WRC 5 Takes To The "Mythical" Roads Of Portugal
First footage of licensed rally game
The first in-game video of WRC 5 [official site] promises to show us the "mythical roads of Portugal". Sounds good to me. Rallying is my favourite type of real-world motorsport but I've always felt it could do with an injection of myth. Hoping to see coca rabicha racing through the dirt in pursuit of St George and his robo-rally-steed, I was slightly disappointed that WRC 5 doesn't seem to contain any legendary creatures at all, region-specific or otherwise. More distressing still, there's a distinct lack of dirt and grittiness to the track.
DiRT Rally, Codemasters' Early Access mud 'n' motors game, has raised the bar. That's not something I expected when it appeared seemingly out of the blue a few months ago but it's already a fantastic game.
Next to it, WRC 5 looks clean, which is a damning criticism of any rally game. There's no sense of the track churning or of the surface feeding back to the car. Rally cars are the opposite of a pet dog - the muddier and messier they get, the happier I am. These cars are not filthy enough for my liking.
Here's what you're seeing:
Made from the Beta version of the game, this video puts you in the gloves of the double World Champion and French driver, Sébastien Ogier and his Volkswagen Polo R WRC, on the mythical roads of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal. It presents a full stage made of 90% gravel and 10% asphalt, under sunny conditions at mid-day.
Some elements are missing, including pacenotes and the HUD. The game will include 13 rallies, with all manner of terrain. No word on how many of the rallies are mythical. It's due in Autumn.