īesides providing technical input on the game's handling, Colin McRae and his co-driver Nicky Grist voiced themselves in the game, with McRae himself serving as the Rally School instructor for the game's tutorial mode.
They eventually saw the potential after some early play testing with impromptu competitions within the team through an early prototype build of the game, prompting the team to move into full development. The company initially had some reservations on the viability of a realistic rally simulator, as similar games of the period such as V-Rally are only loosely based on the sport, essentially being head-to-head racing games in a rally-esque setting similar to rallycross such an arcade mode would later be introduced in Colin McRae Rally 2.0. Other influences included the PC game Screamer Rally and the Nintendo 64 game Wave Race 64. The game featured the voices of Colin McRae (left) and Nicky Grist (right), who also served as the series' technical consultants.Ĭodemasters have cited the arcade game Sega Rally as a strong influence on Colin McRae Rally. Sales soared, and the sequel Colin McRae Rally 2.0 was released on December 2000. It's also noticeable on the front cover and viewable in the screenshots from the back cover.Īlthough there is no internet-based multiplayer, the game does feature LAN-based multiplayer, allowing up to 8 drivers, on the same network, to compete at once, in addition to a 2-player split-screen mode. Also the yellow logos on the Subaru Impreza car were removed. The intro was cut in the yellow Bestsellers version. On the loading screen for each rally, 2000 replaced the year 1998.
When the game was re-released on the PlayStation "Value Series" budget label in 2000, Rally Monte Carlo was renamed as Rally Austria. Although the rallies themselves are named the same as the real events, all of the stages are fictional. Rally Indonesia was originally part of the 1998 WRC season calendar, but the rally was cancelled due to civil unrest. Seven official rallies ( New Zealand, Acropolis (Greece), Australia, Monte Carlo, Sweden, Corsica, and the United Kingdom), and one unofficial rally ( Indonesia) from the WRC were included in the game.
Also unlike in the European release of the game (real driver names), the American release has made-up driver names (apart from Colin McRae)
Renault were replaced by extra drivers from the remaining 3 manufacturers.
When released in North America in 2000, only 11 cars featured due to Codemasters losing the license to use Renault in Novice mode. There are a total of 12 cars, produced using laser-modelling. There are three difficulty modes in the game, and each mode offers different cars: the Novice mode offers FWD F2-class cars, such as the SEAT Ibiza F2 Kit Car, the Intermediate mode offers 4WD World Rally Car class cars, such as the Subaru Impreza WRC, and the Expert mode offers the ability to unlock bonus cars, such as Ford Escort MKII, Lancia Delta Integrale, Audi Quattro S1, and Ford RS200. A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV Group A rally car, at the Rally New Zealand stage 1.Ĭolin McRae Rally is a rally simulation game, featuring the works-entered cars and the rallies of the 1998 World Rally Championship.