Colin McRae Rally 2005 PSP footage

Codemasters has released video footage of Colin McRae Rally 2005 in action on the PlayStation Portable and elaborated on the sorts of features that rally fans can expect to see when the game showers us in mud this spring.

The video, available here (assuming you can get past the website's "unique" registration system), runs for around 30 seconds and splits your focus between a blown-up view of what appears on the screen and actual video footage of somebody playing the game on an actual PSP. You can also find some screenshots here.

Graphically it's already looking fairly close to what we've come to expect from CMR on the PS2, and in technical terms it's been tailored quite precisely for the PSP - allowing you to play a five-minute stage and then have the machine auto-save your progress instead of forcing you to wait until the end of a championship or event.

As previously revealed, CMR 2005 PSP will centre around a Career Challenge mode featuring various challenges, cups, "SuperCups", shields and championships that take you through 23 events (some 300+ stages) in various different cars, including four-wheel drive, rear-wheel, super two-wheel and others. Cars include the likes of the Audi A3 3.2 Quattro and the Lancia Stratos, and all will be aiming for a similar feel to previous Colin McRae titles.

In development at Six By Nine, the folks responsible for converting PC editions of Colin McRae, the spring-bound PSP title will also feature eight-player wireless racing options.