Dirt 2 Review (X360)

Dirt 2 is the best offroad racing game of this gen so far. It takes everything that made the first Dirt good and polishes it even more to produce a bigger, better looking, better playing game that is a must buy for racing fans. The gameplay is a satisfying mix of arcade and sim that is surprisingly forgiving, so players of all skill levels will be able to pick it up and have fun. It also doesn’t hurt that it is one of the prettiest looking racing games yet. Find out all of the details right here.Game Details Publisher: Codemasters Developer: Codemasters Also On: PS3 ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen Genre: Offroad Racing Pros: Great graphics; awesome gameplay; tons of races Cons: X-Treme menus kind of suck; not enough true rally events

Dirt 2’s main mode is the career mode where, as is the norm in every racing game, you are a newcomer to the sport so you have to work your way up the ranks. Along the way, you’ll face off with other drivers including Travis Pastrana, Ken Block (go look up his gymkhana videos), Dave Mirra, and Tanner Faust. In an interesting twist, they aren’t really there to trash talk and beat you down. In fact, all of the other drivers generally have nothing but good things to say about you no matter what you do, which is kind of cool, actually. You’ll travel around the world tackling a number of different race types and eventually will get to participate in the X-Games (but not the real course from the X-Games …). It is all pretty straightforward, but you constantly earn XP and new cars and new stuff so you are always motivated to keep playing. There are also a few really nice, respectful nods to Colin McRae in the career that I really appreciated.

I wasn’t crazy about the menu system at first, which is pretty in-your-face “x-treme” and kind of annoying. Compared to the super clean menus of the first Dirt, it is a pretty jarring change. You do get used to it, eventually, so it isn’t a huge problem. And I gotta say the prizes and doo-dads you collect as you win races that pile up in your trailer are pretty cool.

The gameplay is simply amazing. It is definitely loose and arcadey and kind of floaty, but it also is firmly rooted in real physics. You can slide around and throw your car all over the track pretty much at will, but there is a definite limit to how far you can push it and if you go too far you pay for it. With that said, the game is still very forgiving. There are multiple difficulty levels and a surprisingly smooth learning curve, so whether you are an offroad veteran or a newbie, Dirt 2 is really easy to get into.

There are several different race-types to play including standard point-to-point rallies (not nearly enough) and hillclimbs, trailblazer (rally without a co-driver), landrush (closed track events), and rallycross (stadium events like they have at the X-Games). Each event requires different vehicles and there are 35 to choose from ranging from traditional Subaru and Mitsubishi rally cars to finely tuned BMWs and Nissan Z’s all the way up to Hummers and Dodge trucks. Each one handles pretty uniquely, and they’re all fun to drive, so transitioning between vehicles and race types is painless. There are limited tuning options available, but we found you really don’t need to change much to be successful. If you want to, though, the changes make a noticeable difference.

One final gameplay note is that the game offers a rewind feature so if you make a mistake you can rewind and try again. It is completely optional, but a nice feature when you don’t see a turn coming or another drive spins you out or something.

Multiplayer

The first Dirt had a pitiful multiplayer option. Dirt 2’s is much better. Any and every race from the career can be played online. There is also extensive stat tracking and comparison abilities in the game so you can check out what your friends are doing in career quickly and easily, which is pretty cool.

Graphics

The graphics are one of the absolute best parts of Dirt 2. The environments are gorgeous looking, and the cars are nicely modeled and fully deformable when you wreck. The damage model really is impressive here. Also impressive are little touches like the lighting during night races, the way dust collects on your car, and the amazing looking water and mud that gets on your windshield and the entirely realistic way the windshield wipers work. The in-car view is pretty much perfect and is the way I’d recommend playing.

Sound

The sound isn’t spectacular, but it gets the job done. The banter from the other drivers sounds phoned-in, and it repeats a lot. The music is typical “x-treme” rock that you’d expect. I do have to say I like the engine sounds. I don’t know if they’re all that realistic, but they sound good. There is something about the high-pitched whine of the 350Z that sounds awesome.

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