Dirt 2 Review

Dude! It’s, like, so totally awesome to see you. Anyways,
like, we have this totally awesome game here, dude. It’s, like so gnarly, it’s
gonna totally blow your mind. Seriously, dude, you have to check it out man.
It’s, like, a car game, with some totally killer wheels dude. And you drive
round these tracks, and compete at the X-games and stuff. I was playing it, and
I was, like, “Whoa, this is totally awesome dude”.


And that’s enough of that. Annoying isn’t it?


Quite why those “dudes” at Codemasters decided to make new
Colin McRae Dirt 2 sound, and indeed look, like it been made by the cast of
Point Break I will never know. And it’s a damn shame because underneath the
skate/surf lingo and the strange set-up, Codemasters have got a solid racer on
their hands.


Initially, I was disappointed and slightly confused about
the change in direction with Dirt 2. We had seen the series expand with the
first game into other kinds of rally events, but Dirt 2 is the first to take on
board any form of recognisable name – aside from the cars, obviously – other
than the dearly departed McRae. The Colin McRae Rally games debuted on the
first Playstation, back in 1998, and they were based purely around the WRC. And
this way it remained until 2007 when the series took a very different
direction. Gone was the ‘travel to country- race’ formula. In its place was a
pyramid featuring many different types of events rather than the traditional
‘get from point a to point b’. Whilst the racing itself was solid, the
packaging and purpose was confusing. To those that had been with the series
since its debut, it seemed almost like sacrilege.


Dirt 2 has attempted to address the lack of direction that
its predecessor had. By attaching itself somewhat to the X-Games, the game
finds its voice. Now, instead of a pointless progression through a pyramid
structure, we have a progression around the world, swanning from race to race,
event to event, as we see fit. This works a great deal better as now,
unconfined by a set up that involves you beating a race to unlock the next, you
are allowed to race in what you want when you want. Progression is monitored by
the doling out of experience points. Increase your level, and you unlock more
events to compete in.


As mentioned, there is an assortment of race types to test
your mettle. From racing against other cars, to point to point races where you
must knock over boxes en-route, to the more traditional rallying we’re all used
to, there is enough there to keep you interested and involved. Initially I balked
at this, moaning that it didn’t work in Dirt 1, so why should it work here. But,
the new career works well, and you do feel that you are competing in a well
established series of races, with goals to be worked towards and achieved.


Codemasters have taken a lot of cues from Grid, their track
racing title from last year. Like, Grid, the racing itself is solid, with the
cars handling well; noticeably different from each other, and with some sense
of physics at play. For the most part, it feels like the same title, with
different cars, courses and track types. This is not really a bad thing though,
as Grid was a very good, very enjoyable racer.


The presentation of the game however is very much hit and
miss. Whilst everything is concise, and runs very smoothly, never once leaving
you scratching your head trying to find what to do next, it is blighted by the
design choice. By attaching itself to the X-Games, and all that goes with it,
the style of the menus and presentation reflects the affiliation. So, some of
the writing dotted about the place is graffiti-style, the voice over guy sounds
like he is from Bill And Ted and the music is typically punk / indie / rock by
bands you have never heard of that only seem to provide tunes to the skate
videos you see with the ‘fish-eye- lenses. It all becomes too much. This was
the reason I backed away from the Tony Hawkes series. In that, I was
increasingly finding myself playing as a younger and younger character that was
involved in a ‘scene’ I neither liked nor fully understood. The series totally
alienated me to the point where I couldn’t stomach it anymore. Dirt 2 feels
like it is heading in the same direction. It doesn’t matter that the art of
racing your vehicle is executed extremely well if all the bells and whistles
running alongside it make you want to fill your eyes and ears with expanding
builders foam.


One other thing to note is that the cars available to unlock
and purchase seem a bit pointless. Yes, it may be nice to buy a Mitsubishi Evo
9, but if its stats are equal to or worse than the car you are given at the
start, then what is the point? Whilst not true of everything, you do find it is
the norm rather than the exception.


If you can look past this, or this is your kind of thing,
then you will pretty much lap this game up. The racing is fun, you have a sense
of purpose and direction, and there are plenty of cars, events, and others bits
and pieces to unlock – I’m especially a fan of the little model of your avatar
you can dangle from the rear-view mirror. If, however, the whole skate-type
scene has totally passed you by and confuses you, then maybe this is going to
wind you up a bit too much.


It would be a lot more bearable if the guy who speaks to you
throughout and offers you advice would just shut up. I’m 33, married, have
short hair and am over-weight goddamit. Stop talking to me like I wear my
combats baggy and halfway down my arse.





7/10