WRC 8 Review

[Steve_OS]

After a two- year absence, Bigben and Kylotonn are back with the officially licensed FIA series...

Written By: Robert Kollars

Click here to view the article.

[Dazraz]

The one frustration for me is that the developers have removed the ability to create your own event. In WRC 7 you could edit a rally event to incorporate whichever states you wished. Outside of Career/Season Modes all you can really do is race one off stages.*

[dubeau]

It's a fun game but on a controller, it's pretty frisky. You can feel it was develop with wheels in mind. Controller are difficult to balanced, and with some cars you don't feel in control that much. Still a very enjoyable WRC game. I think it's the first one I truly enjoy from them. I especially like the career mode.

[TCrouch]

Really didn't have a huge interest in this game until this excellent write-up and a recommendation from another board member.

I wasn't into WRC 7 at all...I think I got it on sale at some point in the past, but I couldn't even complete the first career rally because the handling felt like trash on my wheel and everything from force feedback to even the camera felt "off". The camera juttered and jumped around way too much in the cockpit view, to where I felt like I couldn't see anything.

I was very skeptical of WRC 8, but after reading this and seeing how much improved it supposedly was over 7, I took the plunge. Wow, what a difference a version makes. Right out of the box, it worked with my wheel, and the force feedback is some of the best I've ever felt in a game. Coming to hairpins, I can spin the wheel, let the car's momentum counter steer for me, and just "catch" it when I want to continue. Same for gravel or snow.

When the controls are excellent, the rest of the game falls into place quickly. I found myself COMPLETELY immersed in the career mode's financial aspects, but I did run into an issue where you could just recruit staff members every time they prompt you. Next think I know I'm -$15,000 in the bank so apparently that's bad to do!

I realized you can fire some team members, so I guess keeping a pair of each role is a good base? Since they need to rest from time to time, it introduces a lot of fun management aspects to it that I hadn't had in a rally game before. The only comparison I had was Dirt Rally (1, not 2.0, as I didn't play 2.0 much but I played a LOT of 1), which was just race after race and nothing managerial at all. I enjoy this new aspect quite a bit.

But bottom line, this thing is phenomenal. Especially considering the hate I had for WRC 7, this title really surprised me.

[poulka]

Quote: Originally Posted by TCrouch

Really didn't have a huge interest in this game until this excellent write-up and a recommendation from another board member. I wasn't into WRC 7 at all...I think I got it on sale at some point in the past, but I couldn't even complete the first career rally because the handling felt like trash on my wheel and everything from force feedback to even the camera felt "off". The camera juttered and jumped around way too much in the cockpit view, to where I felt like I couldn't see anything. I was very skeptical of WRC 8, but after reading this and seeing how much improved it supposedly was over 7, I took the plunge. Wow, what a difference a version makes. Right out of the box, it worked with my wheel, and the force feedback is some of the best I've ever felt in a game. Coming to hairpins, I can spin the wheel, let the car's momentum counter steer for me, and just "catch" it when I want to continue. Same for gravel or snow. When the controls are excellent, the rest of the game falls into place quickly. I found myself COMPLETELY immersed in the career mode's financial aspects, but I did run into an issue where you could just recruit staff members every time they prompt you. Next think I know I'm -$15,000 in the bank so apparently that's bad to do! I realized you can fire some team members, so I guess keeping a pair of each role is a good base? Since they need to rest from time to time, it introduces a lot of fun management aspects to it that I hadn't had in a rally game before. The only comparison I had was Dirt Rally (1, not 2.0, as I didn't play 2.0 much but I played a LOT of 1), which was just race after race and nothing managerial at all. I enjoy this new aspect quite a bit. But bottom line, this thing is phenomenal. Especially considering the hate I had for WRC 7, this title really surprised me.

I have to agree with you. I tried the demo of WRC 7 and did not like it all. Having played most things DIRT the last being 2.0 this is a breath of fresh air. Two things makes this title stand out to me.

1. Managing the race team finances and crew.

2. Dynamic weather. I have run WRC Juniors twice and about to start a third time. Just so I can win the championship. Each rally event feels unique in that weather, lighting, start of event each change from season to season. Historic races can earn you cash but are a fun challenge.

It feels more like a series of unique events rather than a grind through one off races.

[ILuvMN81]

Sorry to dig up a bit of a corpse of a thread...I picked up WRC 8 on sale at GameStop this week ($20!).

I’m glad I held off on giving my opinion because while I enjoy the game, I echo a few concerns.

The game is VERY difficult with a controller. Not impossible, it just takes a lot of getting used to.

Something I found highly disappointing is the lack of custom event/custom season modes. The “season” mode is nothing but a watered down version of career. I was looking forward to it being where I could jump straight into the WRC category and run the schedule with my favorite crew/team. Instead I have to create a character/avatar and work my way up. The management aspects are removed so it’s “career lite”.

I’m not completely disappointed in the product though. The difficulty is a welcome change. The cars actually have a decent feel to them (unlike the last WRC game). The graphics have improved. I’m not a huge fan of eSports or online competition but I’ll say WRC 8 does a good job with it.

Whenever WRC 9 releases, I hope they build on what they’re doing here. It’s a tough hill but this series can compete with Dirty Rally. If Dirt Rally was a WRC driver I’d say it’s Loeb or Ogier, WRC is maybe an Elfyn Evans.