The first V-Rally was released on Playstation, and as one of the very first 3D racing games on the market it soon became extremely popular. If the first game was far from being perfect, V-Rally 2 proved a completely new attitude. The game was characterized by realism unknown to most of the other racing games, and soon became one of the must-have titles for hardcore racers. Undoubtedly the developers had finally done justice to the name of the series.

V-Rally 3, developed by the reborn Atari and published by Infogrames, is arriving on Playstation 2 in a moment where there are more racing games than anything else. And with the heritage of its brand, many are expecting V-Rally 3 to turn out to be one of the best games on the system.

Well, to put an end to this introduction, we got our hands on a PAL copy of V-Rally 3. And unfortunately, we didn't find what we were expecting to find.

V-Rally features two main game modes: the V-Rally mode and the Quick Races. Anyhow, before starting your first game, you'll have to create your driver, accessing the Drivers section in the main menu. Here you can select nationality, name, and also the look of your driver, even if the three character models available look almost identical. Once created your character, game after game, race after race, all his stats will be saved on the memory card. In this way, you can compare your results with the ones of your friends, using an apposite feature of the game, where each player can load his stats from a memory card.

Quick Races can be considered the Arcade mode of V-Rally 3. Here you can choose between the classic Time Attack mode and Challenges mode, where you basically have to complete the races within a defined time. Both these game modes can be played against up to three other players, but here comes the first big disappointment. V-Rally 3 doesn't offer head-to-head modes - no split screen races here - but only multiplayer modes where players take turns. And while it might be amusing at first, you'll soon realize that waiting for three other friends to complete their 6.5 Kilometres long races can be quite boring and uninspiring.

At first, only 6 tracks of the 24 present in the game are available in Quick Races mode. In order to unlock the others, you are forced to play through the V-Rally mode, that is basically a Career mode. At the beginning, your driver is given the chance of choosing among a bunch of offerings from various car manufacturers around the world. They ask you to take a test drive on their vehicles of the 1.6D rally division, and if you obtain a decent result they can offer you a contract for a whole season.

Accordingly to the team you've chosen, they'll ask you to reach some goals if you want your contract to be renewed. Of course, joining a big team with a big manufacturer implies more responsibilities, and this means you have to get good results in each race. Otherwise, if you have joined a relatively small team, they will be definitely less demanding. Obtaining a good success during your first season you can get the chance of racing with better cars, and eventually to make the big jump to the faster and dangerous 2.0 4WD rally division.

But trust me, it won't be easy. If V-Rally 2 was a difficult game, V-Rally 3 is even more unforgiving and it arrives to the point where the controls seem completely unbalanced and unrealistic. Your first hours of gameplay could be source of pure frustration. Even the slightest bump on the terrain can make you car spin or, even worse, overturn. The left analog button, used to steer, is excessively responsive, so the slightest error can cause a disaster. The cars seem to constantly lack the necessary weight for a rally, and they feel and react like bad quality radio-controlled cars on the floor wax, with brakes that seem nearly non-existent. And after you've just started mastering the 1.6 vehicles, you are given the possibility to make the jump to the 2.0 4WD division. Sadly enough, all your previous efforts will be, in part, vain. The 2.0 4WD cars are pure beasts, capable of reaching with ease extremely high speeds, but they are incredibly uncomfortable when it comes to handling. In V-Rally 3 you don't sense the car, you rarely have the little satisfaction that a good racing game can give, the illusion that you are racing on a real vehicle. And that's a terrible flaw.

Anyhow, hardcore fans of racing games could survive to the more than steep learning curve of the game, discovering the good qualities of Atari's racer. First of all, the game has a very in depth car customisation menu, where you can modify your car before each race. Tires, chassis, mechanics can be changed to suit your needs, and since the controls of the game are truly sensible, opportune modifications can really help you in a race. V-rally 3 offers a rich selection of real-life cars from many important manufactures. In the 1.6D category the vehicles available are the Citroen Saxo, Fiat Punto, Ford Puma, Peugeot 206, Renault Clio, Opel Corsa, Volkswagen Polo and a MG ZR. The 2.0 4WD cars are the beasts of the game, with the excellent Toyota Corolla, Subaru Impreza, Peugeot 206 2.0, Ford focus, Mitsubishi Lancer, Citroen Xsara, Hyundai Accent, and Seat Cordoba. Other vehicles can be unlocked playing the game.

The tracks are another strong point of V-Rally 3. Overall there are 24 races divided in 6 different regions of the world (Africa, Germany, England, Sweden, Finland, France). Each of them is very different from the others, long and filled with unique difficulties. Weather is another factor that adds variety to the game; racing by night, on the snow, is a truly difficult, yet exciting experience.

Overall, V-Rally 3 offers a gameplay that has its best qualities in the good track design and in the interesting car customisation feature; anyhow, the game is cursed by a terribly steep learning curve. Hardcore racers could like the particular attitude of V-Rally 3, but others could hate this title after a few minutes.