Live For Speed (2003) - Every PC Rally Game
0Live For Speed by Scawen Roberts / Eric Baily / Victor Van Vlaardingen, 2003.
2003 saw the initial launch of Live For Speed. This game launched from the start with a fictional Blackwood rallycross track, hence its inclusion here. I've cheated somewhat, as I included a couple of racing circuits/circuit cars though, just to flesh it out a bit (but I tried to drift them rally-style, where possible!).
The handling on the dirt sections, both in rallycross tracks and on the side-roads around venues (if you choose the X or Y versions of the tracks) is actually terrific, up there with the best rally (and simulation games). The crash damage modelling isn't great though, unless you think all cars can fold up like cardboard, regardless of what they're made of!
Graphically, it's looking good here, with post-processing enabled, but this is just a snapshot of what the eternally developed game looks like (from mid-2019 at the time of recording). The Live For Speed team are currently reworking the graphics and lighting throughout the game, so it'll look even better in the future (plus, with a full day/night cycle, it may be possible to race at night, which it's not at the moment).
The in-game sound is a bit weak though; despite having some nice effects when you travel under a bridge or near a wall, it all sounds a bit low-key and muddy.
So, yeah, this game's a bit of an edge case, but well worth your time!
This is part of the Every PC Rally Game playlist, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYDobL0b26ugFuXASCIC9qmFb9_k4_fqU