October 24, 2013
Milestone

WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship

WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship is recommendable to any rally purist however only feels incrementally improved from the previous entry in the series. For those who only dabble in rally racing there are far more exciting offerings out there.

55%Game Brain Score

graphics, gameplay

optimization, music

68% User Score Based on 873 reviews

Critic Score 55%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

"WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship" is the official video game of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship. It features 65 official cars and 78 challenging courses across 13 countries, with varying weather and road conditions. The game offers an immersive career mode and online multiplayer for up to 16 players. Realistic graphics and driving physics provide an authentic rally racing experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship screenshot

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 874 reviews

graphics64 positive mentions

optimization14 negative mentions

The game offers a fun arcade-like rally experience with decent car handling and a variety of stages.
Many players appreciate the nostalgic feel and the inclusion of official WRC teams and drivers from the 2013 season.
The career mode allows players to progress through different WRC classes, providing a sense of achievement.

The game suffers from significant technical issues, including sound bugs that require restarting the game after each stage.
Graphics and audio quality are considered outdated, with many players noting poor visual fidelity and repetitive soundtracks.
Multiplayer features are broken, with many users unable to connect online or experiencing long loading times due to server issues.

graphics
226 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
60%
12%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are dated and lack polish compared to modern standards, often likening them to titles from the early 2000s. While some appreciate the visuals as decent for the game's age and find them serviceable, others criticize graphical glitches and minimal settings options, leading to an overall perception of mediocrity. Despite these shortcomings, a few players still find the graphics enjoyable, especially when settings are maximized, highlighting that the gameplay experience remains the primary focus.
- “Take advantage of an improved graphics engine and unprecedented realism that lets you develop new driving styles on surfaces that are more lifelike than ever.”
- “Beautiful graphics, good physics, and hours of excellent rally goodness make this a must-have title for the rally enthusiast.”
- “The graphics are good and an absolutely amazing wide variety of challenging maps.”
- “Game lacks graphics settings, takes a year to load, and is an overall poor quality game.”
- “Graphics are pretty bad, they would be doable in 2007-2008, but we are quite a few years past that.”
- “The physics are almost wooden, the visuals fall way short of what a game of this age should live up to, the track design is boring, and on many stages the devs have just recycled a lot of the road sections because of the circuit (lazy) design of each event, the sounds are horrid and contained, and the whole experience is just flat.”
gameplay
67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
61%
12%
The gameplay in WRC 4 is generally described as straightforward and accessible, offering a fun and challenging rally experience that appeals to both casual and seasoned players. While some users appreciate the visuals and controls, others criticize the game for its repetitive stages, long loading times, and occasional technical issues. Overall, the gameplay is seen as decent but not particularly realistic, leaning more towards an arcade style rather than a simulation.
- “Gameplay-wise, I found WRC 4 to be fun and challenging.”
- “In terms of accessibility for gameplay, hardware requirements, and price (on sale), it's basically unmatched.”
- “There are so many truly rally features and such nice gameplay indeed!”
- “Game mechanics are horrible, plus the controls keep changing from controller to keyboard.”
- “Let's face it, the online doesn't work anymore, the gameplay is a little bit samey, the game has a tendency to crash, and sometimes the audio just cuts out.”
- “Gameplay is boring, graphics are not good, and in some rallies, you get confused, not knowing where the road continues.”
optimization
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
47%
37%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering and long loading times, even on high-spec systems. Many players describe it as unoptimized, with an outdated engine that struggles to deliver a smooth experience, particularly in online modes. While some users have managed to achieve decent performance under specific conditions, the overall consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements in optimization.
- “You obtain most of the achievements by playing the career from the bottom up, and some require you to replicate some real-world drivers' performances, which I found to be a cool addition.”
- “When it comes to performance, everything worked smoothly, besides long loading screens.”
- “Performance is excellent; I can play triple monitor with FPS over 100.”
- “Horrible performance.”
- “Another major issue is the stuttering I get in this game.”
- “Had massive performance issues despite having a computer that should be able to run this.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
54%
33%
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many users finding the soundtrack repetitive, generic, and annoying, particularly criticizing the menu music. While some note an improvement in the overall sound quality and a shift away from jarring electronic tracks, the limited variety and short duration of the music scores detract from the overall experience. Additionally, the presence of a poorly received co-driver voice adds to the dissatisfaction with the game's audio landscape.
- “Speaking of the auditive experience, one must begin with the menu music.”
- “As a side note, the choice of music in the game is unusual.”
- “Short epic music scores that typically run between 1-2 minutes, so in your replay views you get to hear a few of them.”
- “The soundtrack is terrible (it's the same cheap song over and over again).”
- “The soundtrack in this game is kinda annoying.”
- “Menu music in career mode when you enter the office is crappy.”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous users reporting frequent graphical glitches and bugs, particularly in career mode. While some players appreciate the low price, many express frustration over the game's outdated graphics and overall performance, leading to a recommendation to consider other racing titles instead.
- “Runs great on 4210u + 840m at 768p.”
- “Worst purchase I ever made on Steam (on sale for 13-something euros). It looks and plays like a 2006 game (very old graphics, many glitches, arcade feeling). My advice for wannabe buyers: two words only... Dirt Rally!”
- “This game is really buggy.”
- “Even if you don't care about the graphics (after all, ten years ago this would be the best looking racer in the world even on low settings), I also encountered huge graphical glitches (namely, side borders jumping into the road and blocking the view).”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game lacks a traditional story, with users noting the absence of a career mode or narrative elements, which some find refreshing. However, the overall depth of the story is rated low, around 3 out of 10, with many describing it as boring.
- “Story depth 3/10 - boring.”
- “No annoying unskippable career agent nor a story mode and other nonsense.”
- “No story.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
13%
13%
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its ability to evoke nostalgia and capture the essence of rally racing, reminiscent of classic titles like Colin McRae Rally 2.0. Players appreciate the authentic audio and visuals, which contribute to an enjoyable loose surface experience, despite some limitations in stage variety. Overall, the game successfully immerses players in the vibrant world of rally racing without requiring expensive equipment.
- “Since the first minutes of the game, I felt like I was playing Colin McRae Rally 2.0 from my PS1 days, but not in terms of graphics, rather in terms of gameplay; it had that exceptional rally atmosphere I remember from when I was a kid in front of the TV.”
- “Pros – great visuals, tight fun controls, great new career structure, authentic audio and atmosphere.”
- “Despite its faults, WRC 4 still manages an enjoyable loose surface experience and captures the atmosphere of the WRC's global circus (although limited to six stages per location).”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
38%
25%
Overall, the game's replayability is viewed positively, with some users noting "infinite replayability" and the potential for extended enjoyment through car skin mods. However, a few players mention that certain annoyances may detract from the overall replay value, though they still recommend the game to motorsport enthusiasts.
- “Infinite replayability!”
- “A very good and solid game, and I think I've seen car skin mods, so it should have some replay value for me for a few years.”
- “Infinite replayability!”
- “For me, this annoyance reduces the replay value of the game, but I would still recommend it to anybody with an interest in motorsport.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in this rally game is highlighted as a key feature, particularly for newcomers, with players enjoying the comedic aspect of crashing cars and the game's lighthearted approach. While some may prefer older titles in the series, the fun and laughter it brings make it a recommended choice for those looking for an entertaining experience.
- “If you have fun laughing about how badly you can crash a rally car, this is your game too.”
- “This game is really funny, and I really suggest it if it is your first rally game. It is a bit easy, and you have 'flashtimes'.”
- “The humor in this game makes it enjoyable, especially when you find yourself laughing at the ridiculous crashes.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players indicate that grinding in the game is so demanding that it may require a second life, suggesting that the effort needed to progress can be excessive and potentially frustrating.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”