Kylotonn has worked well for this WRC 7, even if at first glance we have the right to doubt it, the menus remaining unchanged and the content not having evolved either. On the solo side, there are quick races and the "Career" mode, while those who swear by multiplayer can have fun with local races, online and the section dedicated to eSports. This offers events to qualify for the championship and win, perhaps, a Hyundai i20. By embarking on the “Career” mode, we see that it has not really evolved since last year. After the creation of a fairly basic avatar (name, first name, nationality and drive youth) which is only used to dress the rear window of your car, you are immersed in the deep end. We start of course in JWRC (Junior WRC) at the wheel of a barely modified Ford Fiesta, before moving up to WRC 2 to discover all-wheel drive, then in the premier category in WRC. The various teams do not really offer any difference, except the importance they give to the state of the bodywork or your performance. Some teams hate that we crumple sheet metal, to the point of being thanked even after victories. However, despite an extensive damage system with many mechanical parts subject to breakage, the game is ultimately quite permissive. Indeed, we were able to take fairly severe shocks and even a few rollovers without really damaging the car. Novices will appreciate not being punished the first time they go off-road, while pros and hardcore sim fans alike will have to turn to DiRT Rally to indulge their sadistic fantasies of mechanical parts breaking under duress. However, it will always be possible to puncture, but we are still looking for a correlation between our passages on stones and the bursting of a tire. Flat wheels are therefore more random than actually caused, but whatever the case, you will have to choose between the repair and the time it wastes, or your dexterity in steering on the rim.
THE COACH LAUGHS
The biggest novelty of this WRC 7 lies in the presence of new car models. Indeed, the FIA (International Automobile Federation) has decided to make the discipline more spectacular with cars with a more aggressive look, but which above all have more generous brakes and a wider inlet flange, which brings the power to around 380 CV against 330 before. Similarly, as in real life, we see Volkswagen disappear from the circuit, the fault of budgets seriously dented by Dieselgate fines, pushing the brand towards the exit. Conversely, we welcome the arrival of Toyota which is therefore the third factory manufacturer with Citroën and Hyundai, while the semi-private cars of M-Sport (Ford) are still present, as well as some completely private teams which run with old equipment. In addition to the officially entered cars, we discover a "bonus" category which allows us to drive old WRCs such as the Polo, the DS3 or the Porsche 911 GT3 RS RGT of Romain Dumas. The latter represents the only propulsion car in the game, the RGT category no longer being part of the world championship. At track level, we find the 13 rallies of the 2017 calendar, including the specials that have been reviewed and corrected. In this regard, the developers have reviewed the size of the routes with narrower routes, far from the boulevards of previous episodes. Called ES (Epreuve Spéciale), these special stages allow you to drive for 15 to 20 minutes like the real drivers on courses much longer than the average. Purists will appreciate. In general, each rally will have two or three "normal" specials which are completed in 3 minutes, a very long SS, and finally a super-special which is modeled according to the real routes. It's about these short events in the form of a circuit on which two cars compete, exactly like in the Race of Champions.
ALICE, IS IT SLIP?
Once on the track, we can finally realize the work done by the studio. By opting for simulation-type physics and disabling the piloting aids, the vehicles show a much more dynamic behavior with a reworked suspension and a torque on the wheels that will play tricks on novices. It will now be necessary to be more concentrated to arrive unscathed at the end of the rally, even if a passage by the assistances makes it possible to reconnect with the very arcade style of the previous opuses. Be more careful when braking in curves as well as overusing the handbrake - which will soon put our nose in the wrong direction - perfect mastery of the counter-call call while playing the gas to maintain the drift, this is what awaits the neophytes. Likewise, the differences between the terrains are much more marked than before, the land of Sardinia not offering the same grip as the Finnish gravel. However, some elements bring little change, including the weather. For example, driving in the rain will have no effect. The biggest impact of the weather is mainly aesthetic, while the night stages will be clear enough to allow the driver to finish them, even without their headlights. The KT Engine has been reworked; on PC, with all the options pushed to the limit, we have a fairly nice rendering with a lot of effects like clouds of dust and flames from the exhaust. Conversely, the reddening brake discs are far too bright and give the impression that a Kevin has placed a neon kit there.
By opting for simulation-type physics and disabling the piloting aids, the vehicles show a much more dynamic behavior with a reworked suspension and a torque on the wheels that will play tricks on novices.
The light effects are however well rendered overall, and the shadows when we darken through the Finnish or Swedish forests have the mouth. In terms of sound, there is not much to complain about except that it is necessary to lower the sound of the engine and the effects to bring out the voice of the co-pilot. If we can blame the latter for its totally monotonous tone, its indications are clear and precise, especially when you go Pro. This mode offers much more information on the state of the road, as well as turns numbered from 1 to 9 instead of 1 to 6 in Normal. With the co-pilot pro, there is no longer any question of being satisfied with the symbols at the top of the screen, otherwise you will miss a myriad of information on the trajectory to be adopted, or even the surface of the road. Of course, as always, we regret the absence of legendary vehicles for licensing reasons. We would still love to be able to drive a 205 T16, an Audi Quatto, or a Lancia Stratos in order to afford new sensations after having sanded the offer of modern vehicles. Finally, WRC 7 is not free of bugs. For example, Ford who invites us to do a rally at the wheel of a latest model Fiesta WRC, before we realize that the game still classifies us in WRC 2, which allows us an easy victory because at the wheel of a car much more powerful than the competition. Similarly, do not hesitate to raise the difficulty of the AI which is far too slow in Normal, to the point that we win races at the wheel of cars of lower categories.
