Dirt 2

10 Review to this product

• 

  C. Barnhart
  September 13th, 2009 on 6:12 pm

  Rating

  AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! i’m 1/4 of the way through and i LOVE IT! if you were wondering the real game is better then the Demo. and i Love the X-GAMES so to be able 2 feel apart of it it so sweet!!! I mean with any game u can feel like “i wish there more of this, i wish it was more like that,” but if you let go of all the SIM/rally comparisons in your head, and just Go for the ride you’ll have a blast with DIRT 2!!!

  GRAPHICS 9/10
  
  i’d give it 10 but i think
  
  theres some other games
  
  coming that are worth 10
  
  GT5 for all us SIM lovers!

  SOUND/MUSIC 8/10
  
  great car sounds! but
  
  for some reason theres no
  
  in game music?

  GAMEPLAY 9/10
  
  i love the way cars handle
  
  + theres a few performance tweaks
  
  u can do 2 each car then save
  
  presets!

  FUN/X-GAMES 10/10
  
  Hrs of Fun especially with
  
  some buddys, X-games just
  
  have such a cool feeling!

  DIRT 2 ROCKS!!!!
• 

  D. Gaston
  September 27th, 2009 on 12:30 am

  Rating

  Quick Note: If you want more realism… up the difficulty. Completing Rally stages on “Savage” and above difficulty will require you to master true rally moves.

  Visuals: 10/10
  
  It really does look incredible. I’m playing on a 46″ 1080P LCD (although the game is only 720P) and the game is just amazing to behold. The in-cockpit view is awesome… although not very usable. I usually use the the view where you can see the hood of your vehicle and that’s it (like a camera sitting just outside the windshield on the hood). Each car is lovingly crafted and the in-game environmental effects are awesome. Nothing is “overdone” though… like the subtle lens flare from the sun… nothing sticks out like “ooh look at what we did”. The whole visual style flows very well.

  Sound: 10/10
  
  The driving sounds are great. Hooked up to my surround sound system I find myself using the sound to my advantage to hear opponents coming up from behind. Each vehicle makes a distinctly different sound and even the different drivers use their vehicles differently and if you pay attention you can know who is on your tail just by listening to the way their vehicle sounds!

  The music is great to. I suppose it helps that I actually listen to most of the bands that provided the in-game music… but I think most people will be pleased. I really like how when you are outside of your trailer you can hear a band playing on some nearby stage… then you go into your trailer and the music gets somewhat muted sounding very realistic. Next – you choose a stage to play and the music comes to the forefront while the loading screen does its thing. Just one example of some of the attention to detail.

  Interface: 9/10
  
  The out-of-race interface is great… the whole concept of being behind the scenes at a race event comes across very well. The racing interface is good as well… just enough information so that you know what’s going on without clogging up the screen. Why the 9/10 then? Because it can take a while for the different menus to load… which can be aggravating at times.

  Controls: 10/10
  
  I’ve only played with a PlayStation 3 Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel so I can’t comment on using a controller. Playing with the wheel is _awesome_. I’ve been playing racing sims and arcade racers for YEARS with wheels… so I have a lot to compare to (including the original Colin McRae rally games on my computer). What I can tell you is that Dirt 2 has some of the best force-feedback effects I’ve ever experienced in a racing game. Each car feels different… and so does each surface. Also, you get a different feel whether you are power-sliding or drifiting over smooth or rough terrain.

  The different cars respond differently just as they should… and of course the different surfaces impact that as well. I’ve heard some people say that the cars “pivot too much from the center instead of from the rear”…. these people have obviously never driven all-wheel-drive vehicles at speed down gravel roads. If they had… they would know that that Dirt2 faithfully recreates the feeling. I think these people are comparing the all-wheel-drive vehicles of Dirt2 with rear-wheel-drive vehicles in games like Forza / Gran Turismo. The one rear-wheel drive vehicle in the game is the buggy… and the backend certainly kicks out like a rear-wheel-drive vehicle should.

  With my racing wheel the gas / break pedals function exceptionally well. Feathering the gas out of a corner couldn’t be easier. Similarly, getting on the break at just the right moment to throw the weight of the car forward and dig the front wheels in and unstick the rears for the beginning of a “Scandinavian Flick” works just as well.

  Gameplay: 9/10
  
  Speaking of the “Scandinavian Flick”… some people have derided this game as not being an “Authentic Rally Game”. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure there are a lot of other types of racing going on in Dirt 2… but in both “Rally” events and “Trailblazer” events (which are basically rally events without a co-driver and the cars have amped up speed and handling) the physics engine really shows you just how brutally unforgiving it can be. If you up the difficulty of the game to “Savage” or above… you’ll need to get intimately familiar with the “Scandinavian Flick” to make your way efficiently through the point-to-point events. Everything is there, from using an inside shoulder to get a little bit of extra drag on the front inside tire to the aforementioned weight transfer to the front tires using a bit of the break pedal. There isn’t a single maneuver from the original two Colin McRae rally games that you can’t pull off in Dirt 2.

  That said… Dirt 2 is supposed to appeal to a wider audience… and it does excel at that. If you use a lesser difficulty mode you won’t have any trouble “getting through” the rally events if you’re not that interested in mastering perfect rally racing technique. Also… the damage model is quite a bit more forgiving than a true sim would be… which can cut down on the frustration factor for casual gamers.

  One other huge plus that this game has going for it: size. There are a TON of events to complete. At certain points it is almost daunting to behold the huge map full of events… and they just keep coming. Further, you can do time-trials (complete with downloading ghosts of the world-records from the internet and uploading your results for all to see). Yes, some of the tracks do get a bit repetitive… but in general the different locations are well varied and provide a ton of gaming for your dollar.

  So why the 9/10? Because sometimes the smash-em-up racing can get frustrating. If you are playing on “Savage” mode or higher the Raid and Land Rush game modes can be nearly impossible at the All-Star level (or maybe it’s just me). It only takes one small collision to send you flying… but:

  To combat this problem Dirt 2 has the “Flashback”. This is where you literally rewind the replay tape to before the point where you messed up… and then start racing from that point again! This is a godsend for obsessive types like myself who simply must get first in every race. In other games I’ll have to start the entire race over if I mess up one turn… in Dirt 2 I get a few opportunities to undo a dumb mistake. For me…. this really adds to the overall “fun” factor of the game… for instance it lets you take a few chances going at breakneck speeds down a windy road on a cliff that you might not otherwise take…

  Multiplayer: ?
  
  I don’t know yet! I’ve been so engrossed in the single-player portion of the game I haven’t even played multiplayer yet. Well… I have participated in one of their weekly tournaments: this week you have to see how fast you can get through one of the China rally events… it’s pretty cool how it automatically uses runs you do in the single-player events toward the weekly online tournament (if they apply).

  Other:
  
  I really like how they included all of the real life personalities into the game. To be rubbing fenders with Travis Pastrana or fighting it out with Ken Block is awesome. Yes, the little radio chatter can get repetitive and annoying at times. If it really bothers you just turn it off in the options screen.

  This game is really well put together. Every single corner of the game has been put under a microscope and has come out shining. When you are playing you can tell that a LOT of effort has been poured into making an unbelievably fun game.
• 

  Dennis A. Lepak
  October 3rd, 2009 on 8:58 pm

  Rating

  I’m 69 years old and my gaming experience, until recently, has been pretty much limited to Pong, PacMan and the Microsoft Flight Simulator. Two years ago I bought a WII, my first console. My favorite game was Excite Truck. That led to a PS3 and GT5P and a Logitech Driving Force GT wheel.

  Now my favorite game is “Dirt 2.” What an amazing piece of work. The cars handle beautifully, the damage modeling is fantastic, and there is a nice arcade/simulator balance.

  I am trying to get some of my friends to buy this game (console, game, wheel, broadband connection, etc.) so that we can race online.

  When they pull our real licenses we’ll still be racing. Dirt 5 perhaps.
• 

  Kyle A. Morrison
  October 5th, 2009 on 1:15 am

  Rating

  I don’t understand why people are hating on this game! The game is a lot of fun, I love offroad racing games period. The original Dirt is one of my favorite racing games of all time! I do feel like the original Dirt was a better game but, there is nothing wrong with this game. The graphics are excellent, the driving is fluid and realistic. I didn’t mind that there weren’t 200 different cars to drive because this isn’t the type of game you’d spend over a 100 hours playing. The track layouts are fun and visually incredible, I liked that there were tracks featured from all over the world. If I had one complaint it would be the cheesy lines said by other drivers when you give them “love taps” but this feature can be turned off in the audio menu so it wasn’t a big deal. I think Codemasters did a great job and I look forward to a third installment in the Dirt series.
• 

  J. J. Marino
  October 13th, 2009 on 10:47 pm

  Rating

  I have been playing this like crazy since it came out. Up till now I had not considered an off-road game to be something I would enjoy. Dirt 2 has thoroughly changed my mind. From its beautiful graphics, To the small details thrown in, like how you can see your stats and global stats on little bits around the game. Look at a magazine cover and you will find the number one track according to the global player base or check the upper right of your clip board and see how many feet youve been on 2 wheels. Silly little tidbits like that make the game very real and fun to keep going back to.

  The downside; I have been playing it on full damage mode since the beginning. I pride myself for almost never having to use a flashback (like a dvr that you rewind to get out of a potentially race ending mistake). So I think I am fairly good. When I go and play multiplayer, its nuts. Not in a good way either. I can never catch up to the other players. Even if I have the fastest car they seem to run perfect 100% throttle all the time races. Which, gets just a tad bit frustrating.
  
  Con #2, I have no clue how to join a tournament. Last week there was one that looked like a blast, (it was a demolition derby). I checked everywhere on the game and could find NO WHERE to join, either from the News area or the multiplayer area. Maybe its hidden but the game taunts you to join one, so not finding it is kind of annoying.

  Other than that in solo mode this game is just a blast. I love crashing my way through the jungle and tearing up the trails with reckless abandon. I have tried to nuke the celebs several times and they keep falling in love with me, go figure.

  If you want authentic looking, sounding fun off-road racing this is the game for you!

  Thanks for reading my review, and if anyone has the tip on where to find these tourneys please leave it in the comments.
  
• 

  A. Saenz
  October 13th, 2009 on 11:29 pm

  Rating

  I consider myself a hardcore gamer, I play many games of different genders and try to taste everything I can.

  My first unforgiven experience I had with a racing game was with RallyCross por PSOne, before it, arcade racing games and even Mario Kart for the SNES were good, but RallyCross was incredible, very addicting and with content. After that game, I played lots off-road racing games like sega’s rally and some of the rally modes from Gran Turismo, but non of them could top RallyCross until now; Dirt2 offers a lot and is a quality racing masterpiece.

  GRAPHICS:
  
  Not the graphics of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, but indeed, much better than Shift, Forza 3 or Grid in my opinion. The lightning in this game is what gives the sence of reality, the sunsets and sun reflects, the way the vehicule and the level behaves with the enviroment lights are amazing. Is very relaxing and satisfaying to watch the beauty of this game during a race replay, is stunning.

  The water in the games is realistic and awesome, the car makes real waves on the water and when you are using the in-game camera, you can see the water hit your front window when you splash a water pod, is amazing. That kind of details are what makes dirt2 one of the best looking racing game this gen. Graphics details are what defines quality games over average, and dirt2 is pure quality.

  GAMEPLAY:
  
  This is were dirt2 takes the cake, is fun to race. The vehicule behaves different when you are over sand, over water, over road or over rocks, it’s very realistic and the controls are very responsive. I only played with a controller, but I might buy a wheel just for this game and tell you my feedback later.

  The crashes are very real and affect the way your car behaves during a race, your can have wheel and engine problems if you crash constantly also the damage is reflected on the car model as well.

  There are replaysavers witch makes the game easy to play, so new commers will feel releif.

  PRESENTATION:
  
  Best UI on any video game PERIOD. The way you select the races, the options and everything is innovating. The stats are great, it tells you everything, even your trophy progress, which makes easier for trophie hunters.

  There are plenty of racing modes: Rally, Raid, RallyCross, Landrush and mores, all of them playable online.

  There are like 35 cars in the game, all of them with deep customization options, both visual and mechanical (not as mechanical as GT though), and the amount is enough, you don’t need more cars really.

  And the tracks… well, all of them well designed and fun to race.

  SOUND:
  
  The FX sounds are really good and realistic, and I do like the playlist the game offers (I read many didn’t, well thats pure opinions). Save it for teh bedroom from You me at six song is awesome!

  I could have been nice to have custom soundtrack, but I understang with this option was not included, and it’s because the songs jumps to the chores when you are about to start a race event, I bet that detail could not be done with custom music.

  OVER ALL:
  
  The game is great!!

  If you like off-road racing or racing in general then this game is a must.

  PROS:
  
  + Graphics
  
  + Gameplay
  
  + Online modes
  
  + Tracks
  
  + Customization

  CONS:
  
  - Only around 30 cars
  
  - Not as deep as Gran Turismo in terms of mechanical car adjustments.
• 

  M. Ide
  October 21st, 2009 on 2:57 am

  Rating

  Being a huge fan of the first DiRT, I was excited to get my hands on the newest installment, but also wary. Needless to say, I am happy that the game delivered, but was not quite what I expected.

  The original DiRT was a true rally game in the spirit of the WRC (World Rally Championship). The new game is more of an x-games off-road game for those who don’t have the attention spans for more than a five minute race. There is all sorts of flashes and bangs during the games to keep things “exciting”. This is a departure, for better or worse, from the original. Instead of pure rally events, there are seven or eight different types of races. From hitting a bunch of gates in the pathway of the course to racing others while trying to get the best time through sections of the track, DiRT 2 offers variety of different race types and a variety of vehicles to accompany them.

  What DiRT 2 does set out to do, and is very successful in doing so, is create a fun and solid racing game that anyone interested in racing and especially off-road racing should give a shot.

  Those like myself, who loved the rally events and set up of DiRT 1, will miss being able to do “shakedowns” and have a set of 5 runs to complete all the while only being able to repair the car twice in-between. In DiRT 2, every race gives you a fresh car and fresh start everytime. This will no doubt appeal to many, but is sorely missed by those wanting more of a rally experience. That being said, that is my only real complaint with the game. Everything thing is improved upon compared to the original DiRT, including the online play.

  With online play, depending on what type of race you pick, you will either be racing against others with the complete ability to hit them and interact with their cars. In other modes, you will see a ghost image of them, but you cannot affect their race. It’s really something to be racing against someone’s ghost and see their tires churning up the dirt in front of you, something the first game noticably lacked. Personally I prefer the non-contact races as the other race modes turn into a big game of bumper cars, and whose friends can crash the other guys friends and win….which isn’t really racing, but you can’t control what people do, so that is really much more of a personal peave.

  When all is said and done however, DiRT 2 is one of the best racers on the PS3. There is plenty of fun for all skill levels on and off-line. Graphics and sound are terrific. The only reason why you shouldn’t check this game out, at the minimum, is if you just can’t stand racing games or have an issue with off-road racers. Great game, really glad it wasn’t a let down!
• 

  Headphone buyer
  November 10th, 2009 on 9:04 am

  Rating

  Dirt 2 is one of the best racers available for the PS3, maybe THE best until the long awaited full Gran Turismo V is released in 2010. However it is not without it’s flaws. The main issue for some seems to be that it has strayed too far from it’s Colin McCrae roots, so much so that it’s only appropriate that in this generation the Colin McRae name no longer appears in the title of the game (although there is a tribute to him in the game).

  The good: First off this game is visually stunning. One of the best on the PS3 I have seen (having played most of the AAA titles now). Frame rates are smooth. The partical effects on the ground are gorgeous, crashing through water puddles in the cockpit view is just an incredible sight to behold. Quite simply this game is almost photo realistic in it’s graphical quality. More importantly, the gameplay is also terrific. It’s not quite a simulator as the speed sensation is a little amped up from a true sim. The crashes are slightly over the top vs. authentic physics. Yet you are rewarded for good driving and punished when you go off course. In hardcore mode you can crash out of a race, including if you skid off the side of a cliff you crash all the way down and are immediately done. No invisible walls here. The next major plus is online play. This will keep you busy for awhile. 8 player races run as smoothly as in single player. The only issue I have experienced is that sometimes it is difficult to find 8 player games and it seems like people only utilized 2 of 4 modes. Which leads me to believe that a reasonable online experience with enough competitors will not be long lived (maybe 1-2 years from release date tops). However even if there is a point where the 8 player multi-player becomes sparse there is still the time trial mode where you can attempt to get your name onto the leaderboards vs the thousands of posted times. Not surprisingly to appear on the board you basically need a perfect race on the perfect line, so I imagine you have to be super dedicated to even get close to the leading times on any track (maybe hundreds of attempts at improving your own personal best on a particular track)

  Now the bad: While this game in my mind is a solid 9.0/10 there were some things I found lacking. Most of the complaints I have seen tend to be critical on this game’s de-emphasis on the rally racing. While that is a valid complaint, I am not holding it against the game as far as it’s actual score as the truck and buggy racing is fun enough in it’s own right. Frankly it does not claim to be a rally racer and the truck racing and rallycross events are a nice change up. What I was disappointed with is the lack of DEPTH and variety in each discipline as you progress through the game. At first glance as you open up events across the different continents you will be impressed. There are 9 locations in the “world tour”. Sounds good. Then it becomes apparant that there are really only 6 event types in the game – Rally, Gatecrasher (Rally where you crash through gates), Trailblazer, Landrush(trucks), Raid (trucks). You basically go through the formula of playing each event on 1 unique track per location. Sure some of the tracks are reconfigured, run backwards, or split in shorter sections to offer the apperance of more track variety. But essentially the track selection is fairly limited. This is a flaw found in many racing games, but it seemed a little worse than average here once you reach the pinnacle of the single player game. I felt like as I was opening up “X Games”, “World Rally”, “Colin McCrae Rally” that I should have been offered more special tracks to race on that hadn’t already been used. I.e. the Colin McCrae Rally should have been some 20+ minute MINIMUM special rally stage instead of repeat of the same short 4 minute rally stages I had already done multiple times. Ditto with the use of the X-Games license. What was the point of Codemasters bothering with the whole stylized presentation if ultimately once you reach the “X-Games” you find yourself on the same track, in the same vehicle, running the same # of laps, against the same AI opponents?

  Ultimately Dirt 2 is still a great game. But my recommendation would be to buy it only if must have a racing game now, and cannot wait until Gran Turisimo V comes out. I rarely pay full price for games and this is another one I wouldn’t have bought at retail price if Amazon wasn’t offering 3 for 2. Otherwise if you are not a huge racing fan I would suggest waiting for Gran Turismo V reviews as that will probably be must own killer app for the PS3. Certainly if this game is on discount sometime in the years after release I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this. You will probably get 20+ hours of good time out of it, maybe alot more if you are able to play online extensively or are compelled to have the best time trials.
• 

  Henrique Uslar
  January 10th, 2010 on 12:53 am

  Rating

  I’ve been playing this game for one month, and I just love it. Physics and graphics are ultra realistic, while gameplay is entertaining and very fun. If you like realism, but do also want to have fun, then buy this title!
• 

  K. DAUBNEY
  February 7th, 2010 on 2:12 am

  Rating

  I bought this as a Christmas gift for my Hubby as it was on his list. After reading some of the reviews I thought I was going to send it back, but I gambled and it paid off. He and my Son love playing this game, I guess some people have really high standards for games. My guys have been playing these games for years and love this game every time they play, go figure!!