Started playing the game, here's my experience so far (and it's unlikely it will change ahead as this is not a fps or other story driven game
):-
1) Graphics has definitely improved a lot. There's a hell lot of difference in graphics compared to last year's game. Roads look awesome, car modelling has improved, viewer's look more authentic than any other game - you can see them in a variety of animations. But the particle effects and lighting effects are disappointing to say the least. Weather effects like fog etc. are bizarre. Problem is that although this is the best looking WRC game till date, the world has moved far ahead. As a result, the game at times looks similar to some old Colin McRae series games utilizing DX 9.0a/b.
2) Gameplay remains more or less same. The cars may seem stiff or fluid depending on the settings you choose. With easy settings, newbies may get hold of this game quickly. But purists don't gonna love this much, I guess. I personally found the gameplay a bit disappointing as cars drive more or less same on every terrain. But that has been going on for quite a long time (even Codies have bitten the bullet to a great extent) and Richard Buns Rally will probably remain the last of the Mohicans unless someone really want to turn the genre on its head.
3) Audio is a big letdown. Midway in the race I almost got detached from the proceedings, its like pressing the arrow keys depending ion what's going on the screen instead of driving a car.
4) Customization part has been toned down too. Previous versions were better.
5) No career mode. Now this is a game breaker as far as I am concerned, you can play as Sebastian Loeb in WRC Experience running the whole official tour, but Road to Glory is not as exciting as it sounds. The good old career mode would have been preferred by lots of gamers.
All in all, not really the best rally experience, far from it, but unfortunately this is basically the only option this year. Now, what's happened to Dirt 4?
