it from a friend to figure out that this one is for you before you buy it!

Great rally racing game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I pretty much dominated this game with three separate rally vehicles. It does not take a long time to get used to the controls in this game. It's easy and a whole lot of fun. The only problem I had with this game is the limited tracks. I believe it has less than 10 different tracks, but you race forward and backwards on the tracks. The race can be difficult when the weather turns south. Not because it is difficult to control, I believe that it is even more fun to race in the rain... the problem is the color. I am not sure if my tv is not sharp enough, because the direction of the road and the surrounding environment sometimes blends together... confusing me as to where I should go.

All else said, I LOVE to drift in this game. Highly recommended if you love to drift in the snow......

much of a letdown

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 11
Date: November 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Racing fanatics should keep away from this one. On any scale, fun factor = 0 (no other cars on the track to race against); graphics = 0 (nobody expected GT3 quality, but this is a total cutout city); ingenuity = 0 (6 locations equals 6 tracks essentially, 5 of which are Europe - not a lot of difference between them - and 1 uninspired Africa track. ... Even V-Rally 1 was a better looking game, it had Indonesia and New Zealand tracks, fer cryin' outloud, and that was 4 years ago on PS One). While there is a tortured attempt to create some sort of a customization system, the changes you make usually don't mean jack when you get to the racing. At least the control is a step in the right direction, ....

nice graphics no sega rally

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: August 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

first off no music! boring! second no jumps to get airborne. well some jumps but hardly anything to make u hold on to the controller like your actually steering a real car.I wanna hit start and race period.fine tunning come on...... emails ???? why do i need emails in a race game .the cars oversteer they dont bounce like they have shocks. will someone please tell me are there any rally games with correct physics like a real car . you know when a car goes over a bump the rear of the car goes up and down! is this a hard thing to program? rent this first. any recomendations that can top sega rally?

Bit of a Let Down after V-Rally 2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well, it looks great, its fun to play, and its worth the time and money. However its not quite perfect. A lot of the features that made V-Rally 2 so great are totally absent this time around. There is no track editor (best part of the previous game), no arcade mode, and apparently no way for 2 players to race against each other at the same time, and most importantly there are no where near as many stages.

Graphically, mud doesn't really look like mud, dry sandy roads don't look like dry sandy roads, etc. Any kind of dirt road looks and feels about the same.

In terms of sound the game is a bit of a disappointment. There is no actual background soundtrack as in many other racing games. Your choices are: navigator's speech, road noise, or a bit of both. After a while none of these options are terribly appealing. I really missed the nice background techno of VR2.

Without an impressive list of features this game ends up feeling just about the same thing as World Rally Championship, which had much nicer presentation due to the official license and a great deal more courses to race. Either WRC or V-Rally 3 are good solid games for the PS2 but neither comes close to the completeness of V-Rally 2 for the PS1.

If you never played any of the previous games in the series you'll be quite happy with this one, but if you have, you quickly notice that it just feels like something important is missing and thats really too bad because this game could have, and should have, been amazing.

Big disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well, I bought this game as a stop gap while I salivate for Colin McRae 3 (due out late November) and WRC II Extreme (no release date yet). The gameplay is not horrible, but certainly nothing to be impressed by. The graphics are very sub-par for the stage at which PS2 games are being developed these days, and there is noticeable frame rate slowdown!! That last one is totally unacceptable. WRC is a much better Rally game, albeit it has many flaws of its own.
Steer clear of this game, wait for CMR3 or WRC2... both will be much, much better and you will likely never play this game again once you have one of those two to play. Save your $$.

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