Colin McRae Rally 3 (Xbox Classics)

As you'd expect from a top-flight rally sim, everything about the vehicles can be customised and tinkering under the bonnet between stages really produces a difference. If you're a really bad driver you can also see the difference, as tearing the bonnet, side panels or windows out mid-stage reveals an astonishing level of detail within the car. Engine parts move, suspension arms judder and Mr McRae himself bounces around the car's cockpit in full 3-D--the level of detail is amazing.

With a variety of gameplay modes ranging from races over individual stages to a simulated three-season tour of duty as McRae himself, there's plenty of bang for your buck here--and believe us, by the time you've cannoned off the scenery for the umpteenth time you'll know what bangs are all about.

Thankfully, Codemasters have resisted the temptation to fill Colin McRae 3 with discordant music tracks, relegating the score to intro and menu screens and leaving the in-game sound to codriver commentary and a multitude of engine sounds--a pleasant change in an age where licensed soundtracks are king. Perhaps the strongest element of CM3, though, is in the gameplay. The car-handling is spot on and in wild weather (snow, rain, fog and more) guiding a speeding Ford Focus around sharp bends is a real art.

The Xbox has a wide range of good games and a handful of true AAA titles; Colin McRae 3 falls into the latter category as a real must-have. Chris Russell

Graphically, CMR3 has no equal , the daddy of rally games has arrived. With brilliant handing , dynamic realtime damage and full enviromental physics. CMR3 is the best rally game made so far. It beats by far other contenders such as: 'Richard Burns Rally' which has bad handling and less gameplay. CMR3 has lots of gameplay set in loads of different countries with loads of cars to choose from.

I strongly advise you to buy this game.


disappointing   April 27, 2004
 0 out of 5 found this review helpful

the game got extremly frustrating because not only is easy insanely hardbut every race your car looks like its from a scrapyard. i think nobody inthere right mind should buyit a complete waste


Get this now as it will blow your mind!   October 21, 2003
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Let me start by saying this is a great game that has improved vastly from Colin McRae Rally 2. The driving is smoother, the roads are bumpier and the engine noises louder and more realistic. There is just one floor, you can only be Colin Mcrae which may not sound bad at first but imagine doing four years as just colin in a ford focus and not being able to use any of the other cars in the rallys. This is a real shame and proves to be the games major flaw. The game also drags on for to long with kitting up of car, practice runs, circuit configuration and eventually doing the rally stages one at a time.

Apart from these flaws the game is great but you might want to wait until Colin McRae Rally 4 comes out which might have possiblilites to play as other cars and drivers.

rick Herring


Colin McRae 3   August 5, 2003
A very sharp game. One of the better driving simulations of any format. It takes a little while to get used to the Co-drivers comments, but once mastered it really did give me a bit of a buzz


Colin McRae Rally 3 box   June 6, 2003
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The graphics are amazing, the cars are modelled superbly with reflections, realistic damage etc. If you have a sadistic streak you can really punish the car, wheels, bonnet, doors, lights all get damaged or come off completely!
However the game is seriously flawed. The car physics are awful, there is a central pivotal point as a result the car is very twitchy and it is very difficult to control slides, which in a rally game is obviously key. There are other problems; it seems that this game was slightly rushed. Colin McRae rally 4 is on its way, I have read that these problems were recognised and will not occur in CRM 4.
My advice, wait.