Where have all the rally sims gone?

As the title says really: Where have all the decent rally simulations gone? I used to enjoy the Colin McRae and Richard Burns Rally games on the previous-generation consoles, but sadly it seems that these games have died along with the talented drivers they took their names from.:( Personally, I don't find the arcade-style rally games (eg. Sega Rally) satisfying to play (Burnout is a more fun arcade racer), and the 'Dirt' series has also gone this way (plus I'd like something that concentrates on WRC-style rallying / Dakar-style, rather than dirt buggies etc.).

What I'd really like to see is a proper "hardcore" rally sim with realistic physics and ruthless damage modelling (including things like punctures and reliability issues to battle through), in which you work your way up from club & junior events driving old favourites (205GTis, old Imprezas etc.) to fully-fledged latest-generation WRC rocketships. I want to feel the consequences of pushing the car too hard, I want realistic time/resource-limited repairs in service areas and I want the challenge of overcoming demanding and punishing stages.

With current consoles, all this and more is possible...so what's happened to this genre?:confused:

Dirt 3 will be released by end of this year, though it's not a pure sim.

And apparently Granturismo5 will have some serious rallying, including night-time racing!

edit: some GT5 rallying videos

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yM3gXnGIgE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yM3gXnGIgE[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OZCwRGFUA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OZCwRGFUA[/ame]

So far rallying in Gran Turismo games has been... ignorable.

So far rallying in Gran Turismo... hasn't really been rallying at all.

EDIT And it looks like it still won't be this time round.

Also, looking at the second part of the first video, cars seem a bit too large compared to the track.

[quote=LeonOfTheDead;945304]Also, looking at the second part of the first video, cars seem a bit too large compared to the track.[/quote]

ya just noticed that, and in the first video the cars seem a little too small..

Sigh, it's either GT5, Dirt 3, or [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9XHd3mNmoo"]THIS ABYSMAL DEVIL'S TAINT OF A GAME[/ame]

It's slim pickings, I know.

With all that's on offer nowadays... you're best off going back to Richard Burns Rally or Rally Trophy.

I'd also add to the lament: GT Legends. That's a fantastic game, but never followed up on or explored further.

You may want to keep an eye on this one perhaps ;) For Xbox360 , PS3 and my personal preference PC too.

[URL="http://www.wrcthegame.com/"]WRC - The Game[/URL]

From the video trailer there may not be that long to wait. Just what i've been hoping for to wash the memory of Dirt 2 away.

[quote=aiasib;945295]Dirt 3 will be released by end of this year, though it's not a pure sim.

And apparently Granturismo5 will have some serious rallying, including night-time racing!

edit: some GT5 rallying videos

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yM3gXnGIgE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yM3gXnGIgE[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OZCwRGFUA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OZCwRGFUA[/url][/quote]

Its amazing!!!!!! nice video,,,,,,,,,,Thanks......

^^^ WHAT ?
hmm, watch the car view as it goes off the edges ... classic arcade type instead of sim :(
Going to look pretty for sure. BUT as the original poster raised ... where's the repalcement fro Richard Burns ? ( Personalyl a better sim than Colin McRae though CM series always won out on stages and cars )

@rsowner, cheers ... downloading demo for PC now :)

EDIT: Actually found "demo" :) elsewhere. Need to go connect wheel again. Looks pretty, NOT convinced of handling - but usign keybaord :( but DO LIKE the "noir effect" replays :) :)

EDIT2: OMFG :( Snow banks are like armco. SO NO REALISM there then. Another "fail" :(

Hard core rally sims have just become too niche for most developers to bother with them on the consoles. If it ain't NFS, Gran Turismo, or Forza gamers don't respond with big sales. You've probably got a chance of seeing something come down the pipe for PC, but I wouldn't hold my breath for a good rally sim on the PS3 or 360.

WRC has just been released, and whilst this is probably the most serious rally game released on the PS3, it really lacks polish to make it a quality title.

The physics are average, the sound effects average, the graphics are definitely sub-standard.

Having played every WRC game on the PlayStation, I was hoping for big things, but unfortunately the game is rather naff.

I'm a massive fan of Gran Turismo, but traditionally the rallying in GT has been worse than Continental Circus. I'm not holding my breath for a decent rally experience in GT5....

;)

^^^ worse Aero is it's compeltely unrealistic off the "track" and is worse than even the first Colin McRae rally for realistic ditch hooking and snow banks

who cares about "realistic looking"

FFS rally games have been so bad at simulating the real thing , that the graphics should hardly ever get mentioned over the physics moaning

Colin Mcrae Rally went downhill after the first edition

WRC got steadily better untill number 4 , 5 was an arcade step backwards (but all were more arcade that CMR)

Rallisport Challenge was arcade

Dirt was a money grabbing graphics whore that finally dropped simulation pretensions that CMR 5 was lying about

Gran Turismo should not be spoken of in rally terms

RBR was a godsend , & the PC community deserves the modding praise they have gotten over their correction eforts

it was the companys FIRST ATTEMPT at a racing game , & they did so many things right despite the (MANY) bugs , that its a criminal shame they didnt get enough money to develop the code further in a sequal



EDIT : CMR 1 challenge

if you have a sony POS2 (or 1) , boot up NZ stage 1 using the impreza

i guarantee you will not beat 2.06 . . . . . & you wont beat 2.04 even with the audi

just getting a 2.10 is a totally clean run

CMR improved it's force feedback over the series imho .... and then got caught up in graphics prostituion :( I rate Dirt over ALL of the WRC releases. Had forgotten about Rallistport Challenge :)
and yea ... bummer we never saw RBR advance :(

[quote=pimento;945312]With all that's on offer nowadays... you're best off going back to Richard Burns Rally or [B]Rally Trophy[/B].

I'd also add to the lament: GT Legends. That's a fantastic game, but never followed up on or explored further.[/quote]
This.

I have it and I liked it. Difficult, but fun. And an array of classic rallying machines.

Just a shame that it didn't have more licenses and was more based in realistic 60's and 70's rallying.

I'd kill for a realistic rally sim with vintage cars, I want to drive a Stratos or an Mini Cooper @ monte carlo. :)

The mod community for Colin McRae and Richard Burns Rally will assist.

I prefer the driving/physics model of RBR and know there is a Monte Carlo mod for it ( but not sure if classic or modern stages ) and there are also car mods for the Metro 6R4 and Escort Mk2 ... but not sure on Stratos or Mini. Googling around the sim community you'll find the RSRBR packs.

COlin McRae rally series provided the Stratos out of the box and the 67 Cooper, jsut can't remember which series. Again googling in the sim community will find demo and mods.

There was a game called Rally Trophy that's all vintage stuff, the most modern it gets is Escort and Stratos. If you can find that it'd be worth a go.

oh good call ..... had forgotten about Rally Trophy. Not as good a sim but had a VERY active mod community :)

Here's a preview of Dirt 3 via one of the developers. Of course Jessica is always easy on the eyes.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_ZKp1Vuy0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_ZKp1Vuy0[/ame]

Good move on their part. I enjoyed Dirt 1 so much more than Dirt 2. The whole X-games angle was a bad move.

It would be neat if they'd make a racing/role playing game. Where if you broke down while racing, you'd have to find the different parts to fix it, meanwhile coming upon various adventures.