![]() This is something KT Racing have done, while also bringing in the aforementioned crew management and more to actually flesh the career mode out and let you actually feel like you're a part of something. Still, if something works, adapt it and make it your own. This is very reminiscent of what you'll see in Codemasters' F1 titles. Part of this more also includes enhancing your and your team's abilities, as well as other bonuses, through the skill and tech tree. In between stages you'll find yourself at your garage, managing your crew, attending other smaller events to bring in money, managing your sponsorships and relations with sponsors, manufacturer and more. What has changed is everything around it. That's understandable, it is the official game of the event itself. ![]() The stages in the career haven't changed a great deal, nor has their format. Keeping on with content, another thing worth speaking about within the game is the expansion of career mode. From the scenery, which at times can genuinely look great as the sun shines over a lush forest, or can be very atmospheric as your headlights barely penetrate the darkness and rain, only just showing you the course in front. As I've said, not perfect, nor the best looking rally game on the market, but there's a marked step up from the last iteration. ![]() What really helps is that, while it's not perfect, there's a lot to distinguish these locations and they genuinely look good. Frankly, WRC 8 truly shines thanks to the sheer number and variety of locations. It's just that with a change in weather, time of day, even just reversing the direction, it never actually feels like you're repeating yourself. Well, actually, when it comes to the career, the set-up of a location is usually that you do a small portion or two of a course, before doing what is essentially the full thing. Taking place across fourteen different locations, each with multiple tracks, you'll not find yourself repeating yourself a great deal. So, let's talk those flimsy-in-appearance but sturdier than a concrete bollard wooden fences. All too often I'd find my way through trial and error - or pure dumb luck. Also, and while it wasn't the fault of the game - I'm just bad at it - I found my co-drivers instructions to be a little late, even when settings were set to deliver instructions early. Ten seconds isn't always enough time to get back on track and no matter how long you've been trying when the game puts you back on track, you've got a nine-second penalty. I do have a few more minor ones to complain about, as well as continuing my complaint about the time given off of the track. For the review, I was playing it using a controller, but having used a wheel during my preview time, the game is certainly designed with a wheel in mind. This is far more accurate than previous outings in the series and is much closer to titles like DiRT Rally. The difference in your car setup, the terrain you're racing on, the weather conditions - everything contributes to the way you race. Particularly when you can tell that KT Racing has really worked on the driving in WRC 8. Personally, I prefer to drive back on, I always try, though why a flimsy wooden fence can stop a huge car is beyond me. Ten seconds, starting from when you cross the invisible barrier. What turns out to be truly annoying to me is that if you happen to go off-track, the game is incredibly rigid in the time it gives you to get back on. I've had cars flying higher than a Tomas Cook aeroplane, following a turn gone awry. This isn't to say that the physics can't bugger off every now and then. There's more than enough there for you to find that sweet spot that, like me, still has you careening off of the track every now and then, but also lets you feel like you've actually accomplished something when you manage to go in a straight line without taking out any nearby wildlife. You have a variety of assists to choose from, with the ability to adjust the difficulty to your liking. It doesn't seem to be on the same level as the current rally game ruler, DiRT Rally 2.0, but it's up there. Thankfully, this does mean I'm almost an expert in judging the accessibility of racing simulations. As always, it would be worth you bearing that in mind. This is to say, I'm not exactly good at them. I need assists, a nice tuning of the difficulty and possibly the support of an emotional councillor just to get me past the first few corners. Let's be honest, anybody who has ever seen any gameplay footage from my previous reviews of any racing game knows that I'm miserably poor at anything close to simulation.
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