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Cross Racing Championship 2005
'cross racing at its best'
 Developer: Invictus Games
Publisher: Project 3
Official Site
Category: : Dirt racing
Platform: X-Box
Might look like: Colin McRae ?
Date posted: 21 November 2005
Written By: Joeri
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In these modern times, racing isn't just 'racing' anymore.
So many different types of racing have been developed in the last decades, rally, rallycross, F1, touring cars, nascar, etc. To many to name it all.
Dirt racing and rallycross are one of these game developments that bring a lot of spectacle for the many spectators along the side of the tracks. These race pilots go fast, very fast and they bump into each other every now and then, slip and slide, and to be short it's a lot of fun as long as nobody get hurt.
This new dirt racing rally game, named "Cross Racing Championship 2005" (or short CRC 2005) brings all these elements into one game where having fun is the main goal.
As you will notice further on in this review, the developer "Invictus Games" have really accomplished something with CRC 2005! They bring us rally racing, stock car racing, and track racing in one fun package where you choose to race for fun or as a real simulation.
CRC's Gameplay
After installing the game (it's so easy that even the youngest kids can do it) you don't have to set a lot of options to start.
Check if your screen resolution is decent enough for your equipment, and definitely have a look on the controller settings. You can choose between all regular controllers like keyboard, joystick, steering wheel etc.
This game is build for everyone from a rookie up to the pro's. Choosing the right difficulty level for you is really well ehm up to you and picking the wrong one could result in very hard and unfair gameplay.
When you launch your first race, you don't have many cars or tracks to choose from as you need to unlock these in the career mode, but luckily you don't need to drive millions of miles to unlock all of them.
I'll explain this later more in-depth.
When the first race is finished loading, you will be immediately impressed with the graphical quality of the game, all cars and tracks are very detailed and well modelled. Just like the "real thing".
As soon as you start the race, you'll also be impressed with the handling of the car(s). You get the feeling that you're racing in a simulation race game but then mixed with the fun of pure arcade racing.
This is a feeling I never had before in any race game, and I must say it's fantastic! I usually tend to play real race simulating games (like GTR, GTL, etc) but CRC 2005 is the first non-simulator game that I really enjoyed!
  
Car damage is well modelled in CRC 2005, bumping into walls, rubbing competitors, hitting trees or whatever crosses your driving path causes damage into your car layout and what's more realistic it also causes your car to handle worse and worse! Well done!
Crashing has never been so much fun in a race game!
The game features a stunning 60 races across six distinct environments, ranging from icy mountainous regions and lush countrysides to parched desert areas and beaches!
Track Loading times are short which adds to the playability of the game. Picking a Quick race so easily and the short loading time make it a lot of fun for a "destruction derby" : if you wish.
Game Modes
CRC 2005 offers an extensive career mode, quick race, time trials and free ride mode and also a feature called hot seat mode.
In the career mode you need to race to unlock the more difficult levels and or cars.
As I found out myself a couple of times, you will need to race more than once on a certain track and race to achieve the goal.
Sounds' upsetting isn't it? Well it isn't!
The Re-playability of each race is so good that you won't mind for sure to race a track twice or more to achieve the necessary goal to progress.
Before each race you are shown a list of awards you are able to unlock, ranging from a additional part for your ride, a new car or track.
In the Quick race mode, you select a car and hit the track against a bunch of AI racers. This means a lot of instant fun without having to think about your career status.
In the free ride mode, you can cruise around any track in any car you choose.
  
Insane graphics
As I mentioned earlier in this review, at the first start of the game you will be impressed with the visual quality of the game!
All cars, tracks, trackside objects etc are detailed with so much eye for detail it will blow you right out of your seat!
Now I know exactly what you are thinking right now. 'Yeah sure, if you have a high spec pc that is!'
Well, my own game system is only a "medium spec" pc, with a 2800+ Cpu and a Gfx6600Gt card.
I could run the game in 1024*768 with all goodies on running at an approximate 50Fps!
This proves that the developer "Invictus Games" has done a darn good job at optimising the games graphic engine!
Does this mean there are no downsides? Well, every now and then you can spot a 2D dimensional flat card board image, but with the rest of the graphics being so good I'm more than happy to forgive this!
Whatever driving view you choose, the game keeps being very playable unlike many other games.
Due to this, the sense of speed in CRC 2005 is very good and well balanced!
The motion blur feature adds even more sense of speed and realism to this!
Music & Sound
In a race game the sounds are an important part.
In this particular game, the sounds are well done but not above average. To my personal point of view this is the only part of the game where Invictus Games could have improve the game a bit more.
The engine sounds are a little bit to friendly so too speak. In real life this type of cars have a much deeper sound.
The in-game commentary is well done, and adds a nice arcade feeling to the game. One downside to the commentary is that the games keep referring to you as "The Player".
A very big plus however is the ability to import your own Mp3 files and to create your own soundtracks which I think is great! As a big Queen fan it's a pleasure to go around the track with the soundtrack pumping out "we are the champions" out of my speakers!
Conclusion
Even though "CRC 2005"'s intention is to bring realism to the arcade race genre, it did more than expected.
The possibility to make it as difficult as you wish yourself, has attracted both sides of gamers! This game will soon be a real classic and the benchmark for other games in the future!
One thing is for sure, buying this game will ensure you hours of endless fun, and after one race you will be addicted to this game!
Graphical stunning, accurate physics, easy to install, and made for each type of racer! Cross Racing Championship is definitely a racing game that every race enthousiats must own!
-Joeri
Ratings
Manual:
/ % |
Graphics:
90% |
Music & Sfx:
83% |
GamePlay:
92% |
|
This game scores
on our 5-point Rating System
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