WRC 4
Officially licensed rally game based on the 2004 WRC season.
WRC 4, also called WRC 2004, is a racing game for the PlayStation 2 created by Evolution Studios. It holds the official license from the FIA World Rally Championship and is the fourth game to do so, drawing from the 2004 rally season.
In Quick Race mode, the game picks a random stage, car, and driver. The player must beat a time trial, though this isn't required to progress. The target time is based on the first-place ranking; if the player beats it, their new time becomes the target. Championship mode follows the real 2004 season calendar through all 16 rallies. The player can stop after any stage because the game saves after each one. While a rally has six stages, the player usually needs to purchase a stage to play it in other modes.
Pro Driver Challenge is a career mode where the player starts as a rookie in the Super 1600 class and must complete tasks to move up to the WRC class. In Super Special Challenge, the player races against an AI opponent on all SSS courses, ordered alphabetically by country rather than by the season's schedule. Single Rally mode lets the player run all six stages of a chosen rally. Test Track mode allows practice or rally tests similar to the license tests in the Gran Turismo series.
According to Metacritic, the game received generally favorable reviews. In Japan, where Spike published it on 7 April 2005, Famitsu gave it four eights, totaling 32 out of 40.
Quick Facts
- Title
- WRC 4
- Developer
- Evolution Studios
- Publisher
- EU · SCEE · JP · Spike
- Series
- World Rally Championship
- Platforms
- PlayStation 2
- Released
- EU · 22 October 2004 · JP · 7 April 2005
- Genre
- Racing
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game features several modes. In a quick race, the player plays a randomly selected stage with a randomly selected car and driver, and must beat a time trial based on the 1st place time ranking. Championship mode lets the player play through the 2004 WRC season following the real-life calendar, ending after all 16 rallies are played; the game saves after each stage. The player can play all six stages in a rally, but normally must buy the stage to play it in other modes. The Pro Driver Challenge is a career mode where the player starts as a rookie in the Super 1600 class and must complete tasks to enter the WRC class. In Super Special Challenge, the player plays against an AI opponent on all SSS courses in alphabetical order of country. A test track mode allows practice or rally tests similar to the license tests of the Gran Turismo series.
Reader's Guide
WRC 4 received generally favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, where the game was localized and published by Spike on 7 April 2005, Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40. The game is notable as the fourth officially licensed WRC title and for its variety of gameplay modes, including a career mode that requires progression from the Super 1600 class. Its test track mode, likened to Gran Turismo's license tests, offered a structured practice environment. The game's save-anytime feature in Championship mode and the requirement to purchase stages for other modes added strategic depth. As a PlayStation 2 exclusive developed by Evolution Studios, it represents a specific era of officially licensed rally simulation.
Did You Know?
- The game is also known as WRC 2004.
- In Japan, it was published by Spike on 7 April 2005.
- Famitsu gave the game a score of 32 out of 40.
- The Pro Driver Challenge career mode starts the player in the Super 1600 class.
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