During each championship there is the option to upgrade your car between rallies. You can upgrade your tyres, brakes and suspension in simple driving tasks. But there is also the possibility to upgrade the gearbox and engine on a rolling road by remaining in a specified rev range. This is a difficult task to begin with and will probably take more than one attempt. Weather these upgrades actually benefit the car in rally mode is debateable but a nice touch none the less as it helps brake up each rally and allows you to unlock more bonus cars.

Graphically this game is brilliant. Attention to detail is something Codemasters have excelled at. All driving surfaces have a variety of textures and styles, shrubs and trees look close to real and well placed. Unlike other rally games you really do feel like you are driving through the forests and that the trees are not simply there to stop you from driving off the course. Japan has some torrential rain stops and the spray from the tyres is fantastic, but the best touch is the bolts of the forked lightning in the distance. Look carefully in the use and you will see bald Eagles flying on thermals, some may say this is pointless but not me. I really do think it’s these touches that set this game apart from its competitors and ads to the realism.

Let’s face it I couldn’t get away with doing a rally review without talking about the damage engine. For all you graphics buffs, its great but for those among you who want to trash a car as much as you can just to see which bits drop off, you’ll love it, its hours of fun. The usual braking of windows and loss of bumpers takes a mere knock on a tree as you scream past it. But doing this will often cause the suspension to brake, when this happens you will find the car very hard to control as it begins to veer to one side. With a bit more abuse you can knock out your turbo and loose the odd door and spoiler. Keep going and wheels fly off loose oil pressure and cooling systems. This forces your engine to cut out and pour out black smoke. Eventually you will be left with a shell of a car travelling at a snails pace. This is great fun to do once of twice for a bit of a laugh. However, in the game it ads new levels of difficulty control is fundamental in this game and without it you loose time. This is more noticeable in expert mode. Not only is the camera restricted but there is a new damage level, EXTREME damage. The slightest knock and the suspension brakes, it requires you to up your game even more and avoid all damage to your car or pay the consequences as your competitors go flying past you on the leader board.

The only fault I can find with this game is a matter of contractual obligations. Because Colin McRae is not an official WRC (World Rally Championship) game it does not have the rights to the cars official liveries and drivers names. While most the car liveries are acceptable I just don’t know what they were thinking with the purple and blue 206. It has to be said for real rally fans as well, that if you want to beat Solberg or Loeb then you’ll be let down. But if you can get over these minor flaws it is worth it, it is by far the best rally game on the market at the moment. For graphics, driving engine and all round great fun.