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Colin invades the N-Gage. Colin McRae Rally 2005 is known on the consoles for its excellent visuals and top-notch representation on the rally genre. Colin McRae Rally 2005 for N-Gage is based on the Codemasters title of the same name and does a great job at taking the console experience portable.
Colin McRae Rally 2005 allows you to play in a Championship mode, Single Rally mode, Single Stage mode or Time Trial for single-player. In Championship mode, you’ll compete against others through many of the game’s countries (of which there are eight: Australia, Finland, France, Greece, Kenya, Sweden and the UL). Single Rally has a similar focus, except you’ll only be racing in one country’s tracks. In Single Stage, as you can guess, you’ll only play in a single stage while in Time Attack, you’re simply setting your best time. You’ll need Championship mode (and Rally mode) to unlock additional countries (and the tracks that go with it) for the other modes, but also to unlock the game’s 16 vehicles.
The game has a fully functional multiplayer mode for two players, via the N-Gage’s Bluetooth capabilities. The game had no problem finding another N-Gage nearby to play with and the whole process was pretty simple. Additionally, the game supports N-Gage Arena to allow you to upload your best scores and ghosts, view leaderboards and download ghosts from others. You’ll receive points for participating, but the game will give you more points if you defeat someone who is ranked first as opposed to someone who barely made the list.
The actual racing in the game is top-notch. Each of the many cars (there are sixteen including the Impraza WRX, Lancer, WV Golf R32, Mini Cooper S, Clio V6, Celica GT-S) handles differently, garaunteeing that you’ll find one that suits you. As you race, you’ll need to take in account the game’s weather system as they will affect your handling and speed, as does the surface you’ll be racing in. For the most part, it is about making sure you have the appropriate tire (i.e. choosing a Dry Gravel tire if it is sunny and the surface is made up of gravel). Sometimes, you’ll need to adjust other things like the Gearbox (give it a long or short ratio or somewhere in between) and Suspension (set it somewhere between soft or hard), as well as others like the power ratio, brake bias, brake power and steering.
As you race, you’re car will take damage so you’ll need to repair the car between races. After each set, you’re given 60 “minutes” that act like points. Fixing the car’s steering for instance will take up 14 of those points, while fixing the brakes will take ten. All in all, you’ll need to make sure that the gearbox, turbo, suspension, differential, brakes, body, steering, electrics, exhaust, drive shaft, and axles are all in tip-top shape. You can’t possibly drive recklessly and be able to fix everything in between races, which forces you to race carefully.
Visually, the game is one of the N-Gage’s more demanding titles. Each of the sixteen cars in the game are excellently modeled and take a good bit of visible damage as they go through the game’s many stages. Each of the stages differ from the previous one, but they all provide a good rally backdrop complete with foliage and a wide array of different surfaces to race on. All stages are enclosed (usually by a line of trees) but others convince you that you’re part of the great outdoors with expansive hills forming in the sides. The game’s frame rate could be better; it doesn’t quite reach the expected 30 frames per second, but the frame rate doesn’t stutter, providing for a smooth experience which is appreciated more than a stuttery frame rate that reached 30 at times.
The game’s audio isn’t as compelling but satisfactory nonetheless. As with any other Colin McRae game, the audio while in a race is compromised solely of engine sounds and the voice of your co-driver, who aurally tells you how the track is going go to change. The game’s menus have forgettable dance music.
Much like the console version of the same name, Colin McRae Rally 2005 is an excellent rally title and certainly not a bad first entry in the racing genre for the N-Gage. The value is high too giving the sheer amount of tracks and vehicles available, but also because of the Bluetooth and Arena support. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 1, 2004
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