New on the shelves
We kick off kit round-up with review of latest driving game
TWO decades after the release of the original Sony Playstation video game classic, V-rally is back with a bang.
With action taking place on traditional rally stages, rallycross tracks, hillclimbs, drift circuits and custom buggy venues at locations around the world, plus 51 cars to pick from, there’s something for everyone. Each location, track and car offers something different depending on how you like your racing games.
Action is fast and furious, and V-rally 4 provides a pleasing blend of old-school arcade racing and a more hardcore simulator.
All the cars are easy to control, but if you push them too hard then expect to find yourself plummeting off a cliff face or ploughing through a densely packed forest as a result.
Not that going off road is all that bad, because the scenery around you is stunningly recreated and gives a real sense of where you are in each location, whether that’s racing through the snowy plains of Siberia or the sparse desert of Monument Valley.
It’s hard to review any rally game without comparing it with our current favourite, DIRT 4. Overall, V-rally 4 does a decent job, although it can’t quite match the Codemasters title.
One major letdown is that there is not enough differentiation between surfaces; the perils of a snowy mountain pass aren’t nearly as grave as they should be, and the loose grip afforded by a gravel surface isn’t quite there.
The career mode is also a little thin on the ground. It’s a map with events to play through and crew members to recruit to your team to help improve the car. Compared with more in-depth
career modes available on the likes of F1 2018, this game feels a bit outdated.
Most importantly, though, V-rally 4 is fun and that shouldn’t be overlooked; after all, it’s a video game. It feels like a throwback to a simpler time of gaming when you didn’t have to be a nearprofessional driver to get the most enjoyment out of it. One real bonus for us is the inclusion of a multi-player split screen so you can play with friends in the same room and not just online.