SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Feature: Richard Burns Rally. A Year On.

A little over a year ago, I submitted my review of Richard Burns Rally for the PC to SimHQ. At the time I suspected that RBR would become a new classic and would achieve the kind of status and renown that venerable Grand Prix Legends has enjoyed.

Developer Warthog was sold off shortly after the release of the second and final patch, and is now part of Gizmondo Studios. They are working on supplying content to the Gizmondo handheld device.

And on a terribly sad note the world has lost first Michael "Beef" Park in an accident, and then Richard Burns. Succumbing to his serious illness, Richard found peace on Friday, November 25, 2005.

What better way to honor the memory of these men than by taking a second look at the simulation that bears the name of the 2001 World Driver's Champion, and what is very likely the finest driving simulator you can buy for approximately $ 25. That is a great bargain for the amount of simulation you get.

Incidentally, the WRC 2006 season is just getting under way as the classic Rally Monte Carlo is being held during the weekend of January 20th - 22nd. Follow the World Rally Cup at the official web site here.

I believe for a title to become a classic, it needs to meet several criteria:

The basic simulation must be top-tier and well ahead of anything else on the market
The title must be modable so modders from the community can work with the title and gradually update it, and add new content
Sadly, the title should have no follow-up hitting the stores next year because then the modding community will be less inclined to throw their energies into modding
The title, as received from developer/publisher, needs some finishing touches, refinements or lacks in one or more areas

Richard Burns Rally meets all those criteria and if you wonder about the last condition about Richard Burns Rally lacking in some areas; well, it never shipped with multiplayer, but as you will discover from reading on, you can have great multiplayer action with community made add-ons. If you live in the US you will have to find the sim at Fry's (if you're fortunate enough to have one nearby) or on the Internet. It was never released into the commercial retail channels. Why not stop by Gogamer and pick up the DVD version? Or you can try Amazon for the CD-ROM version.

If this sounds like a sales pitch, it is. If you have any interest in driving simulations you should secure yourself a copy now before it is too late.

The "modding dance" to search for and select a mod to enhance any game can be time-consuming and frustrating. In some cases it can also lead to unintended reinstalls of the game. So to make it a bit simpler and save some time, we at SimHQ present this quick checklist that will at least get you started with some very good add-ons. I consider these add-ons more or less essential. Yet there are so many fine mods out there that it is practically impossible for me to know them all and this is why you are very welcome to pop in to the SimHQ Forum dedicated to Richard Burns Rally, and talk about add-ons and mods that you find indispensable.

Let us start by assuming you have just received your copy of Richard Burns Rally. What do you need in order to get the most out of this terrific sim?

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