WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship (Xbox 360)

WRC 3 is the official rally game of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship featuring licensed cars, tracks and drivers. The game consists of three major modes: WRC Experience, Road to Glory and Multiplayer.

In WRC experience mode the player can choose to race a single stage, participate in a single rally (consisting of 6 special stages and a super special in some countries), or try his hand in the championship. In championship mode the player can choose a car from 1 of 3 categories (WRC, Class 2 or Class 3), then he selects a driving crew to control from a roster of real-life teams. The player also can configure his championship which can consist of up to 13 rally events set in different countries with varied climate conditions and road types.

Road to Glory is basically the career mode. The premise is that 7 drivers from around the globe are chosen to participate in ultimate competition to decide who will become the next rally rising star. The player is one of these drivers. He needs to beat the others in their respective countries (grouped into 7 geographical areas) and then ultimately face the real rally pilots in a series of super-special stages. Aside from classic rally events there are contests to test the player’s skill: drifting, gate contest (a mode that originated in DiRT 2), rally school, survival contest (your car is literally falling apart as you race), top rally contest (be fast enough to outrun a helicopter or a glider) etc.

Each geographical area in Road to Glory mode comprises two countries (except for the last area) with unique rally events. These are:

• Iberian area: Portugal and Spain;
• American area: Mexico and Argentina;
• Anglo-Saxon Area: Great Britain (Wales) and Germany;
• Scandinavian area: Finland and Sweden;
• French area: Monte-Carlo and France;
• Mediterranean area: Italy and Greece;
• Pacific area: New Zealand.

To track the player’s progress, Road to Glory mode uses reputation points (represented as stars). Reputation points may be obtained in two ways: by showing good results in rally events and contests or by pleasing the crowd (i.e. causing destruction on track, drifting, jumping, reaching the car’s speed limit etc.). These points are used to unlock new events, cars and upgrades. Cars (and modifications) available in Road to Glory mode are in several categories:

• WRC: Mini John Cooper Works WRC, Volkswagen Polo R WRC, Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Citroën DS3 WRC;
• Class 2: Proton Satria Neo S2000, ŠŠkoda Fabia S2000, Peugeot 207 S2000, Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000, Ford Fiesta S2000;
• Class 3: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, Subaru Impreza WRX Sti;
• 2000’s: Subaru Impreza WRC 07, Ford Focus WRC, Citroën C4 WRC;
• 90’s: Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD – ’92, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III – ’96, Subaru Impreza WRC – ’97, Lancia Delta Integrale HF – ’91;
• 80’s: Citroën BX4 TC, Ford RS200, Lancia Delta S4, Peugeot 205 T16, Renault 5 GT Turbo;
• 70’s: Peugeot 504, Ford Escort RS 1600;
• 2WD Pro: Honda Civic R3, Renault Clio R3, Citroën DS3 R3, Suzuki Swift S1600, Citroën C2 S1600;
• 2WD Rookie: Citroën C2 R2, Ford Fiesta R2, Suzuki Swift Sport (R2), Renault Twingo R2, Ford Fiesta ST.

The cars can be upgraded, re-painted and modified. Fine tuning is available before each race, although there’s also an option to tune the car automatically. If participating in rally event the car may be repaired between special stages (within a 60 minutes time limit, according to the rules).

The game experience is configurable. Various game aspect may be adjusted: driving style, breaking and cornering help, damage dealt to vehicles, opponent difficulty, number of rewind option uses etc.