Not content with cleaning up in the rallying genre with Colin McRae Rally and TOCAs one and two, Codemasters are gunning to do it all over again.
Andy Smith

You mean they're milking it?
That's a cynical attitude. Colin McRae Rally was a most excellent game and Codemasters are well known for their genuine focus on gameplay and desire to bring out really good games rather than quick cash-ins. They reckon that although CMR was good, there's room for improvement.

Alright, I take that back then.
Okay.

More of the same then?
Essentially, yes, but there have been some major tweaks that will affect the gameplay. Colin's switched from Subaru to Ford, for example, and now drives their new Ford Focus.

But that's just a cosmetic change, isn't it?
A lesser software house might well simply change the graphics and apply the same physics model, but not the Codies. They've actually been working with Ford who've given them some telemetry readouts from the Focus in action and their game's mechanics model matched them first time.

Impressive.
We thought so.

But they will have made cosmetic changes too?
For sure. The original game was developed for PlayStation and then ported across to PC and enhanced. This time they've treated the PC version as a separate entity . They've improved the whole overall look of the game, as well as including some nifty effects like semi-transparent windows so you can catch a glimpse of the driver and co-driver in action, fully functional lights (including hazard lights) and some lovely spark effects. They've also managed to include some dynamic weather conditions - you can start in the dry, only for it to rain halfway round so you end up finishing in the wet. This doesn't actually affect the gameplay, but it sure looks purdee.