I am kind of a late bloomer when it comes to gaming, and I generally play only racing sim games, both track based and rally.
Regarding rally, the original Colin McRae games such as CMcRae 05 and even 02 or 03 (I forget), in my opinion had the best physics in terms of realism. In fact, I think my original CMcRae 03 for my playstation 2 may be the best in terms of physics and realism, and I have played them all on both the playstation and the xbox. I play with a wheel, not a controller because you don't drive a car with a controller.
The last couple of years have been tough. DiRt physics are not the best and don't seem to work that well with the Xbox 360 wheel--seems a little arcady. There is always a learning curve, but the physics just are not right.
When Richard Burns Rally came out a few years ago (5 years now!), there was a lot of reviews that said this was THE best rally sim in terms of realism and physics. The problem was that it was released in Europe on XBox and PS2, but sadly Richard passed and the US version never came to be (something about different video formats).
Well, I was searching Amazon the other day and saw that only a couple of RBRs were still available for PC. I do not have a gaming PC but decided to buy it anyway because who knows and it was cheap. I loaded it into my laptop (17 in screen), dug out a ten year old Logitech force feedback wheel that I dont use anymore, and connected it all up.
OH MY GOD. It is awesome. After loading the logitech software on my laptop, I was able to assign all of the buttons, including starter, e-brake etc, and the force feedback works. Moreover, the physics are incredible. It is absolutely the closest thing to simulation in driving a car on loose surface--period. The graphics are a little dated by today's standards, but the physics makes up for it. Took me two days just to pass the driving school and Richard walks you through the entire thing. The realism might turn some people off, but I like it. If you crash the car, you are done, unlike many other sim games.
Anyway, I highly recommend if you like rally sims and have a PC.
That is all.
Regarding rally, the original Colin McRae games such as CMcRae 05 and even 02 or 03 (I forget), in my opinion had the best physics in terms of realism. In fact, I think my original CMcRae 03 for my playstation 2 may be the best in terms of physics and realism, and I have played them all on both the playstation and the xbox. I play with a wheel, not a controller because you don't drive a car with a controller.
The last couple of years have been tough. DiRt physics are not the best and don't seem to work that well with the Xbox 360 wheel--seems a little arcady. There is always a learning curve, but the physics just are not right.
When Richard Burns Rally came out a few years ago (5 years now!), there was a lot of reviews that said this was THE best rally sim in terms of realism and physics. The problem was that it was released in Europe on XBox and PS2, but sadly Richard passed and the US version never came to be (something about different video formats).
Well, I was searching Amazon the other day and saw that only a couple of RBRs were still available for PC. I do not have a gaming PC but decided to buy it anyway because who knows and it was cheap. I loaded it into my laptop (17 in screen), dug out a ten year old Logitech force feedback wheel that I dont use anymore, and connected it all up.
OH MY GOD. It is awesome. After loading the logitech software on my laptop, I was able to assign all of the buttons, including starter, e-brake etc, and the force feedback works. Moreover, the physics are incredible. It is absolutely the closest thing to simulation in driving a car on loose surface--period. The graphics are a little dated by today's standards, but the physics makes up for it. Took me two days just to pass the driving school and Richard walks you through the entire thing. The realism might turn some people off, but I like it. If you crash the car, you are done, unlike many other sim games.
Anyway, I highly recommend if you like rally sims and have a PC.
That is all.
