''WRC 4: The Official Game of the FIA World Rally Championship'' (also known as ''WRC 4'' and ''WRC 2004'') 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

Evolution Studios Evolution Studios Ltd. was a British video game developer based in Runcorn, Cheshire. The company was founded in 1999 by Martin Kenwright and Ian Hetherington, following the purchase of their studio Digital Image Design's publisher Ocean Softwa ...

for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

. It is the fourth rallying game to be officially licensed by the FIA World Rally Championship and is based on the 2004 WRC season.

Gameplay

In a quick race, the player will play a randomly selected stage with a randomly selected car and driver. During the race, the player will have to beat a time trial (although this is not needed to advance in the game). The time target will be based on the 1st place time ranking. If beaten, the best time will be the new target time to beat. The Championship mode lets the player play through the 2004 WRC season. The player must play through this mode based on the real life calendar, following the schedule for the 2004 WRC season. Championship mode ends when all 16 rallies are played, but the player can stop playing after any stage, because the game saves after each stage is finished. The player can play all six stages in a rally, but normally the player will have to buy the stage to play it in other modes. The Pro Driver Challenge is a career mode where the player takes the role of a rookie who has to start from the weak Super 1600 class and must complete a series of tasks to enter the WRC class. In Super Special Challenge, the player will play against an AI generated opponent in all SSS course in the country's alphabetical order instead of the season's chronology. In a single rally, the player will play all six stages in a selected rally. The test track mode lets the player practice their driving skills or take part in rally tests akin to the license tests of the ''Gran Turismo'' series.

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the

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website

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. In Japan, where the game was localized and published by

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

on 7 April 2005, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40.

References

External links