PS2 GAME – WRC 3: The Official Game Of The FIA World Rally Championship (PRE OWNED)

Take the cars, for instance. None of those skinny-arsed, namby-pamby F1 motors here. We’re talking squat, super-charged, grit-spitting street cars with more grunt than a pig farm. WRC 3 captures this punk mentality but presents it in a package slicker than black ice. The stages look fantastic – there’s a real feeling that you’re in among a huge environment, with lakes stretching off into the distance and mountain ranges looming above you. You’re still confined to the area around the track, but at least it feels like you could just go off-road for a while. But like a clapped-out banger hiding a V8 engine, the most important thing is not the bodywork but what’s under the hood. WRC 3 is clearly aiming more at the arcade gamer rather than the hardcore rally fan, and the handling is suitably loose. It’s not up to the technicality of Colin McRae’s physics model, but does offer a less frustrating experience to those who just want to drive fast through the hedgerows. And it does this really well – punching through narrow lanes in top gear and arcing a vicious powerslide feels brilliant.