Customer Reviews

RICHARD BURNS RALLY (DVD-ROM)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How can I explain... I have tried to define to friends how accurate and realistic the cars handle in this game and how this simulation has achieved a level of excitement and fulfillment that stands apart from all other games, but it is not until they finally come over to drive it that they say "..now I see why you could not explain this!" or as one girl said.. "I could just keep driving...!"

It takes some time to learn to handle the cars well. The included driving school and it's advanced techniques is a must for good stage times. It could actually take years of intense white knuckle fun to master this game.

I have about thirty driving games including all types of racing along with two computers equipped with Force Feedback steering wheels (FF is a must to fully experience this game) Before the arrival of Richard Burns the most realistic and fulfilling for myself and friends continued to be Grand Prix Legends, Nascar Racing 2003, SCC mod for F1 Challenge 99-02. These games along with others keep you coming back and drawing you in for more where others in comparison like the Colin McRae series seem "two dimensional", flat and have canned predicable responses that quickly become boring at best.

The dynamics of Richard Burns cars and tracks are on a whole new level of refinement such that you can really feel the mass of the car change in how it reacts to the suspension at different speeds and angles to the road and road conditions. Get unstable from hitting ruts and potholes at high speeds or bumping a berm on the edge of a fast narrow road. Use the crown of the road to your advantage while hooking your inside tires into the low side of a turn. And, while keeping the gas on at varying levels, use your left foot to work the brake into a turn keeping your power up while throwing the weight of the car forward to loosen the rear grip a little and increase traction on the front tires. Then, power out of your turn in a four wheel drift as you try to focus on what the co-driver is saying as he calls out the turns ahead while you are working the wheel and throttle feverishly trying to get this corner just right. Watch the realistic replay with long hanging dust trails for those one or two corners where you did get it just right and you scream "YES!" in awe of the beauty and fulfillment of a perfectly executed corner. This game is very challenging in the best sense of the word. It is very dimensional and is simply fun to drive at any speed and yet the more you choose to work and focus on increasing the challenge for better stage times, so will increase the depth of deserved satisfaction.

It goes on and on. As you will too into endless captivating hours of amazement and fulfillment. Grand Prix Legends still holds the dearest of places in my heart for what they did to make those classic racers handle in a way that is so sensitive and alive. Richard Burns Rally has just made my heart much bigger! GPL was created in 1998 and six years later still holds a huge following with hundreds of added tracks created by others. I am confident this game will also bring you many years of awe, amazement, and totally immersed enjoyment. I have complete admiration and appreciation for what this team has done in their attention to every detail in getting it right; from the photo realistic graphics to the intricate detailed sounds to the amazingly interactive suspension working in real time over long and highly varied roads and road surfaces.

This game it as pure 10. As pure as it gets. I can truly recommend this to anyone with a computer and graphics card, not just to those already enjoying 3D games and/or racing. If you don't have one, spend the extra $20 as soon as you can for a Wingman Formula Force or similar force feedback wheel on ebay or from here at Amazon to fully unlock what this game has to offer. You can experience and feel the best of racing without having to pay for crashing your car! ...and believe me, you will have many terrific tumbling crashes!

Good luck and the happiest of trails...

This game teaches you how to be a professional rally driver. The techniques you will learn within can easily be applied to real life driving. This can be very useful if you ever wanted to know what it is like to take your everyday car on remote back country roads and drive on the limit, minus car repair costs and medical bills of course.

You start out at the Forest Experience Rally School. Here Richard will teach you the basics of car handling as well as some of the more advanced lessons (lessons that the driver's license people conviniently forgot to mention to you during your driving test.) These lessons are short and to the point. Not to mention loads of fun if you have a force feedback gaming wheel, as this game offers truly some of the best feedback effects around. We are not just talking about your basic rumble effect here. Your steering will tense or lighten, it will jolt to the sides, you will feel the road as you can expect in a real car.

Graphically and sounds wise, Richard Burns Rally holds its ground. The purpose is to convey realism and this simulation does exceptionally well. Whether it is birds flying about or camera guys running off the road as you chase past them. You will hear a MULTItude of sound effects. It is such an incredible depth to this game I can't believe anyone can ever get bored of it. It will take you literally months to master this, and even then there is still the car setup area where you can tweak things like tire pressure, suspension, differentials, etc.

As I see it Richard Burns Rally is definately a landmark in driving games. It is worth every penny and then some, simply because of the Rally School alone. It would cost you hundreds of dollars for real driving lessons! But if you are a fan of the WRC or just happen to adore real world physics you are in for a treat.

Recommended system specs : 2.6 Ghz processor, 512 Mb Ram, 128 Mb graphics card with pixel shading support, Audigy 2 ZS, and FFB steering wheel.

I have to add my praise for this game. I have been searching long and hard for a rally game that is not a 'bounce off the walls and carry on' arcade game. This one has hit the mark. It is a fabulous sim, the physics are amazing and the handling of the car feels as realistic as it can without the bumps and crashes of really being out there on the road. This one has the 'crash and you're out' realism of the early Geoff Crammond F1 sims and which is lacking from most other games. For those who do not like this, you can also choose a no damage option. The damage model is the best one I have seen and I am comparing this to Rally Trophy, Rally Championship, Colin McRae, WRC (PS2), F1 2000 through 2003 to name my favourites. The only one that is on a par with this is GPL and (for the physics) Live for Speed which is a work in progress.
The menus are a little clunky and could be more refined but they work. I had some trouble assigning functions to my ActLabs ForceRS wheel, pedals and shifter set up. I eventually had to unplug the shifter, do the assigning and plug it in again. For any who use a shifter the game only supports a sequential shift so a standard H pattern won't work. But this is realistic as 'in car' footage of real rally stages shows the drivers using sequential shift anyway. For those who do not want an arcade game and want a real sim I would highly recommend this one.
The driving school feature is excellent and gives a good introduction to rallying for any who are not familiar with it, although it is not as challenging as the licence acquisition of Gran Turismo.
Excellent job by the development team .. fantastic product.
May 2005 bring Richard Burns a return to good health.

Ok so why am I writing about a rally racing sim made in 2004? The main reason is that it has not died on the shelf like most other games of this generation. There is a huge fan base out there that has kept this game going with free massive patches and updates that have this thing rival Dirt series.

While the graphics are not up to the Dirt franchise, the physics and actual skill involved is immense. On Dirt I had maybe 1 race before I jumped head long into the game. On Richard Burns I had no such luck. You are taken through a school that requires several frustrating attempts to complete each lesson.

I have a Logitech G27 Racing Wheel. This game makes full use of the force feedback, the paddle shifters, hand brake and so on. You really feel that once you enter the rally circuit that you earned it. There is so much here to love that I can see why the RBR2010 crew has spent the effort in keeping a game like this going.

No, the graphics are not as sharp as newer games, there is no wide screen output.

If you can get past this, there is probably no other rally game you can play out there that has this level of realism and difficulty. The killer part is that the price right now is less than a meal at a fast food place. So, if you are looking for a great rally sim you cant beat this one.

Graphics: (+/-)
While not really crisp the game really does have authentic scenery and circuits. You will be racing down roads that look just wide enough for a tractor and cow to pass each other. There is detritus on the edges, twigs, sticks, stumps all waiting to rip your tires to shreds.

Physics:(+)
Amazingly real feel to the car. Flick the hand brake and watch it shift over left and right. Crashes are not epic flip fests that have have you land on your wheels to keep going. No, this is more like a car should and does behave.

Support: (+)
The community is amazing. I cant post URL's here but have a look for RBR2010 out on the web. They have near 1GB patches that are free to download. You can challenge other people around the world with your skills. Because there is actual skill involved here when you win a race it feels really good. Some of the sites are in French and English, but mostly French.

This is a must have for Rally enthusiasts. Highly recommended!

Thank you for reading my review.

Richard Burns Rally continues where other rally sims have stopped. It manages to be better than CMR 2005 in just about every important aspect, from physics to eye candy.

It definitely is not an arcade racing sim. Everyone not experienced with these games is in for a frustration at first, as the learning curve is quite steep for a racing sim. PC steering wheel is a must. Cars can be "driven" through the keyboard, but it is far from realistic and even more important - far from being competitive.

This sim doesn't leave the user wondering. There is a rally school which teaches you basics and some advanced techniques. Lessons are useful and informative and are a big plus for this sim.

I've been looking for a car sim which would help me understand and practice driving in extreme conditions. So far only few have managed to deliver, with this sim being on the very top. Along with real world practice, it will help you to become a better driver, no doubt about it.

The sims lacks mouse support, which is a clear minus IMHO.

Even bigger minus is limited number of cars. Well, it is a sim and it simulates rally - you don't have hundreds of cars in top modern rallies. However, a wider selection would be nice. Right now we are left with enthusiast users making mods. So far there has been none, but new cars are coming.

Definitely recommended as a rally sim, not as just another PC game.

This game has some of the most realistic graghics I have seen in a driving game. They actually use real roads from each area and make a digital copy for the game, check out the offical website to see the comparisons it is amazing!

The game is fun and very tough, with the MOMO Force feedback wheel it is a very fun and realistic game. It is not a smash um up can do no wrong game, when you wreck you have call for assisance and after a wreck the car doesn't handle as well or steer as tightly.

It worked perfect with my Windows XP system and the MOMO wheel. I have seen no glitching or choppy graphics (I also have a high end system) It recommends a 2.6ghz processor and I can see why, it is fast and very realalistic and I sweating last night playing from the intensity and challange. I found myself having to slow down my breathing because I was so into the race I was breathing too fast.

Great game, if you can find it in the US.

If you drive on PC, you owe it to yourself to own this game. This game will have you playing/simulating real Car Rally till the cows come home.
It may be frustrating if you are used to driving over the roof of your car, or a console fan. Once you've learn his skills, and you start shaving seconds, then minutes off your time, it is so rewarding.
Force-Feedback is so much better and appreciated with this game. I have a Logitech Momo and I'm so glad I bought this due to this game.
5.1 speakers is rewarding also with this game.
I currently run on AMD64 2.4Ghz, 2GB Corsair XMS, eVGA 7900 256MB GT PCI-E, Asus A8N and its runs smooth.
The closest game that compares to this game is JooWoo's Rally Trophy. Also a must have if you drive Rally.
Some maneuvers comes in handy in real life.

This is THE best rally simulator I've ever played. Yes the graphics are outdated, but the feel of the car is unsurpased for realism. There is also a ton of mods you can d/l from the net. I highly recommend this purchase to any rally or race car fan.

The great thing about this game is that the realism allows for a very long learning curve. This doesn't mean it takes a long time before you have fun. You have fun right away. But you keep getting better, and the better you get, the more fun you have. I've been playing this game nearly every day for two years, and I feel like I'm twice as good now as I was a year ago.

Becoming better doesn't just mean you get faster stage times. It means you can do all sorts of new things with the car. The realistic physics modeling makes you feel like you're getting more and more control of the car. This makes the driving very satisfying. As a beginner, you know there are realistic things that you wish you could do with the car, but which seem impossible. But as you get better, you find you're actually able to do them.

All these things make you feel like you're doing much more than just pointing the car in the right direction. It gives you a great sense of immersion, like you're really in the car. You get into a rhythm on the stages, and feel like you're dancing through the corners. Each corner is satisfying.

There are only two possible complaints that one could make. First, the number of cars and stages are pretty limited. There are only six cars in the game. There are six rallies (GB, Japan, Finland, USA, France, and Australia, with Finland being a snow rally, and France being the only tarmac rally). Each rally only has six stages, and two of the six stages are reverse stages. On the upside, the stages are quite long--about four minutes on average, with some stages upwards of 8 minutes. The second complaint is that the graphics are a bit dated. They're not bad enough to ruin things, though, and they seem to have held up okay, despite their age, due to the attention to detail with the environments.

The good news is that fan made mods have remedied these problems for the most part. Graphics can be improved somewhat, and an endless number of stages and cars can be found (check out RSRBR).

As others have mentioned, you really need some sort of analogue controller to enjoy this game, though I don't think a wheel is necessary (an XBox 360 controller works pretty well).

You might as well try the demo first. But don't be discouraged if it seems hard. You'll get better. And as I said, it becomes more fun as you do.

There are few games with the amount of post-launch content as professionally made as what is available for this game/sim. Beyond that, it also has THE most realistic force feedback of damage effects of any game or sim I've played. The first time that I knocked my wheel off balance, I actually could tell from the feedback alone what had happened, and what wheel it was. Now that's realism(damage can be turned off or reduced if wanted). I don't know if its possible to play accurately with a gamepad, but I'd recommend a steering wheel with force feedback if you care about simulations at all. I use the very cost effective Driving Force GT that I picked up on Amazon for cheap(~$60 new version) and I can say it works fantastically, and has plenty, if not too much force when you turn it all the way up! The only thing lacking about the DFGT wheel, is it has no clutch/5 speed shifter, but unless you want to spend a minimum of $150+ for the cheapest(fanatic carrera wheel), or $250+ for a logitech g25(considered one of the best though), then go for the DFGT (retail $99, but can be found cheaper used), its great value for money.

*****A must have for this sim is the extras found at "[...]" for free. It will let you race online in championships and standard public matches with new cars and tracks, and even change the cars and tracks around a bit (like turn gravel stages into roads and more). If you have this sim, and don't have RSRBR 2010, your missing out bigtime.******

As far as the game itself is concerned, it is still the most realistic rally simulation ever made. Don't even cite the Dirt games, as they are not hardcore simulations at all, and this is. That's it, the options are so limited, I don't even need to review it, you either have the choice of the great rally "games" that are Dirt 1 and 2, or the AMAZING "simulation" that is Richard Burns Rally. Its just too bad Burns died from a sickness not long after it was made, cause it will probably not get the sequel it deserves so greatly. At least it has tons of user made content, and plenty of people STILL playing it years after its release. Its easily modded, and has plenty of help at the website I mentioned (english and french).

THE must have sim for rally geeks! I love it!