07 August 2014 -Sobe opinion

What a sin to hide, we have seen a lot of switches for the still short history of the gaming industry. Some will recall the story with the "reissue" PS2 versions Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time -For some reason, an old game was packed in boxes, almost identical to those where the new The Forgotten Sands. Others are the sensational "hit" Lada Racing Club, for the sake of additional profit, divided into several discs. And someone, perhaps, can not forgive the creators of the PC version Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 , almost demo versions at the price of a full-fledged game. Such cases, if desired, you can remember dozens.

And more recently, another misunderstanding joined the extensive list, and the name to him, to universal surprise, – Colin Mcrae Rally.

Marketing flour

It would seem that a wonderful game, a legend … How can you even raise your hand to a holy? I hasten to make excuses: it will not be about an old masterpiece, but about the “reprint” that appeared in Steam recently. Seeing familiar words on the "window" of the store, many fans were delighted: here it is, a dream, a full remake of the best part of the series!

As it turned out, they hurried. At a price of five dollars Codemasters They laid out not at all the classics, but transferred to PC … a mobile version.

► Formally, the developers did not deceive anyone: no one promised reprints. Another thing is that they also did not say a word about the mobile version. But they decorated the description of the meaningful “Based on Content from the 90 Percent Metacritic Rated Colin Mcrae Rally 2.0 ", and in the trailer they also added:" Re-Mastered for HD ". It is not surprising that fans believed in miracles.

Yes, they threw off the very mobile version in Steam: excessively light, with four cars, three tracks, one melody, lack of settings and not the most pleasant eye with a picture. From Colin Mcrae Rally 2.0 The game differs dramatically: it has lost most modes, music, videos, tracks and cars. However, the most important thing is that the technical component has radically changed: they made a project on the currently popular Unity, and physics and complexity were clearly adjusted to mobile phones.

► “Reprinting” looks not that much better than the “original” 2000.

Of the advantages, we note only that a very pleasant physics (for sensory devices, of course) and part of the content that migrated from the old Colin Mcrae Rally 2.0. But one thing is to release such a “solid” set on some Android, and it is quite another to offer it to the hardcore audience on PC. And even with a description that draws in the imagination, the sour shores and chocolate mountains.

Of course, it is possible to play all this charm, in the same Steam there were lucky ones who were actually carried away by simple short races and even seriously accepted the project for reprinting the classics. Another question is why to do this when the amazing Colin Mcrae Rally 2.0 Runes without problems on PC.

I would like to ask the same question to developers. Although the answer to it is very simple: you just have to look at the number of poor fans who mistakenly accepted this creation by the remake and honestly bought it. Codemasters, of course, have already apologized, changed the description of the game and even return money to customers. But in an accident, it is believed with great difficulty.

Search good in everything

However, I see here the positive side. Yes, people were inflated, which, to put it mildly, is bad. On the other hand, albeit small, but a scandal-at least some reminder of the great series by which we really miss. In addition, the mobile version, Scarab Wins Casino despite all its shortcomings, after all, part of those beautiful times when the games named after a magnificent racer came out Colin Makreya. And remembering them now is very nice.

► Unfortunately, on September 15, 2007, the legend of motorsport was gone. The helicopter ruled by Colin Makry fell, and his five -year -old son, as well as two friends of the family, died with the racer, one of which was barely six years old.

If you look at dry statistics, the hype around the name Makrey can not understand: only one title in WRC and twenty -five wins. At the same Sebastien Leba Not an example anymore! Nevertheless, it was this pilot who was remembered by everyone who was lucky enough to plunge into the atmosphere of the World Rally Championship of those years. Perhaps because of the difficulty he was given the way to the top. Perhaps-thanks to incredible assertiveness and passion, because of which in his youth the racer sometimes fell into an accident. And certainly many remember him as the very rider who made a champion command from Subaru and always fought until the end. Although the technique brought him more than once or twice.

The racing series of the same name appeared much later, when the main successes of the Scottish pilot were already history. And, it is possible, it was thanks to her that Colin Makrey's name became famous not only in racing circles. However, it can already be said for sure that with this series not the most famous British from Codemasters before once took a step in the elite.

► Even now playing old projects is interesting. The only thing you need to put up with is weak graphics.

Now that Codemasters games are primarily devoted to colorful accidents (see. Grid 2), either Jimkhan and rally crorses (the latest issues Dirt), I can’t even believe a little that they once had truly serious simulators. The first part had an official WRC license, Makry himself participated in the development, the number of details was amazing, and the physicist was the best in those times. On different coatings, the car behaved differently, and during jumps and drifts it seemed as if you were sitting not in front of the monitor, but behind the wheel of a real car. It cannot be called the most realistic, but it was the perfect balance between the arcade and the simulator that became, perhaps, the main reason for success.

At the same time, the races were long and tense. Constantly putting pressure on the “Start again” button, as in Dirt, was over time, so in which case I had to recoup right along the way and with a minimum number of errors. The cars really had to set up for each highway, the damage did not go anywhere after the race, and it was incredibly important to choose the right rubber. The game was made by real fanatics of their business, and it conveyed the main thing: the spirit of the rally, when every blunder can do very expensive, every special facet is important, and the danger is felt literally in every turn.

► the heir to the great series looks good. But all that she was once loved for, he lost her.

Continuation only strengthened the position of the series. It turned out so successful that the subsequent issues have not reached this bar of quality anymore. But even the weakest games of the series have always remained at least good projects.

One “but”: over time, it became clear that the hardcore audience does not fully satisfy Codemasters ambitions. The fifth part did not retain that very middle ground between the dynamic arcade and a serious simulator, and starting with Colin Mcrae: Dirt The series (and with her and her developers) took a step in a completely new direction: towards bright, but still superficial races.

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Now taste the real rally, alas, you can only in old games. Official simulators WRC from Milestone Not that terrible, but calling their physics impeccable, and the repeated special stages cannot be interesting. Dirt, even if he allows him to ride off -road, to the rally simulator, with all his desire, does not reach: everything is too simple there.

Here are the connoisseurs of the genre and grab the straw, buying dubious "remakes". I would like to believe that this ugly story will help the British to change their minds and show what fans actually expect from it. And maybe, Dirt 4 and there will be a “miracle” that we are so missing at times.