Luke Whitten took the controls and spent hours (literally!) perfecting his stage times to give you the low-down on the game, and deciding whether it’s worth adding to your Christmas “wish list”.
"WRC 2: The Game is the second of the current WRC game series. This new WRC game can be purchased on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The game has all the 2011 WRC rallies and all the WRC cars including the new manufacturer for 2011, MINI. One of the great things about the game is that you can choose to be either Brendan Reeves or Molly Taylor as they battle it out for the WRC Academy title. You can also compete in Rally Australia on the Coffs Coast.
Cars and Drivers:
There is a wide range of cars and drivers from the WRC, SWRC, PWRC and WRC Academy. You can also drive Group B and Safari cars. You can choose from all the drivers in the WRC including: Loeb, Ogier, Hirvonen, Latvala, Block, Meeke and Petter Solberg from their respective manufacturers (Ford, Citroen and MINI).
The SWRC includes the Ford Fiesta S2000, Skoda Fabia S2000 and the Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000. Nasser Al-Attiyah, Juho Hanninen and Albert Llovera are just some of the drivers you can be. The PWRC is there as well including the PWRC champion Hayden Paddon, Patrik Flodin and the three ‘Mentos’ cars.
The WRC Academy is another element to the game, where you can race as all the young stars of the future as you strive for the first WRC Academy title. The great thing about this mode is you can be two of the brightest young stars of Australian rallying: Brendan Reeves and Molly Taylor. You can also race with the young Estonian Egon Kaur or the Brit, Craig Breen.
A great new addition from the previous game (WRC 2010) is that you can race Group B cars. A total of five Group B cars makes for some fun driving. This includes Ford RS200s and Lancia Delta S4s, but unfortunately not the Audi Quattro. There are also Safari cars. This includes some classics and some modern cars. Ford Escort Mk 1s, Subaru Imprezas and Toyota Celica Turbos are just a few that are in this section.
Game Modes:
The Road to the WRC is a mode where you start from driving front-wheel drive cars and evolving to try and become World Rally Champion. You can pick your name, co-driver’s name, team name, manager, chief engineer and your car’s numberplate before you start competing in events.
You can buy new cars from classes like: R2, Production, S2000, WRC 2008-2010, Group B and Safari Cars. After you progress through the game some more you can ask sponsors to sponsor you in your rally journey. Their name goes onto your car and you start looking more like a professional team.
You appoint and have to pay new staff for your team which makes you the manager of the team, not just the driver. Your mechanics and engineers can research and update parts on your car so you can get the edge in the rallies you are racing in. The more rallies you win, more sponsorship you earn means you can unlock and buy more rally cars for you to race. Travel further into the mode and the WRC teams may start to become interested in your services. Contract talks could be coming your way...
WRC Rally School is where you can work on your driving skills on short tracks. You drive a variety of cars as you go through the three levels: Basic, Advanced and Top Driver. The section has no braking assist or rewind effect so it is more like a real rally. You are racing against a ghost car and if you beat the ghost car, you are onto the next level.
Single Player mode is where you race by yourself in many events.
Single Stage: You pick a stage from a rally in the 2011 championship to race in.
Single Rally: You pick a rally from the 2011 championship to race in. You can choose from three to seven stages.
Championship: Race in the 2011 Championship. You can create your own championship by picking different rounds from the season. You can choose from any car category.
Time Attack: Pick a stage you have run in before, pick a car and try your heart out to beat your best time. If you don’t succeed, you can try and try again.
Hot Seat is where you race against your mates. You can race from two to four players. You race at separate times so there is no need for numerous controllers. Multiplayer is where you race against other people online, live and at the same time. You can play in four modes: Single Stage, Super Special, Single Rally or an Online Championship with people from all over the world. Online you can also have a look at you online ranking.
Extras
Photograph Mode - While you are racing or while you are watching your replay, pause the replay or stage and take a picture. Choose from many different cameras, whether you are going over a jump or you have perfected that tight hairpin turn, or you are in a spectacular roll. You could even run a stage and set up the best possible photograph.
Rewind Effect - As you are a beginner or you just make a mistake on a stage, you can use the rewind effect. You rewind the stage to just before the crash or mistake and you correct yourself and you pass through that part with no errors.
Conclusion
I believe that WRC2 a great game. I would recommend it to all rally fans. All ages will enjoy playing it, and it would be a great addition to anyone’s Christmas list."
- Luke Whitten
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