![]() With the training events dotted around the career mode in between full blown rally weekends, the format follows what was implemented last year. When to brake, when not to brake, how to manage bumps, handbrake vs heavy braking it all comes together over time and makes you a better driver for it, yet it would have been nice to get some more verbal communication as these points can easily be missed. Maintaining momentum is essential for being competitive, and whilst there are no out right tutorials, there are practice events that subtly – and I mean subtle in that it doesn’t get mentioned at all – teach the finer points of car control. Move up to the majors or take a spin in a classic car and the thrills become borderline terror as the car narrowly avoids being written off on a jutting rock. Even in the lower ranked WRC Junior and WRC3’s it can be thrilling as you barrel through tight forest roads or along cliff edges. It’s precise, there’s no way around that, and being even a couple of inches off is punished with a crash or spin. Spend the time getting used to the new model and adjusting the controls to suit, and you’ll find a lot of depth and nuance in WRC 9. ![]() It’s not a negative as such, though it feels like it’s lost the “not-quite-sim” balance that was one of the great things from before. Be ready to spend a lot of time figuring out how the controls need to be calibrated to your style. There’s a definite update to the way the weight shift of the car affects its performance, and in particular the off-throttle braking can be brutal as the nose pitches forward when the accelerator is lifted too quickly plus the actual controls feel a mix of dull and too sensitive at the same time. Out is the solid and dependable approach from before, and in comes a twitchy, unpredictable system that takes quite a bit of time to dial in. The career setup is pretty much a copy and paste of last year so it’s immediately familiar in the team management and some of the tracks, but the handling feels very different. On the surface though it’ll look familiar to anyone who dived in before – career, quick play, eSports and online modes – so does it actually play differently? Yes… and, well… no. ![]() There’s high hopes for WRC 9 then with an update to the dynamics, AI, driving feel and the addition of three new locations in New Zealand, Japan and Kenya, and a Clubs mode. Sure, it was rough around the edges, but the team had brought innovation into what can be a quite stale license with each annual release. I enjoyed last year’s game, it surprised with fun handling and a deep enough team management mode that felt like it genuinely impacted the career. Has it done enough this time around to be taken as seriously as the DiRT Rally series, or does the official license elevate it to a completely different experience? WRC 9 takes the new developments from 2019, adds a few more bells and whistles, some new locations, and gives rally enthusiasts a chance at experiencing what 2020 should have been. We’re now approaching the restart of the season and to coincide with this Kylotonn and NACON are releasing this year’s tie in game. ![]() The FIA World Rally Championship is no exception, and after three events at the start of the year it was put on hold until September. In a year that’s seen every major sporting championship curtailed or postponed, the digital recreations of them seem to hold more importance as the only place fans can see them play out. ![]()
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