By Scott Jeffrey
As an avid racing game enthusiast I was not expecting a whole lot out of this game. It seems like Dirt 2 just came out not that long ago so I found it really hard to believe that much had changed between then and now. Within my first real rally though, a smile started to come across my face and I must admit this game is fun.
Dirt 3 is structured a little bit differently than most big racing games. The tuning is kept to a minimum, and there is no money to be had. You play Dirt 3 to level your driver, not for monetary gain and to build up a fleet of sexy cars. With each driver level you are able to unlock new events and racing car deals, but there is no investment from the driver. It feels a little less achievement based than a game like Forza where you have to earn every set of wheels that comes to you, rather than have a sponsor just hand you a car. Kind of makes me wish the world worked that way and I could throw my name in for this year’s Dakar.
The cars are quite good in this, I was surprised to see vintage rallys, where you can climb into 1960’s rally cars and toot around a scary rally course. The events usually allow players to choose a class of cars however, if you are more interested in bombing around in a heavily modified trailblazer truck instead.
The graphics I cannot complain about one bit. Dirt 3 is noticeably superior to Dirt 2, especially on a PC. The weather, night racing and debris that gets churned up from other cars are great to watch and I have wanted to screenshot some of the sights I’ve seen on the rally stages, but stopped myself for fear of crashing. Not that crashing isn’t easily solved through Dirt 3’s in race rewind system.
The rewind is needed in some instances, especially when driving with the assists off in this game. Turns out some of the cars walk a fine line between a sweet controlled drift and ending up halfway down a mountain.
I really enjoyed the traditional rally events in this, some of the rally cross was just ok and the extreme events and gym kahna were probably my least favourite parts of the game. I’d rather be trying to set a time then pulling donuts around a parking lot but that is my style of play. Luckily because of the point system I could play my way and do the events that I wanted to participate in. So, with that a different player may like Dirt 3 for the events I didn’t much care for, Codemasters has done a great job in letting the player decide.
Sound is done quite well, listening to the co-driver in order to get around some of the rally stages is needed, and they are spot on with the delivery. The music in between the menus is really catchy and gets you pumped for each race. The agent and the voices that go on to congratulate you and guide you through your career get really annoying however. I would have preferred to read a subtitle than have someone call me their amigo one more fucking time.
The track design and replay-ability is what makes this game quite a gem though. Some of the rally stages are legitimately challenging. This is one of the very few racing games where you are going down a straightaway with legitimate fear only waiting for your co-driver to say when the next turn is approaching so you slam the brakes and hopefully don’t crash.
The online leader boards keep players constantly competing and after each race you can upload your replays directly to youtube. There are plenty of bragging rights to be had in the online community of Dirt 3. As well there are a few games such as capture the flag and tag for multi player that are fun once or twice but not enough to keep me coming back to.
Score: 7/10
Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Story/writing: 6/10
Replay value: 9/10
Overall: 39/50
Take Away Thought: If you are interested in seeing what it’s like to be in a rally, this is probably as close as you can get without going and doing it. Dirt 3 is fun and challenging, I would have liked it to have a bit more customization and allow a player to earn money to purchase a racing team and manage the team, but this format works as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment