''Richard Burns Rally'' is a sim racing

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

, published by SCi and developed by

Warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

with advice of WRC champion Richard Burns (1971–2005). It was released in 2004 for

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and

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in July, for

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in September, and in July 2005 for Gizmondo. Although general reviews were mixed, the game is highly praised by rally game enthusiasts and sim racers due to its complex physics engine and realistic portrayals of real-life courses, and is now regarded as one of the greatest rally games ever created.

Summary

The game features 8 cars and 36 courses. It simulates both classic and modern rallying, and is best known for its high difficulty and realistic

physics engine A physics engine is computer software that provides an approximate simulation of certain physical systems, typically classical dynamics, including rigid body dynamics (including collision detection), soft body dynamics, and fluid dynamics. I ...

. This game is considered by many

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s to be one of the most realistic and difficult

racing simulators Sim racing is the collective term for racing games that attempt to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a dr ...

. ''Richard Burns Rally'' initially did not come with official support for user-made content, but despite this, there are mods available due to a large online community, to which Warthog responded by releasing tools to aid in mod development. The game was originally an offline racing game but user-created mods have enabled online play. The Xbox version had online multiplayer through

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...

which was shut down on April 15, 2010. ''Richard Burns Rally'' is now playable online using replacement online servers for the Xbox called

Insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. An insignia, which is typically made of metal or fabric, is a standalone sy ...

. Shortly after the release of the game, Warthog was acquired by Tiger Telematics so that Warthog could develop games for their upcoming handheld console, the Gizmondo; the dramatic failure of the Gizmondo and the bankruptcy of Tiger Telematics in January 2006, the purchase of the publisher SCi Games by

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

, and the 2005 death of Richard Burns due to a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

, meant that a sequel to the game was never produced.

Development

The development team put particular care in making sure that the stages were as close to reality as possible. They had one or two people scouting each real life location -

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forest,

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, the

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, and the

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, sometimes going to actual real life rallies, with tools for activities such as texture photography. Road width, camber, and texture were points that were given special attention. Richard Burns was involved in the development, giving feedback on handling dynamics in particular. Rally driver Possum Bourne and his mechanics were also involved, notably by giving feedback about the Canberra stages. Lead physics developer Eero Piitulainen said the following in 2023:

Reception

The game had overall fairly positive reviews. It was renowned for its difficulty, with

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claiming it was "too unfriendly to be any fun". In the years since its release, the game has become highly acclaimed among the sim racing community, particularly for the quality of its physics simulation, and is regarded as one of the greatest rally games ever produced. A dedicated

modding Modding (from "modifying") is the act of modifying hardware, software, or anything else to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specification or appearance. The term is often used in reference to vid ...

community has grown around the game, which has allowed for updates to its physics model, sound, graphics, the addition of new cars and stages, and access to community-run online tournaments; the impact of the modding scene has been essential to the longevity of the game. The game has also been used as a training tool by professional WRC drivers such as Craig Breen and Teemu Suninen, and the FIA used it to teach rallying safety to stewards during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Notes

References

External links

SCI Games page

Warthog Sweden/42-Bit AB page

''Richard Burns Rally''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...