Before you've let loose in a rally car capable of silly speeds on the country roads, you'd expect have to take a few lessons in how to handle the beast, if only for insurance reasons. It's a similar deal here: Richard Burns Rally won't let you jump straight into the meaty career mode unless you're taken and passed the meticulous Driving School, which is a huge challenge is itself.

This sets the tone for a game which SCi positions as a different kind of driving experience compared to the granddaddy of the genre, Colin McRae Rally and the gorgeous RalliSport Challenge 2. Richard Burns Rally is an extremely deep and realistic simulation of the sport, which sounds interesting on paper, but put it into practice and the reality is an unforgiving game that'll test your patience to the max. If you're prone to abusing your controller (throwing, biting, banging it, etc) in sticky situations, then we suggest you bring out the third-party peripherals for this title, just to be on the safe side.

When the game skidded onto our desks, it came with a tip sheet that basically told us not to go too fast: "Watch Your Speed," it screamed at us, adding that just because you can reach speeds in excess of 170mph, it doesn't mean you should. Eh? Of course you should drive that fast if a game lets you - isn't that what racing games are all about? Not in Richard Burns Rally apparently, as you have to concentrate more on going slow that going fast. And that's just plain wrong unless you're an avid fan of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The Driving School teaches you both the basic and advanced skills of driving. Basic tests cover acceleration, braking and car positioning while the advanced techniques look at the handbrake, powerslide, oversteer and something called the Scandinavian Flick (turn the car in the opposite direction to the corner and then turn back into the corner). The school also tells you to keep an eye on your speed at all times. Try putting all this advice against the clock and good times quickly go bad.

Each of the lengthy stages is littered with hazards: rocks, ditches, logs, potholes, trees and road cambers. And it's like racing on a tightrope - the actual road area of some stages is only as wide as the car, making it even harder to stay on target. This makes concentrating on your driving technique, the stage you're racing, split-times and your speed, all at the same time, tremendously taxing. It's not much fun, and if you have the damage level set to realistic it's all over after a few bumps.

The vehicle's handling didn't convince us either, as the car seems to haphazardly pivot from left to right. If you're driving fast and have to brake suddenly, the wheels lock and the car wobbles from left to right, ending up with you in a tree. The actual racing doesn't feel that fast either, though it does in the first-person view, but then it's even harder to control the car.

One feature SCi really talked up during the game's development was how a crowd of spectators would help push you back on the track if you accidentally rolled the car and ended up in a ditch. However, in reality, you press the Start button and the game resets the car back on the track with a couple of zombie-looking spectators behind it who quickly run off. Not what we were expecting.

We can't stress enough that this is a rally game for hardcore sim fans only. If you're looking for some good old fun, look the other way: Colin McRae Rally 2005 will soon be racing round the corner. Richard Burns Rally concentrates too much on the simulation side of things and, as a result, the fun factor has been clamped and left in a cold garage.

1. You get to race against Burns' times.
2. Like a challenge? You've found it!

1. Very unforgiving
2. Feels slow
3. Difficult handling
4. Looks a bit bland

Power
Visually, there's nothing super-impressive, but it holds together well and there's little pop-up.

Style
Nice to see Richard Burns himself lending his rallying vocal talents to the Driving School.

Immersion
Super-hard to get into unless you're willing to sit through, and smash, the pain barrier.

Lifespan
You'll be tearing your hair out in hours. How long you last after that is a test of your patience.

Summary
Extremely hard to get into with some very unforgiving gameplay. Only for hardcore fans that like simulations.