Special thanks to Mark Salmela for the following review:

Did Colin McRae leave us a true gem as his final hurrah?

Well this is quite a turn of events, as for those of you who do not know, Colin McRae was pronounced dead last month after a fatal helicopter crash. We send best wishes to the McRae family. This will not affect the final review score.

Well Dirt has finally been released, an off-road racing game for the PS3/360. In the light of what Motorstorm didn’t offer us in terms of variety, Codemasters hopes to present in presentation and style, giving one of the prettiest racers I’ve ever seen. Here’s how DiRT breaks down into individual categories.

Graphics

The first thing you will notice about this game is the menu screen, narrated by Colin McRae himself, and you’ll notice right away just how much time went into such small details. I have a hard time describing how great the menu system works, as even during the loading times, the game will bring up some of your career stats, bringing up everything from how many career wins you have, to the longest time your car spent sliding on two wheels. It all comes on a clean, 3D menu system that translates from object to object with no stuttering at all. I can not name a game that has a better visual presentation than DiRT; it simply doesn’t look and flow any better than this.

When you’re in game the graphics really shine, as the game provides some of the best car details I have ever seen. The cars take damage beautifully, and have realistic indents. I can only wonder how many cars were maimed in the making of this game. The cars are not the only ones to react realistically to impact, as even the smallest of objects in nature will come flying off if you come crashing into them.

There are some problems with the framerate, but the environment, tracks, and cars make this game a jaw dropping experience. If you got a brand new HDTV, make sure DiRT is one of the premier games you use to show it off.

Sound

DiRT does not feature a lot of music, but you definitely hear a lot of Colin McRae. Colin is all over the menu system, offering thousands of different, informative lines about how to improve your racing and how your stats match up to everyone else. It’s a shame Colin had to pass away, as I could listen to his narrations all day. The little music the game has does fit, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing that it lacks a lot of different tracks, but there is room for improvement in a sequel, with or without Colin McRae.

Gameplay

So this is where the game lives or dies. Having great graphics is important, but if the game doesn’t play well, why bother playing it?

One of the key features for this game is how the cars survive taking damage. The cars have specific parts that measure how the car is handing, everything from the cooling system to the transmission. Each of these parts will be effected depending on how you collide with other objects during the race, and one wrong turn can make your car a pile of scrap metal. For example, if the cooling system reaches critical levels, your car will overheat, and if you race long enough, it could make a fatal crash and engine blow-out much more likely. This makes the game deep, and adds a lot of much needed strategy.

There is quite a lot to do in the game, as I saw many different types of races, both thin, quick turning tracks where there are no other cars and big Motorstorm type races where everyone’s in a free for all beat-em-up race to the finish. There are also a good number of cars to choose from, both fast and light, to slow and steady. I do have to mention to people that I had more fun with Motorstorm, as I had more fun with the “in your face” racer where things got crazy. I also enjoyed the level lay-out more in Motorstorm, as in DiRT there are no real pathways, everyone travels in the same single line. In Motorstorm however, there were numerous different ways to travel through the level, each favoring different types of cars *motorcycles should stick to the highest possible road with the most jumps for example*.

There are other problems with the gameplay as well, as the cars feel like they don’t have much weight to them, and it really throws off making key turns. I can understand having a little forgiveness for beginners, but it’s frustrating knowing the physics in this game are off-balance. I like DiRT, but with Motorstorm already being out and receiving top notch marketing from Sony, I can’t recommend the gameplay in DiRT when Motorstorm did it so much better.

Lasting Appeal

DiRT provides for a lengthy experience, as there has to be almost 100 different competitions in the single player mode, making for one heck of a game. I was impressed in the different number of modes in the game, as you can choose to ride very thin and tight tracks where driving fast will get you totaled quickly, or very wide open tracks where the speed is essential. For people who like to play alone, DiRT will last you a long time, definitely worth every penny.

As for those of us who like to play online however, DiRT can become very frustrating. You can race online, but the voice chat option doesn’t work, I couldn’t talk to anyone. Another feature is how you don’t actually see the other drivers when racing, you just race at the same time as them and you see who finishes the level the fastest. The cars and tracks you vote on are also random, which is a big problem for me. The online is set up very poorly, and brings the lasting appeal down for a game that has such great single player.

Fun Factor

It should go without saying, if the gameplay is good, the game will be fun. I will say that there will be points when you really enjoy the game, especially if you are a fan of racers, but for the most part there is nothing special about this game. You can get into some awesome crashes that look absolutely stunning, but for the most part, you can find better games. Games like Gran Turismo and Project Gothem Racing provide better racing experiences for fans of simulators and arcade enthusiasts alike, and Motorstorm does the off-road racing better than DiRT. That’s not even considering MX vs. ATV Untamed will be out in December, and DiRT gets overshadowed by many other franchises that pull off racing better. DiRT adds a lot of variety, and makes it a worthy purchase for $60, but everything DiRT offers can be done better in another franchise.

Overall 7.6 [ Good ]