Go back to
2002, the first year for Xbox and the second year for PS2. Look at the release
list and tell me what you see: an abundance of racing games. There were more
than any one person had the time to play, and though many were above average in
quality, only a handful were remembered past their year of release.
This year –
the second for Xbox 360 and first for PS3 – has not been met with nearly as many
racing games. The big sequels are either released or coming, but where are all
the new franchises? Where are the dozens of racers hoping to steal Need For
Speed, Project Gotham and Gran Turismo’s thunder?
There may
not be any. But there is one new racer that belongs in the same class as the
aforementioned greats, a game that could easily compete with Microsoft’s
RalliSport Challenge – DiRT. Built by Codemasters, maker of the famed Colin
McRae rally racing games, DiRT is an arcade-style racer with tight controls,
excellent course designs, highly detailed graphics, and the best in-the-car-view
since the first Gran Turismo.
Old Gen.
Next-Gen.
RalliSport
Challenge’s success was not an accident. The developers made it fun by
sacrificing realism for adrenaline-pumped, on-the-edge-of-your-seat racing. DiRT
does the same, but even more so thanks to Codemasters’ years of experience and
the increased power of new hardware. The behind-the-car views look great, but oh
man – the inside views are incredible. You’ll feel the speed in a way you never
thought possible while looking at a TV screen. It’s extremely intense.
In almost
every respect, DiRT is a great racing game that probably could have been
developed for PlayStation 2, albeit with lower quality graphics. But when you’re
inside the car, when you see the gorgeous visuals and begin to feel the road and
all its glory – you’ll know for certain this game is next-gen. These sensations
were not possible five years ago. Honestly, I’m not even sure they were possible
two years ago when Xbox 360 (which DiRT is also available for) was first
released.
Bumper
Cars
DiRT’s
vehicles range from the sporty rally cars, buggies and SUVs to small trucks and
enormous trucks. There are some distinct handling differences between the
vehicle types and models, but the biggest difference comes from player
performance. At its onset, DiRT controls remarkably well. The handling has been
tuned for arcade play, so you won’t feel like the game is Gran Turismo on a dirt
track. You might, however, think you’re playing RalliSport Challenge 3.
But should
you crash – and you will crash, sometimes as often as you do in the crash-heavy
Burnout series – your vehicle might start to control like a garbage truck on
wheels. No wait – scratch that. It might start to control like garbage.
On wheels. And I mean that in a good way.
Damage is
visually breathtaking and physically efficient. If you slam the left side of
your vehicle into a thick tree or railing, there’s a good chance that your left
side will be physically damaged. Its appearance will definitely be damaged. But
if the crash goes beyond that, your vehicle may drive slower and/or have altered
handling. In the worst-case scenarios, it might veer to one side. Ironically,
this was helpful in one situation. I managed to navigate a few tricky right
turns because my vehicle kept veering right. All other times, however, the
damage was not an improvement. Typically it meant I had to struggle to win or
give up and restart the race.
Tiers of
Joy
DiRT’s
career mode is massive. It begins with a string of 11 races, each of which leads
upward to another string (10 races, then 9, then 8, etc.) for a literal pyramid
of challenges. Most of the races are based on a time trial, leaving you to
cruise each course solo. That could be horribly boring, but like RalliSport
Challenge, DiRT’s track designs are impeccable. The layout is pretty much
perfect. There are enough interesting turns for it to be challenging, and the
game plays fast enough to provide continuous entertainment.
When you
finally get to race against a few AI opponents, DiRT is high-speed madness.
Since this is an arcade racer, you can use opponents’ vehicles to your
advantage. Slam into and push off of them when heading into a tight corner. If
done correctly, you’ll brush off the vehicle and move on, leaving your opponent
in the dust. Should you fail, your opponent could still end up in more trouble
than he had before the crash – and that’s always helpful.
Jaw
Surgery
What’s that?
You say you can’t get your jaw up off the floor? That’s the effect DiRT’s
visuals are bound to have. But don’t worry, the effects are reversible – I hear
that oral surgeons have made tremendous progress with gamers suffering from this
problem.
If you’d
like a case of jaw drop, simply play a few courses. Going in, I wasn’t
overly impressed. The game looked amazing but my expectations were too high. As
the courses became more varied and organic, the graphics began to meet those
expectations. There are a few glitches (at one point my car drove through
another while using the first-person view). But they’re so few and far between,
and the rest of the game looks so beautiful that you may not notice or care if
you do.
For the past
several years we’ve seen improvements in lighting, shadows, and vehicular
damage. DiRT blows all other games – past or present – out of the water. The
interior designs are just as impressive as the exterior, and the body damage is
incredibly real. Each vehicle crumples and falls apart differently.
Taking it
one step further, the vehicles crumple differently based on the severity of the
crash. And to take it even further than that, the developers threw in several
environmental elements – trees, logs, railings, course signs, and many other
obstacles, natural or otherwise, can be struck and damaged.
These
elements add up to a wonderful single-player racing experience. You’ll be
disappointed by the multiplayer options (or lack thereof – see below), but that
shouldn’t keep anyone from knowing the joy that is DiRT.
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Gameplay: 8.5
DiRT is an
uninhibited blast with excellent arcade-style steering, great courses, vehicles,
and tons of interactive elements.
Graphics:
9.0
One hour with
this game and you’ll finally be able to say, “Next-gen racing is here!”
Sound: 5.9
“Left 4, right 5,
left 1, right 6.” Allow me to pause for a second and say, “Huh?” I assume those
directions, announced by in-game teammate, are reiterated words of real rally
passengers. But as someone who only plays rally games and has never followed the
sport, it doesn’t mean much. I don’t understand the numbers and I don’t care to.
With the voice track turned off, all that’s left is the sound of your vehicle’s
engine (and the rubbing of tires against various surfaces). Not exciting by any
stretch.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium/Hard
By allowing
players to select the difficulty before the start of each race, Dirt can be as
difficult as each player desires.
Concept: 7.9
DiRT is very much
in line with Microsoft’s RalliSport Challenge series. But this doesn’t feel like
a clone game. It’s too good to be a clone game. That’d be like saying Forza is a
clone of Gran Turismo. When a game improves on what another has created, it’s no
longer a clone.
Multiplayer: 3.0
There is nothing
“multiplayer” about this game’s multiplayer mode. The box reads, “100 Player
Online Mode.” In the manual it says, “Take part in online races with up to 100
people at the same time on a Rally or Hill Climb stage.” But guess what: Rally
and Hill Climb are single-car races. You compete for the best time (like we did
10+ years ago before the proper online infrastructure had been implemented), not
head-to-head. To the uninformed gamer, this is misleading and will be a huge
disappointment once they start the game and begin to play.
Overall: 8.0
DiRT is a highly
entertaining racing game for solo play. It’s packed with replay value, solid
objectives, a stellar vehicle lineup, and dozens of individual races. The faux
multiplayer mode brings the game down a half-point, but overall, you won’t find
a better next-gen rally racer.
