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Colin McRae Rally 04 for PlayStation 2
Colin McRae Rally 04 for PlayStation 2 lets you choose your championship rally car. You drive stages over tarmac, gravel, mud and snow, your navigator's voice anticipating the next corner. Two-wheel-drive cars, four-wheel-drive cars and unlockable Group B machines each demand different use of throttle and brakes. The challenge is to set a fast time without damaging your car early in the rally.
In the service area you choose tyres and adjust suspension and gearing, among other settings. Repairs take time, so you decide which damaged components take priority. Special tests also earn upgraded parts. You quickly see why a controlled passage can achieve more than a collision after braking too late. Individual stages and custom rallies give you space to become more familiar with a car or a particular surface.
On PS2, at most two players drive simultaneously in split-screen, each using their own controller. Individual stages and rallies let up to four players take turns passing one controller; no Multitap is needed. The championship supports one or two players, and a two-player championship always uses alternating turns. A DualShock 2 is sufficient. Championship progress saves automatically after every service area to the selected file on a PS2 memory card.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Colin McRae Rally 04 for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Colin McRae Rally 04
Codemasters released Colin McRae Rally 04 for PlayStation 2 in 2003. The development team followed the third entry fairly quickly but changed an important premise. In the championship you no longer had to be Colin McRae driving the Ford Focus. Different cars and drivetrain classes gained their own place in the competition. That choice made knowledge of several vehicles' handling more important within the same rally structure.
The developers also expanded preparation. New-part tests linked short technical tasks to upgrades you could later use in a rally. Tyres, engine components and suspension thus became more than options in a setup menu. British navigator Derek Ringer supplied the distinctive English pace notes. The original PS2 booklet also addressed the consequences of damage and which repair made the biggest difference within the available service time.
Playing together also gained room. Two participants could complete a championship, while individual rallies and stages let larger groups take turns. The PS2 retained a limit of two simultaneous drivers in split-screen. That distinction was easily lost in descriptions combining platforms. Within the series, Rally 04 chiefly represents the move from a fixed Ford career to more choice in cars, championships and shared rally sessions on one console.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Colin McRae Rally 3 uses the same combination of stages, setup and damage carried through a competition. Its championship, however, keeps you in McRae's Ford Focus. Rally 04 offers more cars and drivetrain classes, plus tests that earn components. A new campaign is therefore not just about becoming faster with the same car but also learning to handle another vehicle category.
Colin McRae Rally 2005 builds on 04's technical rally foundation, with familiar service stops and different car types. Its main addition is an extensive career with branching events and new vehicle classes. Rally 04 stays closer to separate championships and custom rallies. You choose between a more compact seasonal framework and a successor that places greater emphasis on progressing to further challenges.
Richard Burns Rally likewise asks you to take grip, cornering and damage seriously on PlayStation 2. It strongly emphasises precise driving and practising rally technique, including in its rally school. Colin McRae Rally 04 links that same interest in car control to varied championships and component tests. The difference is clearest when correcting mistakes: both reward preparation, but their driving models require different reactions.
Like Rally 04, WRC 3 takes you to stages on varied surfaces and lets you drive licensed rally cars against the clock. Its official WRC presentation centres on real championship teams and their competition world. Rally 04 organises its content chiefly around drivetrain classes, different championships and component tests. These offer two approaches to one sport: a recognisable official season or more freedom in vehicle and competition choice.
V-Rally 3 shares changing surfaces, navigator instructions and the need to control a rally car. Contracts and the development of your position as a driver provide its career's central thread. Rally 04 focuses more on choosing championships and testing upgraded parts. Repeating a stage helps in both, but the objective outside the car differs: building your career position or achieving results in a chosen competition.
