Racing Game Nostalgia: Why Colin McRae Rally Still Rules

Ever regretted trading in a videogame you used to love? I have - several years ago I sold my copy of Colin McRae Rally for the Playstation, in a fit of getting rid of older stuff I no longer played.

Which was great, until the moment I realised how much fun it was and how it really should have remained in my collection. So I hopped back on eBay and picked it up for pennies.

Good decision that, because just like the original Gran Turismo game, Colin McRae Rally (CMR) still has a lot to offer. In fact, there's an argument for it being the best of the series.

Just like the fifteen-year old GT, the first CMR game benefits from its simplicity. In fact, it's like that 90's hero Subaru Impreza Turbo, like McRae himself would have driven - a bit rough around the edges, not much to look at, but great fun and as honest as it gets.

Car choice was by no means comprehensive but not too ropey either. In fact, you could list them - so we will:

Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Evolution IV, Toyota Corolla and Ford Escort WRC cars, Renault Megane Maxi, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Skoda Felicia F2 and Seat Ibiza Cupra in the front-drive class, and a series of classics - the Ford Escort Mk2, Ford RS200, Lancia Delta Integrale and Audi Quattro.

Quality, not quantity. Same goes for the game's courses - eight countries, five to six stages for each.

Modern games may shame it for choice, but each rally was different enough to present a new challenge, with the trickiest rallies like Corsica and Rally GB later on in the championship.

Each car handled a little differently - as you'd hope - and all offered their own strengths and weaknesses. Once you'd unlocked the retro rallyists, earned by winning the four super-special stages in the game, the Audi Quattro became available - monumentally fast and near-impossible to set a perfect stage time in. All the better for it, too.

So why does it rate above the more modern offerings?

It's more fun, for a start. The cars just seem to slide that little more, there's real satisfaction from nailing the perfect handbrake turn, and the game really replicates that "oh crap, I'M GOING TOO QUICK" feeling of real rallying.

You can't just bodge your way around corners like you could in earlier rallying games, but it's not so over-loaded with detail and stage-side ornaments that you'd have a better chance in a real rally car either.

Then there's the famous Rally School, narrated by Colin himself, who despite his reputation as a bit of a nutter on the stages would often tell you to slow down. Invariably, he was right - if you didn't, you'd soon crash...

And best of all, you can pick it up on eBay for pennies, like I did. If you're bored of the pseudo-realism and unwaveringly brown-tinted graphics of modern rally games, why not pick up the cheap, cheerful and (probably) best PS1 rally title?