WRC 7 Review

Who didn’t dream of driving a rally car in their childhood? The World Rally Championship series aims directly at these kinds of gamers. This year we reached the seventh edition. World Rally Championship 7 is the third chapter produced by Kinnenon. Many users were hoping that this new version would resolve some of the problems still present in the sixth edition.

Does the game deliver? Is it enough of an improvement over the sixth chapter? Is it fun to play?

WRC 7 Review

GAME MODES

WRC7 allows you to play solo or online. You will be able to run a single time-trial from one of the 13 rallies of the real-life World Rally Championship. In addition, you have the option to drive your way through the world championship itself, or starting a career mode. You will be able to drive all the cars from the Junior WRC, WRC2, and the WRC series.

In the solo rallies, you will be able to enjoy all the rallies from the real-life World Championship. The tracks are well-represented and there’s a time-trial for every type from city tracks to forests and deserts. You will be driving in many different environments like Argentina, Finland and Australia. There isn’t much more to say here. You simply need to drive faster than other drivers and complete the tracks in the shortest time.

The career mode is rather disappointing. It was probably one of the less developed parts in the sixth chapter of the franchise. The same can be said for WRC 7. You start with signing a contract with a Junior WRC team. You follow that by trying to rise in rank. As you progress, you can either get a one-race deal or sign a full-time contract with one of the higher-level teams.

You will not be able to upgrade your car or skills. You’re simply a driver and driving is all you will care about. You will also influence your team’s morale. Different teams will have different requests for their drivers. Some teams will want you to win while others will want you to keep your car together, avoiding crashes.

All this may sound good in theory. However, in practice, it’s not that fun. Maybe here it would have been good to trade some realism for some influence on your car or your team. To top it off, failing has little influence in your career development.

Other than regular online races, you will have a chance to challenge other players online with the leaderboards and the challenge mode. Here you can pick a car and a track to put down your best time compared to other drivers. The main objective is to earn the most points for your first attempt and fewer points for each subsequent attempt.

GRAPHICS

To put it short, the graphics of the game are very good. Even if they lack details when compared to other major racing titles like Forza Motorsport. Cars are well-detailed, but the cockpits are rather dull with little variation. While most of the drivers will use external cameras to play, the replays would have been more exciting with more detailed cockpits.

Replays are visually appealing, especially when viewed from the helicopter.

Each rally has its own personality. The overall impression is that it’s hard not to be impressed by the different environments and the accurate reproduction of the tracks. Even if some objects and spectators lack details.

GAMEPLAY

WRC 7 didn’t go a long way from the sixth chapter. The gameplay is very arcade-esque. The game itself tries to be a simulation with the possibility of changing different parameters (and tires) on your car. Those, however, will have little impact on your driving, confirming the arcade-esque impression you get since your first time-trial.

Cars seem too light and tend to fly around a bit. The game features some spectacular collisions. The damages aren’t represented realistically though. With the more bumps and hits you have, parts can detach. However, cars survive crashes in a way that would never do in real-life situations.

Moreover, you can hardly feel any difference in the driving experience from one car to another. At least WRC cars are faster and more powerful than their Junior WRC counterparts.

The weather will have a minor impact. Rain tends to make driving more difficult as well as snow. In both cases, remember to change your tires. However, the graphics in both scenarios aren’t the best. For example, snow doesn’t stick to your car.

VERDICT

The game does have many minor issues that may steer away users. In particular, the lack of a more engaging career mode and the arcade style of driving (including unrealistic crashes and little differentiation between cars) are a bit disappointing. Especially, considering those were primary complaints in previous chapters of the franchise. However, if you’re simply looking for a couch-driving, not overly demanding racing game, then you may find yourself spending some good time with World Rally Championship 7.