As with the original, pre-release code for WRC II has proven premature. Thankfully, advances since the demo code released shortly before WRC II hit the shelves are positive. Differences include improvements to environmental detail, but more significantly, the handling model has also been advanced.

Harking back to 2001 brings memories of the vastly differing handling versions that were progressively installed, trialled and abandoned during the game's development. One such model had proven so realistic it was undrivable via a DualShock 2. Delighted owners of force feedback steering wheels and fans looking for the highest of learning curves might have been equally disappointed with the oversimplified dynamics presented at E3 in 2001. In all, five versions were created from the game's genesis till its year-end release.

Final code was every much middle of the road, so to speak, and a perfectly understandable and functional choice, and subsequently the game sold by the truckload. Occasionally, playing it led to moments of pure joy, with some excellent graphical detail, a huge draw distance and the very real possibility of hurtling over the edge if you got your turning wrong. Nothing too extreme, then.

Which begs the question: what has been done to make the sequel any different? Like so many pop driving games, the marketing of WRC and its sequel would have some people expecting the perfect simulation.

This particular subspecies is a simulation in many respects. Official cars, drivers, co-drivers and race events live in a virtual world modelled on satellite topography data of the real courses, actual team car damage data and digimask face-mapping data. So it looks and sounds real, and kudos for the effort.

Evolution has already discovered what happens when you try to make a game too real. Sega went down the same road with Ferrari F355 Challenge, and rather than a description of what Evolution has being doing to the game over the past year, the term extreme as used here is simply part of the brand name; nothing more.

Where WRC II breaks down is in combination with the physics model and track design. WRC was a lethargic, if very playable experience, but Extreme does little to improve speed while adjusting handling and physics to the point where some of the balance is lost. Sure, you will no longer effortlessly beat the field's best times. All camera views have a restricted field of vision, but if you can tollerate the lowered nose cam then not only will you enjoy a realistically fast race, and the physics will also make more sense. Pace notes are largely excellent, and although occasionally confusing, they prove more than adequate even for first-time drivers, reducing dependence on one's own line of sight and allowing the low camera to work.