Dirt 2
A Junkie Gamer Review
Codemasters + Racing Game = Fun
It’s a simple equation, racing games are what Codemasters do best and they certainly raise that bar with the release of Dirt 2. I have had a love affair with the Colin McRae series of games since the early days, inspiring me to get a steering wheel for my PS One, it was the reason I bought a PS2 and it was also my first 1000 point game on the Xbox 360, simply put, I love these games. So how does the latest release shape up?
It was with great trepidation that I fired up Dirt 2, see since the release of the first DiRT Codemasters had released Grid a spiritual successor to the TOCA Race Driver franchise and I couldn’t have hated the game more. While Grid certainly looked like one of the prettiest racers available, its centre pivot car handling drove me round the bend, literally. So I did fear the worse for Dirt 2. Thankfully however, my fears were unfounded as the rally cars handled just as good as they did in Dirt 1 and it wasn’t long before I was immersed in the experience, eyes strained looking for the next corner making sure I heard my co-drivers directions correctly, pushing my car to the limit and deftly power sliding around an impossible bend.
The Dirt 2 experience is just so immersive and complete; you probably won’t ever need another racer in your library. From the get go, you wake up in your RV and are welcomed to the world of a superstar race driver. The whole presentation is really slick, you check out the map for choosing your events, walk outside to delight in your chosen cars and take in your current cities backdrop. The career is now structured in such a way that you can pick and choose the events that appeal to you, not necessarily having to complete 6 of the 10 races in a ladder before you can go up a step. This time, experience is awarded for every race you compete in giving you an XP rating and level that unlocks more events as you progress. I found myself hopping from country to country trying all types of different events in different vehicles and promising myself to turn it off “after this next race”, only to be still playing hours later.
To add to the sense of realism, and to give the game a certain bit of authenticity, Ken Block and a host of he’s buddies lend their voice to the game. They race with you in the game and set you targets and challenges every once and a while, and even talk to you during races, again helping with the immersion of the game.
The tracks this time round are a bit more extreme, especially the rallycross events, and invite you to just have fun. Gone are the functional/traditional tracks from Dirt 1, to be replaced by insane jumps, pyrotechnics, advertising hoarding and rabid fans. There is no chance these tracks could exist in the real world of motorsports, but that’s not a bad thing, we’re here to have fun after all.
But it’s not all roses, the rally tracks are seriously lacking. Now, they are not lacking in terms of how they are designed, but by the amount of them. Per country there seems to be 3 tracks for the rally, two shortish tracks that are then combined together to make the third one. This is almost a criminal offence in my opinion as the game has its roots grounded strongly in rally and yet it seems to be an offshoot of the game. Gone are the separate rallies from Dirt 1 that existed outside the career mode and they have not been replaced by anything. I miss the challenge of racing in a country for 6 or so stages, damaging my car on one stage and then limping through the next stage with all that damage carried over trying not to lose too much time, hoping to make it to the service park so I can fix it up best I can. I guess with the flashback feature in place it kind of null and voids the need for this, but I find something bogus about starting a second stage in a rally with your car cleaned and rearing to go. But this is only a small niggle for me in an otherwise terrific game.
But wait there’s more…… The guys over at codemasters listened to all the feedback from the last game and now, finally, Dirt has fully functioning multiplayer. You can race any of the events from the career online and you can suit it to your own tastes. Personally I love rally and trailblazer events, so you can race these and see ghosts of your competitors affecting the landscape around you as you tear along the countryside. But for those who like their racing a little on the rough side, there is full on 8 player truck, buggy and rallycross events where you can trade paint with the best of them, and don’t expect anyone to play nice.
4.5/5
