Review: Rally PRO Contest
Score:
65%
Buy Link | Download / Information Link
Why oh why does the use of the word 'Rally' in a mobile game title usually indicate that it's not going to be very good? I've seen several examples over the years (V-Rally on Psion was by far the worst) and this is just as disappointing.
Rally PRO Contest is up to the usual graphics standards of Synergenix, with slick menus and car choice dialogs. As with other racing games in the past, you have to earn the right to race on different tracks and in different cars by achieving fast times in your current one. Time trial mode sees you simply trying to post a best time, while championship mode sees you err... trying to post a best time. At least better than the rest of the virtual competitors, who you never see on the track and your position in a race is determined solely by your time. The only time you'll see another vehicle is if you should find a friend with the game loaded, willing to challenge you via the wonders of Bluetooth. Clever though this is, the feeling of loneliness while racing through fields and desert on your own is disappointing to say the least.
But what about the driving experience itself, I hear you ask? Is it fun? Not really, if I'm honest. The game's Help screen suggests various combinations of keys to control left/right/throttle/brake, but they all involve a certain amount of finger contortionism and I ended up experimenting and using '1', '2' and '3', which at least are all on the same line. The throttle function is annoying in that it doesn't stay 'open'. In other words, you have to keep your finger pressing down the throttle key all the time - releasing it means that the car starts to slow down. While this mimics a real car's throttle, it doesn't make for a fun game. And then sometimes you find that you're holding down the throttle key but that the car's grinding to a halt and you have to release the key and press it again. Grr....
Finally, steering control of the car is simply tweak left, straight or tweak right - there's no concept of smooth steering. In practice this means that you drive for as long as you can in a straight line, then scramble round a corner in a series of mad adjustments and then try to set yourself up for another straight line segment.
Synergenix have gone to a lot of trouble with the graphics engine and the frame rate of the scenery as it flows by is really impressive. But the game is simply too much like hard work - you'll breathe a sigh of relief when you realise that you're never going to get a fast enough time to try out any but the first car and first two races and give up on the game altogether. The glowing (moderated) reviews on the likes of Handango give a misleading impression for this title, in my opinion.
Back to the drawing board, guys. Fix that throttle control, put in more steering attitudes and put in other cars in at least one of the modes. Yes, I know that most real rallying is against the clock, but sometimes a race has got to feel like a race...
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at