RALLYING HIGH
SOMEWHERE at the end of the 90s, car games got serious. The arrival of next generation graphics meant the days of pixelated tyre-burners like OutRun and Daytona Racing, as good as they were, became a thing of the past.
In their place came the Gran Turismo games, Need For Speed, and Colin McRae rally titles.
These were all visually stunning compared with their predecessors, with an increased emphasis on the handling of cars and the authentic driving experience.
The fun remains the same though, stick your foot down, steer, and basically try not to crash.
You can add as many layers onto a car game as you like, and developers try their hardest to eek out every new approach they can, essentially though, it is all about the driving.
Dirt 2.0 follows on in this tradition with a remarkable attention to the visual details of the car and the terrain.
The sound of the cars is impeccable too with every grunt of anger from the engines sounding just perfect.
You know when you drive down dirt tracks with ruts and ridges from previous vehicles?
Well, things like that are included in the game, and it all adds to the realism.
The courses can be found in places like New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Poland, Australia and the USA, with official circuits from the tour and all the licensed cars and trademarks you have come to expect.
It looks and feels like the ultimate racing experience with a wealth of different modes for online play and career experience. The latter mode could be made a bit more interesting, but it’s a minor dig at a quality title.
It’s difficult too, really difficult. It rewards patience and offers a great degree of satisfaction when you start to really get to grips with the gaming experience.
Codemasters take their rallying seriously, ever since the days of the iconic McRae series.
Anyone who is a fan of the genre will find plenty to be excited about here. We’ve come a long way with these racing games, but what a ride it’s been!