Review: Colin McRae: DIRT
The bar is set: Colin McRae: DIRT is what off-road racing games should be like.
Review: Colin McRae: DIRT
There’s a sense of speed that is present as the landscape rushes by and the AI can be very competitive. It really is a lot of fun to race in DIRT. I personally suggest sitting in the drivers seat from the way you’d actually view things. This viewing angle seems to give the best sense of speed and from that perspective you’ll see that when you hit things, doors can fly off and fences can become attached to the car. All of this really adds to the total experience that Codemasters have worked so hard to put into this great game.
Controlling the car is very easy and you generally won’t have a problem as the responsiveness of the car usually seems to be pretty good. Even when you lose the ability to keep your car straight, you’ll generally still find that the steering is very responsive. One of the things that seems soft is the way the cars handle. Driving in DIRT often feels like you’re racing on a sea of nothing and you don’t really feel like the action is real until you hit a wall or a tree.Outside of the single-player experience you’ll find DIRT’s multiplayer isn’t exactly the best thing in the world. If you go online, you can race against others but not on the same track. When you compete against others, it’ll be at the same time but the event will be done by yourself. Because of this, multiplayer really comes down to you competing for times and not having the ability to jam one of your mates up as you try and make your way around a corner which you’d expect a great racer like DIRT to have.
Even though the multiplayer could do with a lot of work, the single player experience is filled with things to do. You’ll get a ton of options for the rev-heads and a massive pyramid career mode filled with track combinations to race on as well as rally types and car models. This makes it hard to not have something to do in the game and really shows how long this game can last. Still even with a few flaws, Colin McRae: DIRT is one of those games that you simply must have. There are no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it: it is what off-road racing games should be like. If you’re someone who wants to race then you simply must get this game. Developer– CodemastersPublisher– Codemasters
Classification– G
Formats– Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
URL– Colin McRae: DIRT Reviewed by Leigh D. Stark
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<p>Graphically, this game doesn’t go terribly wrong, but I think they might have gone overboard with the bloom effects. When you’re racing in sandy environments, you can lose the road to the brightness and it feels like you’re racing on the sun. The over-brightness doesn’t ruin the overall game experience, but I sat there wondering if I should be wearing sunglasses to protect myself from the road. </p>
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I personally found that the audio was excellent except for the menu voice-over. The car sounds great. No problems there. The environment sounds lush with trees & grass ruffling while branches & twigs snap. The music is ok but for the most part you’re probably not going to care and it’ll blend into the background. The voice-overs for the navigator and the rest of your team are pretty good and you could believe the way they speak. However, the menu voice-over on the other hand just seems dead compared to everything else.</p>
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Luckily, that minor thing doesn’t bring down the gameplay which is just loads of fun. Whether you want to have a fun rally racer like the Sega Rally games or whether you’re someone who prefers a “professional” feel with the most realism you can muster, there really is something in this for every racing game fanatic.</p>
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