''V-Rally'' is a
racing video game
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...
developed by
Infogrames Multimedia
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. Be ...
and released for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
console in 1997. The first game in the ''
V-Rally
''V-Rally'' is a racing video game series originally developed and published by Infogrames. It debuted in 1997 with the release of V-Rally (video game), the eponymous game for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation console.
History
''V-Rally'' ...
'' series, it is based on the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
and
1998 World Rally Championship
The 1998 World Rally Championship was the 26th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 13 rallies. Tommi Mäkinen won his third consecutive drivers' world championship driving for Mitsubishi, ahead of Carlos Sainz and ...
seasons, and features officially licensed cars and tracks inspired by real locations of rally events. Players drive
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sports ...
cars through a series of stages spread over eight different locations, ranging from European countries like
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
or
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, to island countries such as
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. As a
simulation
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
game, ''V-Rally'' places a strong emphasis on replicating the behavior physics of real cars and generally requires more practice than
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
-style racers.
The game was developed over the course of nearly two years by a team that would later be known as
Eden Studios
Eden Studios was a commercial recording facility in west London. It opened in 1967, originally at 11 Eden Street in Kingston upon Thames (now under the Eden Walk shopping centre), before moving to 20-24 Beaumont Road in Chiswick in 1972. It was ...
. Former rally world champion
Ari Vatanen
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally ...
worked on the game as a technical consultant,
giving the developers insight on how the cars should handle collisions and drifts. Upon release, the game was critically and commercially successful in Europe, selling more than two million copies as of November 1998. However, the game was not very successful in North America. Critics generally praised its large number of tracks and challenging yet rewarding gameplay, but some criticized its overly-sensitive and difficult controls. After its release on the PlayStation console, ''V-Rally'' was
ported
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to multiple platforms, including the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
,
Game Boy Color
The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
, and
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. A sequel, ''
V-Rally 2
''V-Rally 2'' (''Need for Speed: V-Rally 2'' in North America for the PlayStation version and ''Test Drive V-Rally'' in North America for the Dreamcast version) is a racing video game developed by Eden Studios and published by Infogrames for PlayS ...
'', was released in 1999.
Gameplay
''V-Rally'' is a
racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
simulation
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
game where players drive
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sports ...
cars through a series of
stages
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* S ...
or tracks.
The game places a strong emphasis on replicating the behavior physics of real cars and generally requires more practice than
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
-style racers.
Aspects such as the weather conditions, the road surfaces, and the
drive wheel
A drive wheel is a wheel of a motor vehicle that transmits force, transforming torque into tractive force from the tires to the road, causing the vehicle to move. The powertrain delivers enough torque to the wheel to overcome stationary for ...
configurations have a significant impact on the car handling.
Weather conditions include rain and snow, while road surfaces range from asphalt to gravel or dirt.
Races can take place at night or during the day.
The game features both
Kit Cars
Kit may refer to:
Places
*Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit
* Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province
* Kit Hill, Cornwall, England
People
* Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Kit (surname)
Animals
* Young animals: ...
and
World Rally Car
A World Rally Car is a racing automobile built to the specific regulations set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and designed for competition in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The cars were introduced in 1997 as a repl ...
s for players to choose from. Kit Cars are
two-wheel drive
Two-wheel-drive (2WD) denotes Motor vehicle, vehicles with a Powertrain, drivetrain that allows two wheels to be driven, and receive Engine power, power and torque from the engine, simultaneously.
Four-wheeled vehicles
For four-wheeled vehicles ( ...
and include cars such as the
Peugeot 306 Maxi
The Peugeot 306 is a small family car built by the French car manufacturer Peugeot from 1993 to 2002. It replaced the 309. Peugeot gave the 306 many updates and aesthetic changes to keep up with the competition, and it was replaced by the 307 in ...
or
Renault Maxi Megane, while World Rally Cars are
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
and include cars such as the
Subaru Impreza WRC
The Subaru Impreza WRC is a World Rally Car based on the Subaru Impreza road car. It was used by Subaru World Rally Team, Subaru's factory team, and replaced Subaru Legacy RS in 1993. The car was debuted at 1993 Rally Finland and won a total o ...
or
Mitsubishi Lancer WRC
The Mitsubishi Lancer WRC is a World Rally Car built by Ralliart, Mitsubishi Motors' motorsport division, to compete in the World Rally Championship. The previous Lancer Evolution series were homologated for the Group A class, and their competiti ...
.
Before starting a race, players have the option to tweak their car setup with tighter suspensions, quicker gear ratios,
understeer or oversteer sensitivity, and choice of
manual
Manual may refer to:
Instructions
* User guide
* Owner's manual
* Instruction manual (gaming)
* Online help
Other uses
* Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ
* Manual (band)
* Manual transmission
* Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...
or
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
.
The game features three gameplay modes: Arcade, Championship, and Time Trial.
In Arcade, players race against opponents controlled by the game's
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
in three series of stages. Each series must be completed in a linear fashion and its stages have multiple checkpoints that must be reached in a specified time. Players start with three credits and, if they lose a stage or fail to reach a checkpoint, they will lose one credit. If players run out of credits, the game will be
over
Over may refer to:
Places
*Over, Cambridgeshire, England
*Over, Cheshire, England
*Over, South Gloucestershire, England
* Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England
** Over Bridge
*Over, Seevetal, Germany
Music
Albums
* ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...
. Players can get additional credits by winning individual stages.
Championship is similar to Arcade, but stages have no checkpoints and players are awarded points based on the rank they finish courses. The game offers more than 40 stages spread over eight different locations,
ranging from European countries like
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
or
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, to island countries such as
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
Time Trial allows players to race on any stage and record the fastest lap time.
All three modes support one or two players. If two players compete against each other, a
split screen
Split screen may refer to:
* Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts
* Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen
* ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001
* Split-Screen Level, a bug in the vid ...
feature is used.
Development and release
![Namco Negcon centred](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Namco_Negcon_centred.jpg)
''V-Rally'' was developed for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
console by an
Infogrames
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. Bec ...
team based in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, France.
This team, composed of 20 full-time people, would later be known as
Eden Studios
Eden Studios was a commercial recording facility in west London. It opened in 1967, originally at 11 Eden Street in Kingston upon Thames (now under the Eden Walk shopping centre), before moving to 20-24 Beaumont Road in Chiswick in 1972. It was ...
.
Because the PlayStation
development kits
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...
did not cover the requirements needed for the game, the developers decided to create their own programming tools, including the
game engine
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...
.
The game's environments and cars are fully rendered in
3D, while the
Gouraud shading
Gouraud shading, named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes. In practice, Gouraud shading is most often used to achieve continuous l ...
method was used to give 3D objects a smoother surface.
All the cars that are featured in the game were officially licensed, including their stickers.
Former rally world champion
Ari Vatanen
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally ...
gave the developers insight on how the cars should handle collisions and drifts.
Vatanen noted that, although each car practically features the same control concepts, there are significant differences between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.
The game supports the
NeGcon
The , stylized as neGcon, is a motion-based video game controller manufactured in 1995 by Namco for the PlayStation. One of the first third-party peripherals for the system, the controller is connected by a swivel joint, allowing the player to twis ...
controller by
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
, allowing players to steer their car around curves in an analog manner.
Originally, the game was intended to feature a
level editor
In Video game, video games, a level (also referred to as a map, stage, or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively-increasing ...
where players could create their own tracks by modifying variables such as road surface, road curves, and weather conditions.
It would take the PlayStation between 30 and 60 seconds to render these tracks, which could be saved in a
memory card
A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
. This option would allow players to update their game with additional tracks.
Eventually, an editor would be included in the 1999 sequel ''
V-Rally 2
''V-Rally 2'' (''Need for Speed: V-Rally 2'' in North America for the PlayStation version and ''Test Drive V-Rally'' in North America for the Dreamcast version) is a racing video game developed by Eden Studios and published by Infogrames for PlayS ...
''.
Although the game's tracks are fictitious, they were inspired by real locations of rally events, such as the Rally
Costa Brava
The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Whilst sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava, it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeast o ...
in Spain.
With the use of the
PlayStation Link Cable
The PlayStation Link Cable (SCPH-1040) is a peripheral cable for the PlayStation console. Utilizing the serial I/O port found on the back of most PlayStation models, it allows for two consoles to be connected in order to play compatible multiplay ...
, a 4 player multiplayer mode was initially planned. Similarly, developers considered the possibility of adding a
rear-view mirror
A rear-view mirror (or rearview mirror) is a flat mirror in automobiles and other vehicles, designed to allow the driver to see rearward through the vehicle's rear window (rear windshield).
In cars, the rear-view mirror is usually affixed to ...
to the
HUD
Hud or HUD may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman
* ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film
* ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program
Places
* Hud, Far ...
, but it was ultimately discarded due to the memory constraints of the PlayStation hardware.
The game's
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
score was recorded at the Moby Dick club in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
.
The game had a development budget of $2 million and its development took two years to complete.
The V in the game's title stands for "Virtual".
Based on the
1997 World Rally Championship
The 1997 World Rally Championship was the 25th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season saw many changes in the championship. Most notably, Group A was partially replaced by the World Rally Car with manufacturers given the option wh ...
,
''V-Rally'' was first released in Europe in July 1997 as ''V-Rally: 97 Championship Edition''.
Later that September, the game's European distributor
Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
sold the North American publishing rights to
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
.
Although the game has no connection to Electronic Arts' ''
Need for Speed
''Need for Speed'' (''NFS'') is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of ''Burnout''. The series generally centers around illicit street racing and tasks players to com ...
'' series,
the company released the game as ''Need for Speed: V-Rally'' in North America on November 4.
A likely reason for the title change was to draw more attention to the American market,
as it was classified that rally racing was a much more popular sport in Europe than it was in America.
The North American version includes the
Toyota Corolla WRC
The Toyota Corolla WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Toyota Castrol Team by Toyota Motorsport GmbH to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the E110 version of Toyota Corolla road car. The car was debuted at the 1997 ...
as a new car.
In 1998, the game was re-released as ''V-Rally: Championship Edition'' under the
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
line. This version of the game supports the
DualShock
The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...
controller and includes the Toyota Corolla WRC from the North American version.
In 2000, a version that comes bundled with ''
Eagle One: Harrier Attack'' was also released.
Reception
In Europe, ''V-Rally'' received very positive reviews from critics, who compared it favorably to ''
Sega Rally Championship
''SEGA Rally Championship'' is a 1994 racing video game developed by Sega AM3 and published by Sega. Originally released for arcades using the Sega Model 2 board, it was converted to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Windows in 1997. The unique sellin ...
'', praising its large number of tracks and challenging yet rewarding gameplay.
''
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine'' (often abbreviated to ''OPM'') was a monthly video game magazine, published by Ziff Davis Media. It was a sister publication of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''. The magazine focused exclusively on PlayStation ...
'' described ''V-Rally'' as "a huge game, by far the most comprehensive racer on
he PlayStationor any other platform since
Psygnosis
Psygnosis Limited (known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hether ...
' ''
F1''",
while ''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' credited it for adopting a different style from other PlayStation racing games such as ''
Rage Racer
is the third title in the ''Ridge Racer'' series of racing games on the PlayStation. Developed and published by Namco, it was released in Japan on December 3, 1996, with releases in the U.S. and Europe following in 1997. It was the first game in t ...
'', a market the magazine considered overcrowded at the time.
Editors of the French video game magazine ''Consoles +'' considered ''V-Rally'' the most effective rally simulation game they had ever played.
''
Computer and Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' editors felt that the simulation aspects give ''V-Rally'' a lot of depth, but remarked that the game is not as instantly accessible as ''Sega Rally'' and that its highly sensitive controls can frustrate some players. They also considered ''V-Rally'' a more attractive game due to its better-looking graphics, which were highlighted for their details and long
draw distance
In computer graphics, draw distance (render distance or view distance) is the maximum distance of objects in a three-dimensional scene that are drawn by the rendering engine. Polygons that lie beyond the draw distance will not be drawn to the ...
.
The
replay value
Replay may refer to:
* Replay (sports), a replayed match between two sport teams Technology
* Game replay, a recording of a game session.
* Instant replay, in motion pictures and television, a showing again of part of a film
* Replay Professional, ...
was seen as one of the game's strongest points, mainly because of the variety of tracks and weather conditions.
The Spanish video game magazine ''
HobbyConsolas
''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1990. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...
'' noted the game's varied scenery, stating that each track offers unique challenges. The magazine said that, although it can take some time to get used to the controls, the effort is ultimately rewarding due to the game's "impressive" sense of speed.
In North America, reviews were generally not as positive.
''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' condemned the controls, saying that the cars "spin out much, much too easily, and even with understeering turned all the way up in the options, the cars still tend to go wild". Although the website highlighted the game's "impressive" number of cars and tracks, especially when compared to most games of the time, it concluded that the game is not worth playing due to its "shoddy control".
''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' editors agreed, describing the car physics and collision detection as wacky and unnatural.
''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' instead asserted that "game control is responsive, but requires patience and practice, so arcade drivers will easily be frustrated". The reviewer concluded that ''V-Rally'' is more for hardcore rally enthusiasts than for the ''Need for Speed'' fanbase, but is a strong offering in that regard, citing its customization options, useful co-pilot voice, and detailed and smoothly scrolling graphics.
Other publications were more positive towards the game.
''
GameRevolution
''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots ...
'' enjoyed the fact that weather conditions impact the gameplay experience, stressing that "once you understand that you actually need to use your brakes and concentrate on the race, the realism proves to be a great asset",
while ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' felt that the game was highly rewarding and fun, and that it is best experienced when played on higher difficulty settings.
Sales
In Europe, ''V-Rally'' was a commercial success, selling 15,000 copies during its first weekend of release.
In the UK, the game was a bestseller for three months,
and in August 1998, the game received a "Gold" sales award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland,
indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
As of November 1998, ''V-Rally'' had sold more than two million copies worldwide.
It took home a "Gold" prize at the 1999 Milia festival in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, for revenues above €22 million in the European Union during 1998.
In Australia, ''V-Rally'' sold nearly 100,000 copies in its first three months of release.
Ports and adaptations
After its release on the PlayStation console, ''V-Rally'' was
ported
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to multiple platforms. In early 1998, Infogrames hinted that Ocean was planning to release a
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
version of the game.
Presented at the 1998
European Computer Trade Show
The European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) was an annual trade show for the European video game industry which first ran in 1988, the last event being held in 2004.
The exposition was only open to industry professionals and journalists, although it w ...
and later at the 1999
Nintendo Space World
formerly named and was an annual video game trade show hosted by Nintendo from 1989 to 2001. Its three days of high-energy party atmosphere was the primary venue for Nintendo and its licensees to announce and demonstrate new consoles and game ...
show,
the Nintendo 64 version, developed by Eden Studios and entitled ''V-Rally: Edition '99'', was released in Europe in December 1998,
and in North America in September 1999.
It features several improvements over the original, including a revised physics engine for better vehicle feel and control,
alongside updated vehicles based on the
1998 World Rally Championship
The 1998 World Rally Championship was the 26th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 13 rallies. Tommi Mäkinen won his third consecutive drivers' world championship driving for Mitsubishi, ahead of Carlos Sainz and ...
.
The game fits in a 96-
megabit
The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information. The prefix mega (symbol M) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 106 (1 million), and therefore
:1 megabit = = = 1000 kilobits.
The megabit h ...
cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname) Ca ...
,
but does not feature any music during gameplay.
The Nintendo 64 version generally received more positive reviews in Europe
than in North America.
Criticism was targeted at its late draw-in graphics and floaty car physics, but some critics highlighted the fact that the game features more than 50 tracks.
''IGN'' remarked that the North American version would have been judged differently one year earlier, when well-received Nintendo 64 racing games such as ''
World Driver Championship'' or ''
Beetle Adventure Racing
''Beetle Adventure Racing!'' is a racing game released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. It was developed by Paradigm Entertainment along with EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. Each vehicle in the game is a Volkswagen New Beetle, which was re ...
'' had yet to be released.
A single-player,
portable
Portable may refer to:
General
* Portable building, a manufactured structure that is built off site and moved in upon completion of site and utility work
* Portable classroom, a temporary building installed on the grounds of a school to provide a ...
adaptation for the original
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
was exclusively released in Europe in July 1998, under Ocean. It features
pseudo 3D
2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to a Three-dimensional ...
graphics and the Arcade and Championship modes,
with a total of four cars and ten tracks.
An updated version of the Game Boy game was released for the
Game Boy Color
The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
in Europe in April 1999 as ''V-Rally: Championship Edition'',
and in North America in July as ''V-Rally: Edition '99''.
Although the Game Boy Color version is not
backward compatible
Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...
with the Game Boy, it is essentially the same as the Game Boy version,
but features colorful graphics and 20 tracks.
Both versions were developed by
Velez & Dubail.
A
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
version, entitled ''V-Rally: Multiplayer Championship Edition'', was released in Europe in June 1999.
It is similar to the original PlayStation version, but features sharper textures and supports
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...
play.
A
Symbian
Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typic ...
version developed by Ideaworks3D was released for mobile phones such as the
Sony Ericsson P800
The Sony Ericsson P800 is a smartphone introduced in 2002 based upon UIQ version 2.0 (which itself is based upon Symbian OS v7.0) from Sony Ericsson. The P800 is considered the successor of the Ericsson R380, and initial design work was done withi ...
and
P900.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Need for Speed
1997 video games
Electronic Arts games
Infogrames games
Game Boy games
Game Boy Color games
Need for Speed games
Nintendo 64 games
Off-road racing video games
PlayStation (console) games
Rally racing video games
Split-screen multiplayer games
Video games developed in France
Video games set in Corsica
Video games set in England
Video games set in Indonesia
Video games set in Kenya
Video games set in Monaco
Video games set in New Zealand
Video games set in Spain
Video games set in Sweden
Windows games
Ocean Software games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Eden Games games