Unfortunately, Mobil 1 Rally Championship has to be compared with Colin McRae, and it falls somewhat short. Fortunately, Mobil 1 does some things better than Colin McRae, and graphic presentation is at the top of the list. Graphics in the game are excellent, with decent frame rate maintained for both one- and two-player mode. Sound is average, with some nice background music, and the predictable big engine rumble of the racers.

What I like most about Mobil 1 Rally's graphics is the smooth, fluid look of the environments, all the way down to trees surrounding the track and water flowing under bridges. Weather effects are outstanding, and the cars look excellent from all angles. If only the gameplay could have been given this kind of attention!

Beyond the expected content of a rally game (driver assistance, varying road conditions, etc.), Mobil 1 Rally Championship is a full simulation of the British rally event which bears its name. The actual Championship Mode puts you through six individual rallies, each containing six stages themselves. If it hasn't sunk in yet, that's a lot of track! Championship Mode takes up most of your game time, but for those looking to just experience British rally racing, there's Arcade and Time Trial Mode, plus a split-screen two-player. A few earned perks are the ability to race all Arcade tracks in reverse, effectively doubling the already huge layout, and a chance to move up to more powerful cars. Which would be great, except... and how can I put this deftly? Great course plans, graphics and car choices aside, the handling and control in Mobil 1 Rally is pitiful. There's no way anyone could play this game with Colin McRae side by side and not see the difference. If EA had released Mobil 1 earlier, it might have stood a chance. At this point, with several good rally games on the market for PlayStation (Need For Speed and Colin McRae), it's hard to imagine that Mobil 1 Rally Championship can make much of a dent.

Some of the things I like: The car choices are excellent. In a stroke of brilliant design, each vehicle is introduced with a brief voice-over detailing the car's specifications, heritage and contribution to the British rally. Especially because some of these aren't well known in the U.S. (Seat, Skoda, etc.) this 'backstory' idea wins big points for EA. The sheer number of default cars is excellent, but the Volkswagen Golf was my personal favorite. Having each rally stage introduced is also nice, highlighting challenges and characteristics to watch for. Also in the 'good' category is how much detail obviously went into track design. These are hard tracks, and if it's possible to overlook control issues, there's a ton of racing in Mobil 1 Rally. Narrow lanes, frequent obstacles and rough conditions create a challenge level that doesn't pamper anyone. The best thing by far about course design and programming in Mobil 1 Rally must be the sense of elevation in each track. It's a small thing, but not even in Colin McRae did one experience such a strong feeling of rolling down steep hills and bouncing through choppy dirt moguls. Too bad the cars move around like koalas on ice...

Even on Easy, poor control makes Mobil 1 Rally way too hard to enjoy. The worst part is analog control. Instead of the degrees of control one might expect, touching the analog stick either moves the car severely or not at all. It's frustrating, believe me. The other thing that makes control difficult is that the cars don't develop a sense of speed moving through the track. Going into a corner at 80mph should feel much different than the same corner at 40mph, but it just doesn't here. Instead of using car setup to allow more custom options, Mobil Rally 1 requires heavy, heavy fine-tuning before most cars are even manageable. This may fly for the hardest of hard-core rally racers, but it will die hard on anyone else.

Setup options are standard, but instead of help-menu or game-manual assistance, the real key to successful setup lies in the car selection screen. During the run-down on each car, areas of strength and weakness are outlined, and it's up to you to digest all this and take it with you into the garage. Thus, a car with less low-end torque might be best customized toward acceleration than top speed. Usually, rally racing demands only that a car be customized for each race, but my impression of Mobil 1 Rally was that even track conditions and layout take a back seat to the demands each car makes on the driver. Again, nice for simulation purposes, but not much fun for the casual rally racer.

There are three variations on the controller layout, but none used both analog sticks, which is a nice feature in any racer. All races can be saved midstream and returned to, which is good, considering how many miles of track you'll race before finishing Championship Mode. The split-screen looks good, but with custom two-player tracks, I did miss the option to race Championship Mode with a friend.

When all is said and done, Mobil 1 Rally Championship will go down in history as a victim of poor timing. If it had hit the market 2-3 months ago, it would have been a success. Coming on the heels of 'arcade' rally racers, Mobil 1 could have a great deal going for it. But considering how fresh Colin McRae is on the market, and what a great rally experience Colin McRae offers, Mobil 1 Rally Championship is doomed to that most disheartening category in racing: 2nd Place.