With the exception of Motorstorm and the original DiRT there haven’t been many popular off road racers this generation, some have tried but most have failed to capture what it was that made both of these titles popular in their respective ways. DiRT 2 will sell well given that it is the sequel to one of the best racing games ever made, but the fact is that it could do better than the original as it looks like it is shaping up to be a very polished game.
The most noticeable thing that has changed (at least in the preview build) is the user interface. The sleek menu system has been replaced with a "real world" 3D feel, a world map in a broke up RV lets you select your events and an out doors area for further options like car selection. It might be a little "clunkier" and more themic than what fans of DiRT might be expecting, and seems to be catering more towards the trendy crowd, but for racing fans it probably won’t make an ounce of difference.
Most of the little things like video playback, stats during loading times and as your guide Travis Pastrana. The loading times seem to have been improved (which is an important advance) and the instant race restarts are sublime and almost necessary for a racing nub like myself to enjoy it. The physics are still on track with some wonderful crash effects that convey a feeling of impact far better than any other game I have played.
An occasional frame rate drop wasn’t overly surprising given that usually racing games stutter like stop motion animation while still in preview stages. The combination of mostly fluid game play, very realistic environments and great looking textures on both cars and tracks mean that the visual aspects of the game create an immersive experience. The physics only augment this immersion and had me constantly cursing my lack of drifting abilities, much like I do on a daily basis on the commute.
Understandably, there was no multiplayer option available on the preview build but the fact that it will be present when the game releases only shows that Codemasters have listened to the feedback from the fans and will boost the replayability along with creating a real community aspect that the first title was a little light on.
Preview code is notorious for having bugs and issues that plague both the usability and gameplay, Dirt 2 is almost void of these issues, it isn’t complete yet, but it looks and plays better than most at a similar point in development. With a month to go before release, things are looking good.
I really enjoyed Dirt. A great looking rally sim that played as well as it looked. Can’t wait for Dirt 2.
Graphically it looks amazing, and the menu system reminded me of the old V8 Supercar Driver system, which I liked. Demo is quite fun, noticed a few frame rate issues on the 360, very little or no tearing though. In game voice overs and tacky fireworks were a bit disappointing (very “America, **** Yeah”). Hopefully they can be turned off. Looking forward to trying it with a wheel, waiting for ps3 demo for that.
Details on the car blew me away, even he textures in the tire’s and the reflection on the body work, very nice.
One very good looking and fun game. Would have liked to had a go with proper rally cars but hey, better than nothing.