Codemasters gets ahold of the official World Rally Championship licence and creates a mouth-watering prospect for fans of rally games.
On paper, EA Sports WRC 23 should represent a happy confluence for rally fans. That’s because it brings together Codemasters which, with the Colin McRae Rally and DiRT games, earned a reputation as the finest rally game developer in the world. EA Sports bought Codemasters in 2021 and has now flexed its financial muscle to acquire the official WRC (World Rally Championship) licence. So, in EA Sports WRC, we’ll have the first Codemasters-developed rally game with an official licence.
Rallying may not be quite as big as Formula One (which Codemasters also recreates in game form), but it’s still one of the most popular forms of motorsport around. Recently, EA offered us an in-depth look at a preview version of WRC 23 via a livestream, and talked us through the game’s structure.
Two unexpected elements immediately stood out in that preview. The first, entitled Vehicle Builder mode, will let you build your own cars from scratch. A process which appeared to have been approached with Codemasters’ typical vigour.
You’ll be able to start by picking and positioning your engine – crucial in terms of weight distribution – then adding the drivetrain and a body. You’ll also be able to fine tune the exact contents of your cockpit and add scoops and the like to the bodywork. Then you’ll be able to test drive your car and fine tune it before deciding it’s ready.
Another intriguing innovation is the presence of a discipline entitled Regularity Rally – as seen most commonly in amateur historic car events — in which the aim will be to reach the end of each stage at a prescribed time, rather than to drive there as fast as humanly possible. This should be perfect for those whose driving skills aren’t the best but who place a premium on punctuality.
In terms of the main backbone of the game, Codemasters revealed that WRC 23’s Career mode makes maximum use of the WRC licence: you’ll be able to play all three car classes that compete in the real world, namely Rally1, 2, and 3. All the teams and drivers from this year’s WRC will be in the game, as will the entire WRC calendar. In all, there will be 18 rally locations, with 17 included when the game is released on November 3, and the Central European rally available later as free DLC.
There’s a separate Championship mode which closely models the real-world World Rally Championship, which you can jump into at any level (such as working your way up from Rally3 to the fastest Rally1 cars). But the Career mode has an added team management element.
In that, you’ll have to create your team with the backing of a benefactor, then hire mechanics and co-drivers, and rent a car and garage. Managing mechanics’ fatigue over the course of a rally will be a part of the equation, while a livery editor should let you brand your cars to your satisfaction.
Codemasters also said that WRC 23 will include a mode called Moments, in which you’ll be invited to re-enact memorable incidents from iconic historical rallies – a refined version of the Moments mode that appeared in Codemasters’ DiRT Rally 2.0 from 2019.
You’ll also be able to jump into Quick Play, both solo and online, with the latter able to accommodate up to 32 players. Time Trial, according to Codemasters, will let you pick any car and any stage in the game, then race that stage against a ghost car.
And anyone who has attempted to play a rally game in the past, and found it disconcertingly hard, should be heartened by the presence of a rally school, which will take you through the sport’s complex techniques.
Codemasters didn’t say whether that would extend to teaching you how to understand the arcane pace notes which co-drivers read out to their drivers, but in WRC 23, you’ll be able to switch between realistic, WRC-level pace notes and a simplified version which, for example, describes corners in terms of shallowness or sharpness, rather than using a system of numbers.
Codemasters gave us a live demo of one WRC 23 stage, with Jon Armstrong at the controls, who as well as being a member of the development team actually competes in the real-life World Rally Championship – mostly in a Rally3 Ford Fiesta, although he has had a couple of outings in the Rally2 version of the car.
It was explained that WRC 23’s car handling has mostly been brought over from DiRT Rally 2.0, except the handling model on gravel surfaces has been rewritten for the officially licenced game. WRC 23 is also a proper next gen game, available only on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. So, as you might imagine, that means it looks magnificently realistic.
Armstrong’s demo was every bit as impressive as fans of Codemasters’ rally games might expect it to be; the game will certainly be a looker, approaching photorealistic levels both as far as the cars and environment surrounding the stages are concerned. It’s reasonable to expect it to set new standards for handling realism, too, although we’d have to get our hands on it to confirm that.
Playing into that sense of realism will be another technological achievement, as far as the modelling of the stages themselves is concerned. Those stages will degrade, like they do in real life, as the cars race over them, with mud, for example, being churned up and developing ruts.
So if you’re starting a stage down the order, you’ll have to cope with trickier conditions than the early starters. There will also be various damage options, including a hardcore one which aims to imitate real life – you’ll be able to switch between those according to your ability level.
When EA Sports bought Codemasters many hoped that that would result in the much-loved developer being let loose with the official WRC licence, and now that dream scenario is about to become reality.
It’s a mouth-watering prospect for fans of rally games, and presuming it manages to steer clear of any hint of bugginess, our online preview of the game showed that it is both well structured and has some innovative and sought-after new elements.
If there’s one possible proviso, it is that whereas Codemasters’ previous rally games used the company’s proprietary Ego engine, WRC 23 has been rebuilt in Unreal Engine. But even that bold move raises the potential bar for visual and handling realism – and stands the franchise in good stead for the future.
Formats: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £44.99
Publisher: EA
Developer: Codemasters
Release Date: 3rd November 2023*
Age Rating: 3
*Pre-orders allow three days early access
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