World Rally Championship (Game Series)
World Rally Championship , or WRC for short, refers to two different, so far five and eight-part rally simulation series . The first game series of five parts was developed between 2001 and 2005 by Evolution Studios and exclusively for the PlayStation 2 and published by Sony ; the second game series of so far eight parts from 2010 to today by Milestone Srl (1st to 4th part) and Kylotonn (from part 5), released for PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 and Windows PC , the fifth and sixth part additionally for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One . In addition, two additional games were released each, which, however, differed from the regular game series due to their respective specifications. 1st World Rally Championship from 2005 for PSP and 2nd WRC Powerslide from 2013 for PSN , XBLA and Windows PC.
In contrast to other rally simulations such as Colin McRae Rally (later: DiRT Rally ) or Richard Burns Rally , the games in the series are officially licensed with the FIA license. Thus, all vehicles and rallies as well as all real driver names of the World Rally Championship are included in the games . The only exception is Colin McRae , as Codemasters , the developer of Colin McRae Rally , already owns the rights to the name.
The rights are currently still with Bigben Interactive , who want to publish a new part of the series with WRC 9 on September 3, 2020, but Codemasters will have the license for official WRC computer games from 2023 - initially until 2027. A first title with the license was announced Codemasters for the year 2024.
Game series 1 (PlayStation 2) 2001-2005
World Rally Championship
| World Rally Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Evolution Studios | ||
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 30, 2001 | ||
| platform | PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Racing simulation | ||
| Subject | World Rally Championship | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , steering wheel | ||
| medium | DVD | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | FIA-licensed rally game based on data from the 2001 WRC season | ||
World Rally Championship was released on November 30, 2001 as the first part of the series. It is based on data from the 2001 WRC season .
The game includes a career mode which allows the player to take part in the 2001 World Rally Championship. WRC also includes a damage model , which is displayed optically. The damage also affects the driving behavior of the vehicle.
Rallies
In the game, all rallies of the 2001 WRC season can be driven in five stages each. In addition, there are a total of six unlockable bonus stages and five stages exclusively for split-screen mode. 10 of the total of 81 stages are accessible for two players in split-screen mode. The rallies take place on different road surfaces: dust, mud, snow and asphalt. They differ not only visually, but also in the driving behavior of the vehicles. A special feature are the announcements of the copilot about hazards and the following turns.
vehicles
The game includes all six vehicles that took part in the 2001 WRC season. They are characterized by different driving characteristics. There are several perspectives to choose from, including a cockpit perspective in 3D graphics, which was advanced for the time .
WRC II Extreme
| WRC II Extreme | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Evolution Studios | ||
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 27, 2002 | ||
| platform | PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Racing simulation | ||
| Subject | World Rally Championship | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , steering wheel | ||
| medium | DVD | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | FIA-licensed rally game based on data from the 2002 WRC season | ||
WRC II Extreme was released on November 27, 2002 as the second part of the series. It is based on data from the 2002 WRC season .
In this part of the series, four players with a LAN connection can play against each other for the first time . The addition Extreme means that all routes z. Some of them are very challenging and also that there are, also new, the tuned Extreme Cars that you can unlock. The driving physics are considered to be relatively realistic. However, the minor damage to the vehicle in the event of rollover and the unrealistic rebound behavior at the boundaries of the route were criticized. The graphics are also very detailed for that time and you can see up to five kilometers into the distance. Compared to Colin McRae Rally 3 , the graphics and driving physics of WRC II Extreme are a bit behind. The vehicles in the game have the real engine sounds of the 2002 cars.
The Chemical Brothers contributed to the music in WRC II Extreme . Her songs "Come with us" and "Star Guitar" from the album of the same name can be heard in the game.
WRC II Extreme was rated "very good" by 4players.de with a rating of 89%.
Rallies
The game contains 14 rallies with up to nine stages and 42 unlockable bouns stages. Satellite images were used to develop the total of 800 km of rally routes and the surrounding area. In this part of the series, the Rally Germany can be driven for the first time .
vehicles
All vehicles from the 2002 season are included here. You can also unlock the tuned "Extreme Cars" versions of the cars (with the exception of the Citroën Xsara).
WRC 3rd
| WRC 3rd | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Evolution Studios | ||
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 21, 2003 | ||
| platform | PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Racing simulation | ||
| Subject | World Rally Championship | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , steering wheel | ||
| medium | DVD | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | FIA-licensed rally game based on data from the 2003 WRC season | ||
WRC 3 was released on November 21, 2003 as the third installment in the series. It is based on data from the 2003 WRC season . WRC 3 was first offered outside of Europe in Japan.
The driving physics in particular have been improved. The rally vehicles behave in the game much more slowly and therefore more realistically. The vehicles also behave realistically for the first time in the event of a collision with the road boundary. With WRC 3 , the series caught up considerably on the Colin McRae Rally series. The dust and weather effects are also well done, but the floor textures have been criticized. Damage can even be seen from the very realistic engine and transmission noises. There are over 125 stages passable.
WRC 3 was rated "very good" by 4players.de with a rating of 87%.
Rallies
vehicles
WRC 4th
| WRC 4th | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Evolution Studios | ||
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
October 27, 2004 | ||
| platform | PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Racing simulation | ||
| Subject | World Rally Championship | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , steering wheel | ||
| medium | DVD | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | FIA-licensed rally game based on data from the 2004 WRC season | ||
WRC 4 was released on October 27, 2004 as the fourth installment in the series. It is based on data from the 2004 WRC season .
New in this part of the series is an online mode .
Rallies
vehicles
In WRC 4 , vehicles of the smaller Super 1600 class can be driven for the first time .
WRC
Super 1600
WRC: Rally Evolved
| WRC: Rally Evolved | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Evolution Studios | ||
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
October 26, 2005 | ||
| platform | PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Racing simulation | ||
| Subject | World Rally Championship | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , steering wheel | ||
| medium | DVD | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | FIA-licensed rally game based on data from the 2005 WRC season | ||
WRC: Rally Evolved or WRC 5 appeared on October 26, 2005 as the fifth and last part of the series, because Sony only had the WRC license until 2005. It is based on data from the 2005 WRC season .
WRC: Rally Evolved represents the highest level of evolution in the series and is geared towards maximum realism. The rally routes all appear in completely independent route designs. Each stage has its own character and has different characteristics. New are unpredictable events that can occur on some stages. For example, marshals can stand at the edge of the route to warn of a danger, and shortly afterwards an accident vehicle appears at the edge of the route. Occasionally, animals cross the road or heavy boulders come off a slope and block the road. The graphics have been improved again and the realistic engine sounds differ in all vehicles. The copilot gives human announcements and comments. For the varied and lavishly presented routes, however, some restrictions had to be made in the number of kilometers of the route. The rallies in WRC: Rally Evolved consist of only three rather short stages, while in the previous part a rally consists of six stages.
As a completely new game mode, rallycross can be driven against AI opponents for the first time . There are four vehicles on the track, which are racing against each other. The races will be held on the same routes that can also be used as a WRC race. However, this mode is criticized because of the poor artificial intelligence, as the computer opponents have a very aggressive and unrealistic driving style. Rallycross can also be played in split-screen mode and online.
WRC: Rally Evolved was rated "good" by 4players.de with a rating of 84%.
Rallies
vehicles
In WRC: Rally Evolved , vehicles of the historic Group B can be driven for the first time , which can be unlocked alongside the "Extreme Cars". Also new are a total of six vehicles from private drivers, which were integrated into the game for the first time.
WRC
Super 1600
Group B
Game series 2 (Multi) from 2010
| WRC: FIA World Rally Championship | |
|---|---|
| FIA- licensed rally game series | |
| developer |
Milestone Srl (up to WRC 4) Kylotonn (from WRC 5) |
| Publisher |
Black Bean Games (up to WRC 5) Bigben Interactive (from WRC 6) |
| First title | WRC: FIA World Rally Championship (2010) |
| Last title | WRC 8 - The Official Game (2019) |
| Platform (s) | PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 , Windows , PlayStation Vita , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch |
| Genre (s) | Racing simulation |
| information | Topic: World Rally Championship |
The series was developed from the first part up to and including WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship by Milestone and distributed by Black Bean Games . This was followed by the change to the developer Kylotonn , who has been developing the series since part 5. From the sixth part, Bigben Interactive took over the publishing. All previous parts have been approved by the USK for ages 0 and up. From 2023, however, the license for computer games for the World Rally Championship will be held by Codemasters, who have announced a computer game with the WRC license for 2024.
WRC: FIA World Rally Championship
WRC: FIA World Rally Championship was released on October 8, 2010 as the first part of the new series. It is based on data from the 2010 WRC season .
It is the first game to be released under an official WRC license, which will also be released for the XBOX 360 and the PC. It was also released for PlayStation 3. It features the official vehicles, drivers and co-drivers from the 2010 season and includes the three racing classes of the WRC 2010: the World Rally Championship, Super 2000 World Rally Championship and the Junior World Rally Championship.
A downloadable car pack featuring Group B rally cars from the 1980s was made available on the day the game was released.
WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship
WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship was released on October 14, 2011. It is based on data from the 2011 WRC season and features the official vehicles, drivers and co-drivers from the 2011 WRC season. Like its predecessor, the game appeared on PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 and PC.
WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship
WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship was released on October 12, 2012. It is based on data from the 2012 WRC season . It features the official vehicles, drivers and passengers from the 2012 WRC season. In addition to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows, the game was also released for the PlayStation Vita .
WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship
WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship was released on October 25, 2013. It is based on data from the 2013 WRC season . It features the official vehicles, drivers and passengers from the 2013 WRC season and, like its predecessor, was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows and PS Vita.
WRC 5: FIA World Rally Championship
WRC 5: FIA World Rally Championship was released on October 16, 2015. It is based on data from the 2015 WRC season . It has the official vehicles, drivers and co-drivers from the 2015 WRC season, as well as the 2016 WRC season thanks to content that can be purchased . Like its predecessor, the game was released for PlayStation 3, Vita, Xbox 360 and PC. However, versions for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have also been released. It is the first part of the series that was no longer developed by Milestone Srl but by Kylotonn. The German-language online magazine 4Players rated the title as a catastrophic overall failure, which was rated with just 46 percentage points in the test of the PlayStation 4 version.
"Weak technology, disappointing driving experience, time crap: with WRC 5, the official series for the World Rally Championship has reached its preliminary low point!"
WRC 6: FIA World Rally Championship
WRC 6: FIA World Rally Championship was released on October 7, 2016. It is based on data from the 2016 WRC season . It has the official vehicles, drivers and co-drivers from the 2016 WRC season. As a new feature, 12 true-to-the-original super special stages are included. The remaining special stages are based only on the real routes. The racing classes Junior WRC (J-WRC), WRC 2 and WRC are offered. The game was published by Bigben Interactive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows.
WRC 7: FIA World Rally Championship
WRC 7: FIA World Rally Championship was released on September 15, 2017. It is based on data from the 2017 WRC season . It features the official vehicles, drivers and co-drivers from the 2017 WRC season. The Junior WRC (J-WRC), WRC 2 and WRC racing classes are available. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.
WRC 8 - The Official Game
With WRC 8 - The Official Game , the eighth part of the series appeared on September 5, 2019 in digital distribution for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows. The game was released a day later for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A data carrier release for PC followed on September 20, 2019 and a version for the Nintendo Switch on November 14 of the same year. The game was released on PC exclusively for the Epic Games Store . A release on Steam is only planned for September 2020. The game is advertised with 52 rally teams and over 100 stages in 14 countries.
WRC 9 - The Official Game
A ninth part of the series is announced for September 3, 2020.
Web links
- World Rally Championship Series at MobyGames (English)
- Information about WRC II Extreme at 4players.de
- Information on WRC 3 at 4players.de
- Information on WRC 4 at 4players.de
- Information about WRC: Rally Evolved at 4players.de
- Official website of the 2nd game series from 2010
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Michael Krosta: Codemasters: WRC license secured from 2023 to 2027. In: 4Players . June 2, 2020, accessed August 29, 2020 .
- ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfo/PlayStation2/2823/WRC_II_Extreme.html
- ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfo/PlayStation2/3814/WRC_3.html
- ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfo/PlayStation2/7164/WRC_Rally_Evolved.html
- ↑ a b Michael Krosta: Test: WRC 5 - breakdown assistance needed? In: 4Players . October 14, 2015, accessed August 29, 2020 .
- ↑ Information on WRC 6 on the manufacturer's website
- ↑ a b Jens Bischoff: WRC 8 - The Official Game: Race start for the rally game on PS4 and Xbox One. In: 4Players . September 6, 2019, accessed September 9, 2019 .
- ↑ WRC 8: Epic makes the race before Steam, new Dev Diary video. In: Motorsport Total. September 1, 2019, accessed September 9, 2019 .
- ↑ WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship. In: Steampowered. Retrieved September 9, 2019 .