Seat belts fastened and a dirt track, because in today’s review we’ll talk to you about EA Sports WRthe new chapter in the series dedicated to the world rally championship, developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Artsin the EA tradition of rebranding sports franchises.
Well yes because EA Sports WRC is nothing other than the new era of Colin McRae Rallya franchise well known to couch pilots, which 20 years after its last chapter undergoes the EA rebranding treatment (as happened with FIFA which became EA Sports FC). In this case, however, the official licenses are all there, thanks also to the collaboration with the World Racing Championship (WRC precisely).
The game is therefore an ambitious title, which aims to offer a realistic and engaging driving experience, but also accessible and fun for all types of players. Moreover, the title presents itself with an important characteristic already upon purchase: it is available only for new-gen consoles. And indeed the game focus everything on visual powertaking advantage of the graphics engine Unreal Engine. Synonymous with guarantee for a quality visual rendering.
Let’s see in detail the strengths and weaknesses of the game in our review of EA Sports WRC.
The review of EA Sports WRC: Career and Moments
The main mode of the game is obviously the Careerwhich allows us to participate in the official WRC championship, choosing between the different categories (Junior WRC, WRC 2 and WRC) and between the various real teams and drivers.
The most interesting new feature of this mode is the possibility to create our own team and our own personalized car, choosing between various components and aesthetic aspects. This gives us the feeling of truly being the protagonists of the world of rallying, but also of experiencing the responsibility of managing the budget. A managerial aspect not to be underestimated, between repairs to be carried out and performances to be improved. The Career mode is well structured and long-lasting, dotted with events that follow the real WRC calendar.
The developers couldn’t resist the temptation to throw the mode into the game Moments, which made the fortune of 2K franchises (think WWE 2K and NBA) and which also debuted in the EA world in the FIFA franchise. The Moments allow you to relive some of the historic races of the WRC championship, with vintage cars and drivers. A mode that succeeds very well in its nostalgia effect, despite the obvious problemsas shown in the screenshot below (why do the two car doors invade the track at the start? And why is there a latest generation tablet in a 1997 race?)
Other game modes are:
- Quick Play solo mode (single player vs AI)
- Quick Play multiplayer (for a total of 32 players per session)
- Time Trial
- Championship
- Clubs Mode
- Rally Schools (for practice and introducing new players to racing mechanics)
- Livery Editor
- Rally Pass (to unlock cosmetics and liveries. The Pass can be purchased separately)
- Photo Mode
The driving model
If historical fidelity is certainly not among the strong points, EA Sports WRC certainly shines with its driving model, which manages to balance realism and accessibility well. The game offers us several options to customize the level of difficulty and assistance, so as to adapt to our preferences and abilities. Furthermore, a tutorial (discreetly created) will help those who are approaching the video game rally for the first time.
The game challenges us with different types of terrain, weather conditions and times of day. Aspects that significantly influence the behavior of the cars and visibility, contributing to the realism of the title. This last aspect is embellished by an amazing technical sector (we’ll come back to this shortly).
Wanting to stay on the gameplay for a moment, the game requires us to pay attention to the co-pilot’s instructions, which are fundamental for dealing with the curves and dangers of the route.
The driving model of EA Sports WRC is therefore very fun and satisfying, but it doesn’t reach the level of simulation of other titles in the genre, such as Dirt Rally 2.0 and the new Forza Motorsport (which we reviewed here).
The review of EA Sports WRC: the technical sector
As mentioned, the game is based on the Unreal Engine graphics engine, which gives the title a very refined and detailed visual appearance. The cars are well modeled and faithfully reflect their real-life counterparts. The scenarios are varied and evocative, and have a good viewing distance and a good depth of field.
The light and particle effects are very realistic and help create an immersive atmosphere. However, once again, the direct comparison with Forza Motorsport, a direct competitor, does not seem to hold up.
Moreover EA Sports WRC It requires a fairly high hardware configuration to run smoothly and stably, at least on PC. Furthermore, there are also some bugs and glitches, which can ruin the gaming experience (think back to the screenshot above)
The appearance is good though customization, with a very large livery and car editor, as well as a large fleet of cars (in addition to the 10 official WRC vehicles there are 68 historic cars). The same goes for circuits with 18 location ufficiali WRC (17 at launch and an eighteenth that will arrive with a free update).
PRO
- Official WRC licenses
- Career mode
- Free Editor
- Unreal Engine
- Customization
AGAINST
- Historical credibility
- It requires an important hardware sector to be appreciated by PC
- Bug minori
- Not suitable for non-racing experts (despite Racing School mode)