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EA Sports WRC, the latest rally racing game from Codemasters, arrives with high expectations. With Codemasters’ renowned racing pedigree and the backing of EA Sports, fans anticipated a thrilling off-road experience. Does EA Sports WRC deliver on its promise? Let’s dive into the mud and gravel to find out.

This review will explore the game’s strengths and weaknesses, examining its driving experience, career mode, and, unfortunately, some persistent technical issues.

A Thrilling Off-Road Experience

If you grew up playing the Colin McRae Rally series, you’ll feel right at home with EA Sports WRC. The core of the game revolves around navigating narrow, challenging courses as quickly as possible. Codemasters excels at capturing the speed and power of rally cars, employing motion blur, subtle screen shake, and realistic engine and exhaust sounds to create an immersive experience. The absence of a traditional minimap forces players to rely on their co-driver’s pace notes, adding to the tension and realism.

EA Sports WRC

EA Sports WRC features a diverse roster of vehicles, each with distinct handling characteristics. Engine placement, weight, and drivetrain all impact how a car performs on the winding stages. For example, while both belonging to the NR4 class, the Lancer Evolution X requires a different approach than the McRae R4 due to its turbocharged engine. The pre-race setup options, including tire selection, spare tire quantity, suspension stiffness, and gearbox tuning, add another layer of strategy to the gameplay.

EA Sports WRC

Furthermore, the dynamic weather conditions and varying road surfaces keep the races engaging. A seemingly straightforward tarmac stage can quickly transform into a treacherous ice rink with the sudden onset of snowfall, demanding quick adaptation and skillful driving. The game also realistically simulates different surface types, from wet and dry asphalt to gravel, sand, and snow, each providing a unique driving experience. Even minor collisions leave visible marks on the car, serving as a constant reminder of any driving errors.

A Deep and Engaging Career Mode

EA Sports WRC offers a comprehensive career mode that immerses players in the world of professional rally racing. Beyond simply driving, players manage their team, hire staff, choose sponsors, and develop their cars. Balancing these elements is crucial for success. Investing in high-performance vehicles and skilled personnel provides a competitive edge, but overspending can lead to sponsorship issues.

EA Sports WRC

Sponsors often have specific race requests, adding a strategic layer to event selection. Limited weekly activities force players to carefully prioritize their efforts, choosing between fulfilling sponsor obligations and pursuing other opportunities. The car customization system is a highlight, allowing players to assemble their dream machines from a wide selection of parts, effectively building Lego cars within the confines of their chosen racing class. This level of customization makes purchasing pre-built cars almost redundant.

Technical Troubles on the Track

Despite the positive aspects, EA Sports WRC suffers from some noticeable technical shortcomings. The transition to Unreal Engine 5, while promising, hasn’t resulted in the graphical leap one might expect, especially considering the game’s exclusivity to current-gen consoles. Slow texture loading, a common issue with Unreal Engine, plagues the game.

EA Sports WRC

Furthermore, optimization is a significant concern. Even on systems meeting the recommended specifications, the game experiences frequent frame rate drops and stuttering, particularly during stages with heavy snowfall. These performance issues can significantly impact the driving experience, making precise control challenging. Even lowering the graphical settings and utilizing DLSS or FSR doesn’t consistently maintain a stable 60 FPS.

Conclusion

EA Sports WRC delivers a thrilling and engaging rally racing experience. The driving mechanics are solid, the career mode offers depth, and the dynamic weather and surface conditions add an element of unpredictability. However, the game’s technical issues, including graphical inconsistencies and poor optimization, hold it back from reaching its full potential. While these issues don’t completely derail the experience, they are noticeable and detract from the overall enjoyment. Hopefully, future updates will address these problems and allow EA Sports WRC to truly shine. Despite the technical hiccups, the core gameplay is strong enough to recommend to fans of rally racing.