V-Rally 3 Screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 8.9 Graphics 8.5 Sound 8.5 Value 8.9 V-Rally 3 - reviewed by Andrew B Review Date: 27th July 2002 Review Score 8.7/10 Distributed By: GameNation		"The fast paced word of rally driving just got better with the exclusive PS2 release of V-Rally 3" The latest rally game from Infrogrames, V-Rally 3 offers a huge new range of cars, locations and options that its predecessors lacked. Making full use of the PlayStation 2 architecture, V-Rally delivers stunning graphics and gameplay that puts this game on par with the current top Rally games on the market. There are 48 unique tracks that are located throughout six different countries that include Finland, France, England, Sweden, Germany and Africa. Unlike the previous game, V-Rally 3 has moved away from the arcade feel to a more serious rally simulation. The game itself offers a wide variety of licensed cars that range from the fast moving Impreza to the superior handling of the Lancer. Infogrames has gone to great lengths to make this game as realistic as possible. Windscreens can become cracked, tyres lose their alignment and the car body itself can take damage. Unlike other Rally games, if you do go off the track in V-Rally 3, for instance down a small hill, you will actually see the car roll down the embankment to add to the realism of the game. Many games on the market just instantly reset you back on the track after a mishap like this. V-Rally 3 offers highly detailed playing environments that range from the deserts of Kenya to the woodlands of the United Kingdom. Background graphics are extremely well done and are highly detailed. On one stage, you can actually see a horse race along with the car as you drive past its paddock.  The new rally engine from Infogrames is called "Twilight" and boasts that all car models contain between 15,000 and 16,000 polygons which gives the cars an uncanny realism. The Twilight engine also allows for special effects such as reflections, dirt and various weather effects that all interact with the environment. Sunsets and heat waves also look spectacular under the Twilight engine. There is also a wide range of breakable objects that takes interacting with your gaming environment, that one step closer. Some tracks are so detailed that they can contain over half a million polygons. Even with this staggering amount of polygons, the framerate is usually always smooth. The game does suffer from popup and the occasional framerate drop.

The game menu contains four options that include Drivers, V-Rally Mode, Quick-Races and Options. The Drivers menu lets you create your own drivers to race in the game, V-Rally Mode is the traditional Rally circuit, Quick-Races lets you play with up to four players in time modes and options contains all the game settings.

There are a number of different game views that you can access while you are racing from, these views include the in-car view, and a variety of different outside views. Depending on which view you prefer, there is a view for everyone. Controlling the car is done via the analog stick or gamepad and you use X and square to accelerate and brake. Needless to say, V-Rally is an extremely easy game to get the hang of. Novices will be racing in no time and professionals will be able to show their skill on the 48 different tracks that this game contains. The replays of the game are extraordinary and sometimes you can be forgiven to think that you are watching an actual real replay, one that you would see on television.

The music of V-Rally 3 features some of the world's top bands performing and really helps add to the replays and demos of the game. The sound effects are extremely well done, from the different engine sounds, the crunching of dirt under tyres to the indiscrete background sounds. World Rally Championship (WRC) is considered the best rally game on the PS2 at the moment but unfortunately for them, V-Rally 3 is here and it has delivered big time. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys extremely good rally games and even for novices or people wanting something different in their gaming experience. Highly Recommended!

- Andrew B