Colin Mcrae Rally 04

by Codemasters

Product Features

• Up to eight single and multiplayer game modes including new 2WD normal/advanced, 4WD normal/advanced, Group B modes, Expert, Stages and Rallies.
• Drive any car from the start in the Open Championship Mode and compete in a full rally season or specialize in a four or two wheel drive championship.
• Expert Championship Mode demands your best performance as you compete at the highest level yet seen in a rally video game.
• Create customised rallies. Put together your favorite or themed stages such as straights, jumps or hills, which can be compiled, saved and played at any time.
• Test new car parts in challenging sub games to acquire new technology - be it an engine, tires or a suspension test.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000V479E
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 2, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,070 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Xbox

Colin McRae Rally 4 for Xbox MODEL- 40067 VENDOR- CODEMASTERS FEATURES- Colin McRae Rally 04 The gear grinding action is more intense than ever! Instinctive car handling combined with championships, custom rallies, single and multiplayer gaming modes, and unique car part testing deliver the perfect rally gaming experience. Players can drive in over 20 vehicles constructed in exquisite detail with improved physics and handling, giving the player even more control. The Mitsubishi EVO 7, Subaru Impreza and Citroen Xsara, alongside classic cars, are just some of the vehicles players can take through the mud and rocks. An advanced visual engine creates dramatic replays in jaw-dropping detail. * 48 tracks and 4 shakedown stages through 8 countries including the U.S., UK, Australia and Japan. * Player can compete in a full rally season or specialize in a 4 or 2 wheel drive championship. * New Expert Championship Mode demands the best performance from the most die-hard rally fan with its tough damage settings and ultra-competitive AI drivers. * Car part testing helps the player acquire new technology increasing the chance of success. * Stages and Rally modes allow the player to race against the clock or go multiplayer with split screen play with up to four players. Saved runs can be seen on the stage as a ghost car. * Create a Custom Rally with favorite or themed stages that can be compiled, saved and played at any time. * Players can compete for best stage times and upload their times online using Xbox Live. -- SPECIFICATIO

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sixty Left Over Crest - Don't Cut!, March 24, 2004

By 

flaviolius (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colin Mcrae Rally 04 (Video Game)

I almost passed this game up.

I don't usually like sim racers that much - I stick to Project Gotham, Burnout, and Need For Speed - but after learning that Colin McRae Rally 04 would be released at the magical $20 price point, I had to give it a try. Rally racing's basically just time attack outdoors anyways, right?

I quickly learned that's only part of it.

Rally racing is huge in Europe, but is more of a niche event in the States. Maybe because there's no direct competition....? Who cares. Bottom line, this is the best game to be released at twenty bucks since Sega's masterpiece, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution. This is no mere budget title - Codemasters cares about getting virtual rally racing right, and CMR04 shows off excellence in all areas, from the stylishly minimal menu design to the photorealistic cars and tracks.

The thing that scares me away from racing sims is all the tinkering you do to the chassis, suspension, blah blah. Just gimme a car and let me hit the road. But somehow, with this title, fiddling with the settings is incredibly addicting and very necessary, perhaps because of the nature of rally racing itself: you & your car against the clock and terrain. If you're gonna avoid wiping out and trashing your ride, you'd BETTER take the time to tweak the ride height and gear ratio. CMR04 eases newbies (like me) into this obsession gradually, clearly explaining how the different settings affect your car's driving and allowing you to test it before racing "for real." Oh, you also better check the road surfaces and weather conditions of the upcoming stages and prepare accordingly, or else your car will flip at the first hairpin.

But there's more. After every couple stages, your car has undoubtedly suffered a little damage (or a lot, if you're a novice like me). You are given the option to repair the damage, but only up to an hour's worth of mechanic-time. The game clearly shows what's damaged, how bad the damage is, and how long it will take to repair, either partially or completely. Strategy becomes a major player here - should you leave your bodywork unrepaired while totally fixing your suspension, or fix it all, passing the 60-minute limit and suffering a time penalty during the next stage? These decisions can be agonizing, and directly affect how you drive. It's extremely well-implemented, well-designed, and, thankfully, user-friendly.

In addition, every few stages, you're given the option to test-drive prototype parts, and if you're successful, your car is fitted with the performance-improving equipment, whether it's new tires, ceramic brakes, or improved shocks.

So, even though there's one car on the track at a time, there's always a LOT going on behind the scenes. But this relatively low-amount of on-screen action means that CMR04 has some of the most wonderful visuals ever to grace the racing genre. The attention to detail is astonishing, especially from the first-person cockpit viewpoint. The tracks and weather effects can look hauntingly real. And then there are the car models....my goodness. No, it's not a nice thing to damage your vehicle, but the damage modelling is incredible. I slammed into a fence at 70 mph and my passenger door would no longer close, flapping open like a broken metal wing whenever I took a hard turn. I took a jump way too fast and blew two tires upon landing, and my car spent the rest of the run on the rims, spraying sparks in all directions and making a wince-inducing, all-too-real grinding noise. I had to fight just to keep my car on the road, but I still managed to eke out a first-place finish by two tenths of a second. Whew! It was as intense as a platinum-medal PGR race, or screaming at full-boost against traffic in Burnout.

After all this praise, what negatives can I possibly come up with? Well, given the nature of rally racing, the game can get a bit repetitive during extended sessions, and gets rather unforgiving as you progress to higher difficulties. No in-game music is a slight hit as well, although I really don't think I'd use it much if given the option - too busy listening to the nav's directions and the engine gear-shifting purposes. And besides a scoreboard, there's no online support at all - a real shame for a game this finely tuned. But hey, at $20, you really can't complain too much.

I went back and forth between 4 and 5 stars for this rating, and ultimately decided on five because the amount and quality of game you get for the price is a gift from Codemasters to U.S. gamers everywhere. And I fully admit that if CMR04 had been anything more expensive than twenty bucks, I would more than likely have passed it by.

Thank goodness things turned out the way they did. Colin McRae Rally 04 is easily my gaming surprise of the year so far, and has opened my eyes to a genre and sport that I previously didn't care about.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best rally racer ever, April 15, 2004

By 

TwistaG "Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore" (Moncks Corner,SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colin Mcrae Rally 04 (Video Game)

So what if the real Colin McRae hasn't been crowned champion of the World Rally Championship since 1995? In the virtual world, his rally racing series gets better with each release, constantly earning him champion of off-road action. Number four improves many aspects of its predecessor, resulting in, once again, a near perfect drive. Rally racing is perhaps the black sheep of the speed world. You don't drive in circles, you compete against the clock, and you have a navigator sitting next to you. The true challenge is maneuvering on ruggedly narrow roads that twist and curve through mountains, forests, and canyons in all types of weather conditions. It's a hair-raising experience fit for any outdoor racing fan. This year's McRae Rally finally makes you more accountable for the damage taken to your car. Slide too much, and your tires can blow. Dent the body, and the aerodynamics are shot. Scrape too low to the ground, and small rocks will stop you in your tracks. A limited amount of time to fix car ailments as well as determining vehicle adjustments that can shave off seconds create a more realistic feel to the game. The gas-guzzlers-there's a good selection of two-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive, and classic-but-now-banned cars to choose from-all perform well, too. Just be prepared to slip and slide if you're not used to drifting through turns. Visually, Rally 04 looks much better than in previous versions. The environments are more detailed with a special attention to realistic road conditions, such as variations of mud, gravel, asphalt, and snow. Cars slowly get grimy as you progress, and vehicle damage looks genuine. The sounds, though sparse, add to the game's authentic experience. Your navigator steadily calls out the road bumps ahead, while the constant hum of the engine never goes off-key. Rally 04 has some minor setbacks , though. Although the game carries the name of a real rally racer, none of the tracks are real, and it doesn't feel like you're racing in a rally championship where you'd see crowds of spectators on every side cheering you on. Some stages seem bland and without depth, too. Still, these are all just minor grievances. They can be easily overlooked, especially if you're paying only $20 for this quality racing game

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Rally Game, September 26, 2004

By 

Russell (Oneonta,NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Colin Mcrae Rally 04 (Video Game)

The best single player rally game I have played. If you're familiar with the WRC this game is the most realistic rally game out there. The multiplay does suck, but that's because real ralling is not run against other people, its run against the terrain and against the clock. If you like nascar ( driving in circles ) don't buy this game, if you like the WRC then this is the game for you.

2115|R2LKTAOT4VZV8U;2115|R42085VGS0GU4;2115|RYMTEY16EM3N1;