I've just gone through the current issue and cannot believe the appauling RBR review by Chris Stead. Did he actually play the game, because if you want a proper analysis of the game I'd be happy to write one up for you free of charge.

Firstly the game features 8 cars, not 7. There are 3 difficulties with 4 levels of damage, not the other way around.

"The damage, while pretty to look at, fails to affect performance effectively..." how about putting the game on realistic damage and paying a visit to a tree. You'll soon find that if your car can move at all it will usually be at a greatly reduced speed thanks to engine, gearbox and steering/suspension damage.

My final gripe is with the references to the difficulty of the game. It's realistic, yes, but it's far from hard if you take the time to appreciate it. Forget what previous rally games have taught you and complete both rally schools and you should have no trouble with the game. I finished both rally schools with perfect scores without any trouble and then proceeded to win the majority of the rallies on rookie difficulty by up to four or five minutes.

If you know how to drive any car properly and drive this game carefully and pay attention it is a great game. The best rally game ever made with plenty of fun to be had.

I think it's unfair on game developers who work so hard to produce quality games to have their work so quickly shot down in flames by people who don't spend the time to play a game properly.

It was a terrible review full of incorrect information and written by someone who sounded like they spent a whole hour with the game at the most.

I think it's important people have a second view on this game, it's a gem that's being looked over and shoved to the back of the shelf because reviewers don't know how to play the game properly.

Yes, I did play the game. In fact, I am still playing the game. I love the Rally genre and I quite liked RBR (a 7 is a respectable score).

You clearly have a different opinion to me and that's fine, doesn't make mine a terrible review or yours a terrible opinion. And by all means write up a review and post it in on this very thread - I'm very interested to hear what you have to say.

But I would suggest that you consider a few things. Not everyone has dedicated as much time as you and me to the genre and thus, will not be able to adapt to the challenge as easily. It is a lot tougher than any other rally game I have played (except maybe V-Rally 3...but that was tough for all the wrong reasons) and many will struggle to reach an enjoyable level of skill in RBR.

Also consider the competition in Colin McCrae, Rallisport Challenge, WRC etc. The balance between damage and physics and playability is not handled as well in RBR as elsewhere, specifically Colin. For example, yes if you crash out and hit a tree in real-life your race is over - but it's not too much fun.

As for the figures, they were concurrent with the code I received. Will check up on this...

I will add that I strongly suggest that hardcore rally fan gives RBR a shot – it’s beautiful to look at and impressively realistic - just be prepared for frustration.

Cheers,

Chris