Dirt 2 (PS3) Review
Posted by Mark Salmela on 10.20.2009
Codemasters is back with their off-road rally racer. How does Dirt 2 stack up to the completion? Click and find out.
Title: Dirt 2
Publisher: Codemasters
Developer: Codemasters
Genre: Racing
Players: 1 - 8
Rated: T for Teen
Also available on: Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable
2 years ago Codemasters released its first off-road racing entree onto the current generation of systems with Colin McRae’s Dirt. While the original Dirt had a sleek menu system with a great presentation style it was a little lacking in the gameplay department. Not bad at all for a first entrée, but now 2 years later and 2 games later Codemasters is looking to improve upon Dirt and last year’s Grid. Let’s break it down.
Graphics
No, despite popular belief this review is not sponsored by Monster.
The first thing to notice is how good the graphics are. They aren’t Gran Turismo 5 levels of awesomeness, but Codemasters has found a way to make the PS3 sing. One of the best comparisons I could make for Dirt 2 is that it looks a lot like the CG trailer Sony put out back at E3 2005 for Motorstorm. Dirt 2 is gritty and not afraid to grind its teeth a little. The damage modeling is one of the highlights of Dirt 2. The cars in Dirt 2 will get flat out annihilated. I hope you don’t become too attached to your cars, because by the end of the race you’ll end up looking like you lost a fight with a trash compactor.
I’ve always viewed the track selection and scenery as one of the most important aspects of a racing game behind the control. I won’t enjoy a racing game if I’m not racing on interesting and appealing levels. There’s a reason why the NASCAR games aren’t very appealing outside of the NASCAR audience. Dirt 2 absolutely nails the level design. There are a variety of tracks from all over the world ranging from London to Japan to Utah. Each level is unique in design and while some levels seem to repeat the same “dirty” environments a little too often I can’t really complain about an off-road racer having too much “dirt”. Levels such as London look absolutely stunning at night and make for a great showcase. There is so much going on in the environment and Codemasters took the time to craft each little detail that you really become immersed in the environment. The framerate does dip from time to time, and there is the occasional questionable looking crash, but for the most part Dirt 2 is quite the looker.
The final thing to note in the graphics department is the menu presentation. A lot of people like to point out how superior Halo’s matchmaking system is; well Codemasters menu design is almost as superior. Everything flows so nicely from aspect to the next. Each menu option is embedded into a real world object such as the cover of a magazine. Stats will flash across the screen while levels load just like they did in Dirt and Grid, and they look really sleek and sexy. There is a ridiculous amount of stats in Dirt 2, and Codemasters has done a great job presenting them to you in unique ways.
Gameplay
I swear that squirrel came out of nowhere.
Dirt 2 features a variety of gameplay modes. Given that Dirt 2 is an off-road rally racer you will be doing a lot of time-trial rally racing. You will be given a partner giving you hints about what lies ahead as you race from point to point trying to get the best time. There are trailblazer events, which are basically time-trial rally races without the partner. Another event is called Gate Crasher, which is a lot like a rally race except that there are gates littered across the tracks that if driven through will add time to your decreasing time meter.
The other races include the standard race, which will put you against 7 other racers on a course spanning 3 laps. There are also Land Rush races which is off-road circuit racing using buggies as well as Raid races which put you in trucks on courses littered with garbage and other obstacles. Personally I’m a big fan of the traditional race, but a lot of off-road enthusiasts will enjoy the time-trial rally racing the most. Both events make up the majority of the races and both events are a blast to play. You will also race in the X-Games, which are basically the championship races of the game. There are 3 X-Games total, and each one is a blast to play.
One of the features that is lifted from Grid is the rewind system. If you crash or make a turn you don’t like you can at any time press the select button to go into a replay system where you can view the last 8 or so seconds of your race. At any point during that replay you can press the square button and restart the race at that exact moment in time. It’s a really cool feature that becomes an absolute necessity especially on the harder difficulties. The only problem is that you can only use the rewind feature a select number of times. I feel that if you’re going to include a feature like this you shouldn’t restrict the player as to the number of times they can use it. Either go all out or don’t use it at all. It never became a big problem for me but if I’m going to choose to use the rewind feature I should be allowed to use it more than 3 or 4 times in a race. It’s a good way to learn how to perfect corners.
Another new feature lifted from Grid is the friend system. Each racer, who is an actual rally racer such as Travis Pastrana can become your friend. Most of the time you’ll have to beat the racer one-on-one to become their friend, although occasionally you’ll earn someone’s respect if you do really well in a particular set of races or just overall reach a really high level in the single player campaign. It doesn’t really affect the gameplay a whole lot, but it’s an interesting aspect that can be improved upon in further titles.
Sound
Get the hell out of my way banana.
Dirt 2 has acquired the talents of a lot of off-road racers for the voiceovers. Travis Pastrana, Kate Justice, Dave Mirra, those are only a few of the voices that you’ll hear giving instructions and words of encouragement in Dirt 2. The problem with the voiceovers is that the characters never shut up. It seems that each time you pass one of the racers they have to open their mouth and start jabbing. Most of the time it’s words of encouragement, which becomes really annoying when you’re running Dave Mirra off the road and he’s telling you how great of a job you’re doing. I swear I could kill Kate Justice’s parents and she’d tell me to “keep up the good work”. On rare occasion you’ll hear “hey watch it” but it honestly doesn’t add anything to the gameplay. I appreciate the voiceovers, but they become annoying once you realize “your friends” will never shut up and let you race. Besides the voiceovers all of the cars sound realistic, although they lack some of the gritty roars that the engines in games like Need for Speed and Motorstorm possess. Those are some angry cars.
Lasting Appeal
Come on girls, I need a good washing.
The single player mode for Dirt 2 will easily take over 6 hours to complete. Each race completed will fill up an experience bar that will allow your racer to level up. Leveling up doesn’t improve your statistics but rather allows you to unlock more cars and cool customizable. Each race won gains you more money that can be used on cars you unlock as your progress in the single player. Each track has around a dozen races to be completed, with the difficulty increasing on each race.
There is an extensive online mode, where up to 8 players can race on every level in the game in nearly every game mode. The online mode works relatively well assuming each player has a decent connection. I didn’t run into a whole lot of problems and overall the online mode helps to extend the longevity of Dirt 2. Obviously the rewind system isn’t in the online mode so if you get into a wreck be prepared to take last place.
Fun Factor
Finally, something that is dirtier then my dorm room.
If you’re a fan of racing games there is a lot of fun to be had in Dirt 2. While there is a certain amount of realism in Dirt 2 it is an arcade racer first and foremost. The only real problem I have with Dirt 2 is occasionally the physics can become questionable. There are times where I can nick the bumper of another racer and I’ll go spinning out of control and off the track. It goes the other way too. Another racer can come and nick my side mirror and I’ll go flipping off the track into a tree. The rewind system helps to offset some of these problems, but it is still annoying when on the final turn you can be taken out of the race because the physics can become so unforgiving when coming into contact with another racer.
One thing that I will mention that I will dock Dirt 2 for in the final score is the lack of local multiplayer. I don’t care how good the online multiplayer is, there is no reason to remove local multiplayer, especially in a racing game. It is totally inexcusable for any racing game, arcade or simulator, to exclude such a feature. Any developer that says it’s too complicated to split the engine to support local multiplayer is just plain lazy. If Dirt 3 or Grid 2 doesn’t have local multiplayer I’ll continue to dock it even further.
The 411
If you don’t listen to Al Gore, the entire world will look like this in 3 years.
Dirt 2 is easily one of the best arcade racers on the market. In fact if you only own an Xbox 360 I’d argue that it’s quite possibly the best arcade racer on the system. Dirt 2 has amazing damage modeling, it has a sleek menu system, and the track selection is awesome. There are a few problems I have with the game such as the lack of local multiplayer, the sudden jump in difficulty, the occasional questionable spin-out due to the physics, and the tendency of the other racers not knowing when to shut up, but overall Dirt 2 is still a blast to play. It ranks right up there with Motorstorm Pacific Rift as the best arcade racer so far this generation. If only Dirt 2 had local multiplayer.
Graphics
9.0
The graphics look great, as does the presentation. This is a gritty and dirty game.
Gameplay
8.5
Dirt 2 is a fantastic arcade racer. There is definite room for improvement, but the basics are great.
Sound
7.0
The voiceacting is alright, but the racers never shut up.
Lasting Appeal
8.5
The single player will take some time to complete. After that the online mode is solid and allows for fun 8 player races.
Fun Factor
8.0
The lack of split screen multiplayer is a killer and takes away from the final score. There is no reason to exclude local multiplayer in 2009.
