Time to get dirty
Format: PS3 (version played), Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PSP, DS Dev: Codemasters
Pub: Codemasters Out: 11/09/09 Players: 1, 2-8 online
I never expected Colin McRae: DiRT 2 to be such a different and, ultimately, superior beast of a game than the original that came before it.
First thing you will notice from the get-go is the injection of extreme sports Codemasters has put into the atmospherics of the game. Casting you as a racing driver, the menus are arranged around a first-person view inside your camper van and around the pit. You already feel more involved than the predecessor, and this is just the menu.
As a graphical showpiece, DiRT 2 is a success. Car models and textures are richly detailed, damage models are realistically tasty, and the developers have cured the frame rate issues that haunted the previous iteration. This is accompanied by impressive sound design as the thunderous roar of each car is captured along with varied surface sounds and collisions.
Voiceovers of real life racing drivers do well at serving the purpose of involving you and subtly holding your hand through certain sections. The acting talent is sketchy, but you’re never going to get perfection from rally drivers. A special mention must go to the rally co-driver, who reacts almost instantly to collisions and is extremely good at informing you of future corners in real-time.
DiRT 2 truly is a brilliantly presented package, and the idea of taking the game in an extreme sports direction is an excellent accompaniment to the manic action. The gameplay tweaks also make this a much better racing game to handle as well.
The driving mechanic beneath all the bravado is a mixture of realistic handling tendencies and the forgiveness of an arcade racer, combined to near perfection in your hands. Subtle tweaks to an already great driving experience in the Colin McRae experience make it a much more enjoyable game to play. The difficulty and race conditions can be changed before races, which changes the amount of money and XP you can win – giving you an incentive to explore all the levels of damage and the ferocious AI opposition. It really does give you a challenge, but the game manages to make every race feel honest and competitive, instead of cheap gimmicks.
The biggest tweak to the in-game mechanics has to be the flashback – taken from Codemasters’ own Race Driver: GRID. A la Prince of Persia, you can rewind the action 10-15 seconds and fix your own mistake, retry a racing line or go for the overtake opportunity that you didn’t notice first time. Luckily, to stop this destroying the difficulty factor, the amount of times you can perform a flashback are limited to a number determined by the difficulty you select. In most circumstances, it is a welcome option to making the game a more forgiving experience, and the relentless AI opponents don’t seem like such an insurmountable challenge to tackle.
In addition, DiRT 2 also has competitive multiplayer with all the race modes from the single-player tying up this package like car with a brand new SatNav. On my play through, no lag affected the experience, and the levelling up aspect plays very well into creating a long-term relationship between you and the game.
If I had to compare it, I would say it’s the Modern Warfare of the racing genre. What it does isn’t particularly groundbreaking, but it doesn’t exactly need to be. DiRT 2 looks beautiful, sounds great, the gameplay is brilliantly realised, and the multiplayer aspect ties it all together, making one hell of a rounded racer. A definite candidate for best racing game this year. Where are Forza and Gran Turismo now?
Jason England
Tags: codemasters, colin mcrae, driving, racing
