At first sight, WRC seems to be a full-featured port of its console brethren, with a lot of different modes, such as Quick Rally, Single Race, Championship, Multiplayer and more and a nice presentation. However, as you all know: first impressions can be deceiving...

And this is exactly the case for WRC. Take the multiplayer, for instance, if you can call it that. You can either play turn-based (on one PSP) in three different modes or you can use the Ad Hoc wireless multiplayer. Unfortunately you can only play Time Trial via WiFi, which immediately makes it far less appealing. And who on earth would like to play multiplayer in turns?

Ok, so far for the multiplayer. Is the singleplayer any better? I'd have to answer 'yes' on that on question, but it's still a far way from being good. The worst thing about the game is the far too sensitive analog nub. Nearly every touch of the nub results in your car taking the scenic route. Luckily, handling the car with the D-pad yields more success. Another drawback of the singleplayer (or at least the Career Mode) is the low number of available tracks. If you choose Novice difficulty (like any sane person would do), you can only race on two of the four tracks in each rally. The Professional and Expert options offer three and four, respectively. But even than, four tracks per rally is only a fraction of the number in WRC 4 and Rally Evolved. Not too mention they're also a lot shorter than the console versions'.

It's clear WRC for PSP is severely dumbed down port. Unlike the console WRC's, you can't race with Super 1600 or Concept cars, which results in a low number of cars. Something that has survived the overhaul is the great damage model. You will see dents in the chassis, loose bumpers and shattered windows. Don't be too enthusiastic though, as damage won't affect your car's performance, unlike -you guessed it- the PS2 games.

Sacrifices have also been made in the technical department. While the cars themselves look pretty good, the levels look uninspired, lack detail and bathe in washed-out colours. There is also a great deal of pop-up, something we haven't seen in racing games for a long time. Sound isn't much better, on the contrary. Your co-pilot's instructions are always two seconds late and the soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired. With only six songs it gets old real fast. Hearing Franz Ferdinand's 'Take me Out' or 'Michael' for the umpteenth time can drive a man insane, no matter how good those songs are.