Colin McRae Rally 2.0
Windows - 2000
Description of Colin McRae Rally 2.0
This was always going to be the biggest racing release of the year, but is it a case of leaving the best till last? Two years ago, Codemasters produced the groundbreaking and hugely popular Colin McRae Rally, but since then Rally Championship and Rally Masters have raised the standard. Now Codemasters have stamped the name of the world's fastest rally driver onto a feature-packed sequel that we've been eagerly awaiting all year. GDR has been following the development of CMR2 and the impressions have been good, but it's now time to see if the final version lives up to all the promise.
Loading | Championship | Finland SS1
"The stage based on the classic 'Rally of 1000 Lakes' plays true to form. Ultra fast sweeping roads, perilous jumps and lots of trees all combine to give you a totally unrelenting driving experience. Make sure you listen very carefully to navigator Nicky Grist - 'Six left and flat right over six crest, flat right over jump and six left over jump, and flat right tightens, over jump...' Problem is, flat isn't easy flat - you need to position the car very carefully, which is not simple at the best of times with the wonderful new physics model, let alone when you're doing 120kph over blind crests, on stages where the slightest deviation off the line will see you bury the car into the nearest tree."
This was my main memory of a brief playtest on the CMR2 beta last month. The special stages are what make rallying the sport it is, and many stages on the FIA world championship are real classics with a very distinct character. Whilst most rally titles apply a stereotype to each country's stages, those in CMR2 get very close to the mark - the developers must be real rallying enthusiasts.
The good news is that whilst the Finland stages were good, most of the other stages in the game are simply superb. Australia's slippery gravel stages require just as much flat-out rallying, whilst the mountainous asphalt events in France and Italy set the scene for some of the most technical and intense driving you'll ever do on a PC. The remaining events in Greece, Kenya and Sweden are all about applying good driving technique, but it's a pity that the excellent Monte Carlo and Indonesian events from the original have been dropped.
Much like in CMR, most of the countries are locked and you need to finish in the top 6 in championship mode to unlock the next set. In a sport where you don't get to familiarise yourself with the course before you start, I felt this worked nicely in the original and still does this time around. In addition, the difficulty of the stages is carefully controlled to ease you into the new driving style required. The early stages are broad and sweeping, but later stages become very tricky and can be plagued by bad weather. CMR2 now gives you 10 stages per country as opposed to 6 in the original, each set across two or three days to give the feel of a real event.
So are these the best stages yet in a rally title? Not quite - that accolade goes to Rally Championship. But with only that exception, they're still better than anything else out there.
Loading | Time Trial | Italy SS3
CMR2 is a good looking game. Everything from the chic menus to the car models has been refined extensively from CMR1. The cars in particular are stunning, and on full detail with cubic mapping enabled, they shine and reflect the scenery beautifully. The game provides excellent frame rates even in split-screen mode with a good sensation of speed that gives the driving that exhilarating edge. Best of all though is the replay feature which lets you relive the action TV-style by use of some very imaginative camera angles. It's so good that you'd think there'd be an option to rewind or save them, but surprisingly there isn't. This is one hell of a missed opportunity.
The landscapes are fully detailed and varied, but it's similarly pleasing to see so much variety in the roads themselves. They twist and lurch and dip unpredictably with many stages featuring at least one vicious section ready to take you by surprise, and tight reflexes are required to keep the car out of the scenery. To this end, it's vital that you listen to Nicky Grist, Colin's long suffering co-driver. Nicky reads out "pacenotes" that describe the oncoming road, but unlike in other games where the upcoming corner is described by its severity, the pacenotes in CMR2 grade the corners by the gear in which the car should be in. This is the system currently used by Colin McRae and it's fantastic. It takes a large part of the thinking out of the driving and makes it easier for newcomers to get accustomed to the game, whilst at the same time still providing plenty of scope for more experienced players to improvise to improve their times.
For the most part, the rest of the in-game audio is also very good. All the usual suspects, such as the tyre squeals, exhaust backfires and sumpguards grounding out have been included. In addition, the engine sounds have been realistically sampled, so you'll be able to pick out the deep rush of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo's turbo kicking in, and the high-pitched whine of the Peugeot 206 WRC. But strangely the Ford Focus -- the car that the game is centered on (seeing as it's been the mount of choice for Colin McRae for the past two seasons) -- sounds awful. It lacks any sense of power and ruins all feeling of being strapped into a rally car.
Another low point is with the graphics engine itself. Whilst it can shift plenty of detail at a high rate, the technique of using lots of 2D bitmapped trees to cover up a landscape-wallpapered barrier on either side of the road is now looking very long in the tooth, no matter what the resolution you're playing at. The 2D nature of the obstacles is in fact very distracting, and they can be frustrating to extract yourself from after a collision. It looked great two years ago but just doesn't cut it today, especially when the likes of Pro Rally 2001 offer fully rendered 3D landscaping as far as the eye can see.
Loading | Single Race | France SS4
Where the original really paid off though was in the brilliant car handling, giving us cars that could slide freely at a time when all other rally games made theirs run on rails. CMR2 has thankfully retained this and tweaked it in order to enhance the effects of different setups and road conditions. It's a real pleasure to powerslide and generally throw these cars around. However, these being World Rally Cars, you need to remember that there is a lot of power on demand, and letting the car slide out wildly on the narrower stages will not get you far. Success in CMR2 only comes once you've learnt the arts of left-foot braking (split axes are supported), lift-off oversteer, the good ol' lever-steering (translation: yanking the handbrake) and any other method you can think of to get the car to make the corners in a fast but controlled way.
Controlling the car is bearable with a keyboard or gamepad, and brilliantly precise with a decent steering wheel. Unfortunately I couldn't test the force feedback (which played such a large part in the original) as it resulted in a large performance hit that made the game stutter.
Sadly CMR2 doesn't feature the front wheel drive F2 cars which made excellent learning aids in the original, nor the rally school - novices are effectively left to figure it all out for themselves. However it does feature some entertaining rewards for the successful driver in the way of some superbly modelled extra cars. The RWD Lancia Stratos is an exercise in excess oversteer that will put a big smile on your face, whilst the MG Metro 6R4 mini-rocket will spin the wheels in virtually any gear you choose. These (and more) become unlocked as you progress through the championships.
Loading | Arcade Mode | Greece SS6
Earlier this year, Rally Masters stole CMR's parade by concentrating on arcade-style rallying. CMR2, however, is determined to put the young pretender firmly in its place by introducing its own Arcade mode which allows you to take on up to 5 other cars on wide closed circuit stages. The Arcade mode has several sub-options including mixing computer and human players (via LAN play - the CD allows restricted network installations - or an excellent split-screen mode), racing for points and trying to stay within a certain percentage of the leader's time. Against friends, this mode works very nicely, but when racing the AI, the premise loses its appeal. The AI cars are very tightly bunched together, meaning that a single slip will see you relegated to the back of the pack. And the very nature of a rally stage means that making such a slip isn't difficult.
Another nice option is the Challenge mode, where players can race head-to-head in a series of elimination heats on the double-looped Super-Specials. This worked well in Rally Masters and it works better here. It's a great idea to help bring rallying into favour with the masses, but the bulk of the gameplay in CMR2 is securely locked away in the Simulation mode. However Codemasters have made it easy to set up multiplayer games in most of the simulation modes, so two or more people can race on a single stage and keep track of the other person via a ghost car. CMR2 hasn't been optimised for internet play, but if you have a LAN then you're in for a treat.
Loading | Simulation Mode | United Kingdom SS8
Everything in the game builds up (as it did in the original) to the United Kingdom stages, the toughest in the game and a real testing ground that shows up the gaps remaining in your newfound skills. The first stage is a fiddly treat with a tight autotest-style section in front of a large stately home, and contains at least five corners that willcatch you out on your first attempt (just wait and see). The next few then carry you through a series of hills and villages set in the countryside before the rally dives into the forests Rally Championship-style, providing a set of fast flowing gravel tracks that are the staple diet of your average British rally driver.
The opportunities to wreck your car are endless, and before long (if you're anywhere as bad as I was) your car will be devoid of any windows and will feature a flapping bonnet (athough bizarrely only the bonnet movement is visible from the in-car view - the shattered windscreen from the external cameras appears fine from the inside!). You'll be glad that CMR2 provides a service area after every two sections to repair all that damage and adjust the setup of the car to account for the nature of the next two stages and the impending weather forecast.
Weather forecast? Yes indeed - 2000 seems to have been the year that variable weather finally became a standard feature in racing sims. Grand Prix 3started it off and CMR2 has grabbed the baton and run with it. One of CMR2's nicer effects is a Kenyan stage where the sunset fades to darkness halfway through the stage, at which point it starts to rain. You'd almost want to stop and watch if it wasn't for the fact that doing so would cost you that hard-fought 4th place
CMR2 is not an easy game. You need to be able to drive the car with real commitment if you want to succeed in Intermediate mode. And you need to drive flat out and be absolutely inch-perfect to stand a chance at beating the AI in Expert mode. If you're up for the challenge, that should keep you going for a while.
Loading | Challenge Mode | Japan SSS
CMR2 is not the perfect rally game, but then nothing else currently is either. But it is the most absorbing and thrilling rally game you'll currently find. CMR was my game of 1998. Rally Championship was my game of 1999. Does CMR2 make it as my game for 2000? Almost.
External links
How to play Colin McRae Rally 2.0 Windows
The game with SilentPatch has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 10, it works fine. With SilentPatch the game correctly supports widescreen and high resolutions up to 1920x1080. You may experience some small troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details
This guide is based on European version because it has more languages and SilentPatch is set for European version by default (but it can be changed, check Notes)
Install & play guide:
- Mount the disc image. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite
- Install the game, select "Full" installation. It is recommended to install the game not in default path, but in some other, non-system folder, like
C:/Games/Colin McRae Rally 2, so you won't have troubles with NoCD or fix - After you installed the game - install Silent Patch, simply copy files from the archive and put in game folder, agree to replace original files. The SilentPatch includes content of all official patches plus adds many new features, check Notes for details
- If you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - make sure that you enabled DirectPlay if you didn't make it before, read this or this guide how to do it
- Launch the game and play. The game with SilentPatch should work as it is, with no compatibility mode required. If the game doesn't work - try to launch it in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (Windows 2000 or XP, etc.)
Notes:
- If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
- It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, and NET Framework for the correct work of the game for the correct work of the game
- Also it is recommended to install RAD Video Tools and K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of the game
- The game works on DirectX 7, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer
- Patch v1.09 was designed for original European CD release and fixes some bugs. But it is not required for CD from our website, we added it for archival purpose for owners of original CD release, in case if someone will look for it. The European CD on our website is 2002 re-release that has game v1.11 with no DRM (disc protection), so you don't need to use patch or NoCD for it
- There wasn't patch-file for version 1.11, the game v1.11 was available only in re-releases, so you can't update original CD release to v1.11. But SilentPatch includes the content of v1.11, plus it adds compatibility with modern systems, so we recommend to use it
- SilentPatch is a great fan patch by Silent which fixes many bugs, disables disc check (for versions with DRM), improves compatibility with modern systems, corrects ratio for widescreen resolutions in game (by default it is stretched, SilentPatch add correct non-stretched widescreen), plus it has many useful features, like you can change Field of View (FOV) in game now. To install that patch simply copy files from the archive and put in game folder, replacing original files. Please note that this patch requires Full installation of the game for the correct work. If you want to change any settings of the patch - open SPCMR2.ini in Notepad. For detailed changelog check this page
- During the first launch the game will run with default settings even with SilentPatch, so don't be surprised if you see the game running in small 640x480 window. Just change the display resolution in Options after the launch, and next time it will run with selected display resolution
- SilentPatch is compatible with European, US (United States), Japanese and Polish version, but should work fine with other versions too. By default it is set to be compatible with European version of the game, but you can change the region in SPCMR2.ini. So if you installed SilentPatch on your game and it doesn't launch - try to change the region in ini-file
- If you have huge FPS drops - use dgVoodoo and configurate it like in this guide. dgVoodoo works fine in combination with SilentPatch. Also, try to lower Draw Distance in game settings, or set the Environment Map setting from Cubic to Bump or Standard, it should increase the performance
- By the way, with dgVoodoo you can run the game on higher resolutions, up to 4K, while the standard game with SilentPatch allows to run the game at 1920x1080 maximum. So you can use dgVoodoo even if you don't have troubles with framerate
- If you don't want to use SilentPatch for some reason - you can use dgVoodoo, it allows to run the game on modern systems too. However, if you will enable widescreen resolution through dgVoodoo, it will be stretched. If you plan to play with dgVoodoo - it is recommended to run the game in compatibility mode with Windows XP SP2
- If you don't like the quality of standard cars in game - you can use HQ cars mod, it contains high quality cars models and textures
- Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles, it's very useful!
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
admin 2024-04-23 0 point
@COOLIOTHECOOL Windowed mode is available only with SilentPatch, by default the game has no support for Windowed mode
CoolioTHEcool 2024-04-22 0 point
for some reason i cant mace it windowed i tried going into the dgvoodoocpl.exe and fixing, pressed apply but nothing happened. any fix?
Chris 2024-04-09 1 point
I have the strangest issue i could imagine: the repair bar of the car is invisible!!. I have tried everything, every fix, every patch, every update there is but it's still invisible. So i can't repair my car between races because i can't see the damage ti has. Anyone having any idea of how can it be fixed?
admin 2024-02-28 3 points
We updated this page, added more language versions, plus some fixes, including SilentPatch that allows to easily run the game on modern systems. We also added repack by Magipack for easier installation, it includes fixes and should work "out-of-the-box", just install & play
Kojima 2023-09-16 1 point
What are these people talking about?
Needing a points to progress? Crytek and Codemasters are the most stupid devs? What is this?
SonyaP 2023-08-12 0 point
Best rally simulator ever! Even though the graphics are outdated, everything else in the game remains perfect! Use Silent's patch and have fun!!
Tarpeson 2022-12-03 1 point
Only thing it's not working is ultra wide resolution 2560x1080. Everything else is perfict. Thank You for every moment of pleasure!
tits mcgee 2022-11-19 0 point
The widescreen patch cuts off the edges of the screen for me. I can't see my speed in the HUD.
Karos 2022-07-15 0 point
@Vilex: It´s seem you must use a virtual CD Unit with Daemon Tool or similar.
Vilex 2022-07-10 4 points
i downloaded the file but inside i get a folder that has two files in it rzr-cmr2.bin
and rzr-cmr2.cue i dont know what to do with these file can someone help me
Max 2022-06-03 1 point
Like SNOWXL has said.
If you end uninstalling the game, please be careful, to not delete System32 file.
Delete the one that's on the game folder, but don't delete the one that's on the System32 folder, because as the uninstallation prompt warns you, some things might stop working if you remove that file, so please be careful when uninstalling the game, 1st one click on 'yes' option, click 'no' on the 2nd option/prompt.
The game is old and removing the last file back then perhaps wasn't an issue, but it could be a serious issue right now and end up breaking your system, so be careful and don't remove that file.
Nothing bad has happened to me, but just wanted to let you know about it.
Gritain 2022-02-28 1 point
For some reason, my progress bar shows only time, not the checkpoints and the red/green colouring. Any idea where to turn it on?
snowxl 2022-01-15 2 points
update to previous comment:
turns out there was a leftover start menu shortcut for the game in my C: drive from a previous install that was in my first E: drive which has long been gone, removing the shortcut fixed the problem
snowxl 2022-01-14 2 points
opening setup.exe prompts me to uninstall something first and if i click yes it deletes something in system32 (luckily i did a system restore afterwards)
MrFusion 2022-01-05 0 point
If anyone still has problems with this on Win XP then it might be the service packs. I'm upgrading to SP3 right now. (Of course this is on an old PC! =D )
MrFusion 2022-01-04 -1 point
Win XP.
Silent Patch doesn't work for me. Gives error from some file.
Have an original CD-rom from SoldOut but the game doesn't find the CD, gives error 'wrong CD inserted.
Razor crack breaks the exe.
Update patch 1.09 fixes the error but gets me back to 'wrong CD' :/
Anyone???
connwcted 2021-09-04 0 point
If you have problems with performance or CD, install Silent Patch for Colin Mcrae
Mukhlisin 2021-08-31 -1 point
Man is this be able to play multiplayer with all tracks? Not only arcade?
Gboediman 2021-02-25 0 point
play this game with windows XP more thn 10 years ago - so fun! smooth. don't stop me now
venomous 2020-11-17 1 point
works perfectly on windows 10, just follow the instructions BLINK posted.
Blink 2020-06-17 2 points
For anyone trying to get this running. Just replace the .exe with the one provided in this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0HMeN27Rcw
It will also fix the game for widescreen aspect ratios.
IHC 2020-06-11 1 point
After mounting the bin file using UltraISO, the files show up but I'm unable to install the game. It says 'Error installing iKernel.exe (0x2000)' when I click on setup.exe. The ikernel exists but as 'ikernel.ex_'. Is there a fix for this?
dumberdog 2020-05-29 -3 points
For those who can't run the game, go to gamecopyworld and search for the no-CD patch for CMR2; download it, it will warn you it's a virus, just ignore it and open. Then extract to CMR2 folder and overwrite.
jerponni 2020-04-24 -4 points
Why is the game so laggy? I have a decent laptop to play this game. The specs are no biggie for my lap. Is the game not optimized? is there a fix for lags? yes i did reduce the graphics but still lags.
ARewind 2020-03-22 2 points
Plays well on Linux with Wine, runs 60fps if your using like me a Sandybridge HD 3000 you might want to reduce the draw distance to keep the 60fps, the Sandybridge HD 3000 has trouble with large draw distances dispite it's other strengths.
Hyp3 G4m3r 2020-03-06 0 point
Everything would be fine, but why there is a Spike livery from european re-release?
Pavle Vasilijevic 2020-02-22 1 point
ja:mislim da je Kosovo srbija!
Wikipedia:i am joking to you?
Aorythme 2020-02-03 -2 points
No disc insered too... How we can do to play with out the CD Rom ?
NightVision 2019-10-18 1 point
image mounted using WinCDEmu Drive E:/
wrong disc inserted Windows 7 32bits
mikk2006 2019-07-17 0 point
If i extract it with powerISO and open launcher it says no disc inserted.
mikk2006 2019-07-17 0 point
i cant open, it says windows cannot complete the extraction.
The destination file could not be created.
I have windows 8.1.
mkm 2019-06-22 -1 point
just download WinCDemu and rename .bin into .iso and mount the iso file with winCDemu it will install the game properly and then use silent patch for modern computers @JOSHI4486
Subluka 2018-12-22 2 points
For those getting file corrupt or restricted. Rename the image file extension to iso. Sounds strange but this will now mount, at least I can confirm it will with WinCDemu.
Joshi 4486 2018-09-12 0 point
I installed the game it comes up with wrong disc inserted. What do i do?
Windows 10 is a peace of S#IT 2018-05-17 1 point
@JOHNVIAGRUH Don't bother. You'll have to install Windows 98 virtual machine.
JohnViagruh 2018-05-05 -4 points
How to install this on Windows 10?? There's an error message pop up.I use PowerISO btw.
This is a place for crazy people. I'm not crazy. 2018-05-04 -1 point
That's strange :) Try to download the game with another web browser or with Android/Apple smartphone. Use 7-zip to open and decompress the archive.
P in the C 2018-04-27 0 point
For some reason when I try to download the game it says that the ISO file is corrupt or that it's restricted.I didn't have this problem with the other 2 games(CMR 1 and 3)so if anyone can help me out that would be much appreciated.
Write a comment
Share your gamer memories, help others to run the game or comment anything you'd like. If you have trouble to run Colin McRae Rally 2.0 (Windows), read the abandonware guide first!
Download Colin McRae Rally 2.0
We may have multiple downloads for few games when different versions are available. Also, we try to upload manuals and extra documentation when possible. If you have additional files to contribute or have the game in another language, please contact us!
Windows Version
English, French, German, Italian & Spanish languages, game patched to v1.11, DRM-Free
607 MB
DownloadRepack by MagiPack (includes fixes) 555 MB
DownloadUS versionEnglish, French & Spanish languages, game v1.07
673 MB
DownloadPolish version 
594 MB
DownloadRussian version 
592 MB
Manual 461 KB
Game Extras
Various files to help you run Colin McRae Rally 2.0, apply patches, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.
1 MB
PatchPatch v1.09 for European version 1 MB
PatchSilentPatchImproves compatibility with modern systems, adds correct widescreen support and fixes many small bugs
562 KB
FixSpeech fix for US version 473 KB
MiscCzech translation patch 
764 KB
MiscHungarian translation patch 
3 MB
ModHQ cars modAdds high detailed 3D-models of cars
254 MB
Demo 36 MB
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