Its vision is to ditch the more casual/arcade elements of the previous game and make a move towards the more hardcore simulator gameplay.

As someone who doesn't really enjoy simulators, I can't help but be upset by this change in direction, but at the same time I completely understand it. CMR 3 to CMR 2.0 is essentially what NFSMW was to NFSU. It is a distillation of the series to its essentials. A more narrowed-down, focused step forward.

This entire game revolves around the championship mode, which now doesn't let you choose a car, ditches some of the management elements (such as spending points on customization and repairs) and doesn't explain to you how tweaking different parts of the car will affect the car's handling or what weather conditions those tweaks would better match. It throws you right into the world of rally and expects you to adapt. The presentation this time is more in-your-face. Although still largely minimalist, it's more three-dimensional, making elements float towards you or away from you as you navigate menus. And the customization menu is happening right there on the track, as you witness mechanics tinkering with your car.

Once you jump into the race, it becomes quickly evident how much of an upgrade this game is. The sheer tactile joy of driving the car in CMR 3 is something that cannot be conveyed in a review and must be experienced. I've already said before that the games in this series have some of the best handling I've ever seen, and it just keeps getting better with each new installment. In addition, the graphics, the sound and the damage model have also been improved immensely. As I was crashing my car, I was genuinely amazed by how many components the car model consists of. But the most notable improvement are the tracks. The roadside has become much deeper and more layered. You can drive into the trees (provided you can maneuver between them) or the snow bank, or out into the fields (to a degree of course, before you get teleported back). Sometimes you will find trees or rocks right on the road. The environments feel as real as it could've possibly been done with the technological capabilities of the time.

However, as much praise as I'm giving this game, at the end of the day it's still a simulator, and I'm still not a fan of the genre. I can easily imagine some people rating this higher than CMR 2.0, but I'm looking for something different in racing games. As amazing as the core gameplay is here, you get used to it, and then what? I can only drive alone to the accompaniment of engine sounds for so long before I start feeling bored.