Video Games Favorite Rally Game?

Gran Turismo 1 didn't have Rally Racing. AFAIK, Colin McRae and WRC are the most realistic in terms of actual Rallying (set points, etc). There's also that old Sega arcade one that was really fun, but it's rare to find it.

And I don't think Super Mario Kart and Rock N' Roll racing counts as Rally, even if they were fun games.

 

You ever watch the Monte Carlo WRC (World Rally Championships?) or even the one in Reno? Basically, Rally is a race set by time trials. You don't actually race other people on the same track, but you compare times instead. You drive on dirt, snow, rain, sleet, and whatever have you. The one in Monte Carlo (as most are) are actually set in the mountains, where terrain differences are more abundant.

Basically, the race itself is set in stages, so drivers can rest and repair their cars (which take a HIDEOUS beating on the way to each stage point. In reality, the drivers usually have a partner to tell them what kind of turn (by diffuculty, direction and speed, respectively) is coming next. However, some Rally games do not include this and would simply mark an arrow for what kind of turn it is. When you reach a set point, it's usually to be compared with other drivers, to see who'd be in first place. But, games themselves usually have you racing against someone on the same track. Unrealistic to be certain (I doubt you can fit more than 1 car on the track, which is sometimes surprising because they have room to drift...) but it makes it funner to play.

*That* is Rally Racing in a nutshell. Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that most cars entered are turbo-powered, though I don't know about the Tiburon... But you usually see Citroens, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Lan-Evo (Read: Lancer Evolutions), and BMW used to FORMERLY race their 330ci but haven't been in racing spec for about 7 years already (I think).

PS: Rally is the only racing sport that actually goes DEEP into the night time hours, which is positively dangerous considering WHERE they're driving. Also, they drive in ANY conditions whatsoever, from snow to hail to outright rivers. ^_^