[BabeSlayer]

Dirt Review by (Seal) i think.....

Hi folks. Ever since the first screenshots of DiRT emerged I've been anticipating this game. The wait was over more quickly than I had imagined it would be, with the game being released around two weeks later than the Marketplace demo. Even if the wait had extended further into the year, it would have been worth it, this game is extremely impressive.

I'll start by giving a brief description of the types of racing available in the game:Rally:
Exactly what it says on the tin; conventional Rallying. Racing point-to-point on treacherous stages across Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia and the UK.
Crossover:
This racing puts two racers head to head on the same, 2 lane, track. The lanes are crossed at the end of every lap, giving both drivers the advantages and disadvantages that each lane incurs.
In the game much of the Crossover takes place in knock-out tournaments-with quarter and semi final heats leading to the final.
Rallycross:
Rallycross is a motor sport of European origin. The tracks comprise both track and off-road elements, making the competition action packed and fierce. The tracks are mainly located in France and the UK, with most of the drivers being European.
Rally Raid:
The home of long track off-road racing in the USA. Reminiscent of the vehicles used in the Dakar rally (Google it) these purpose built and rugged vehicles are raced across desert courses in the Otay Valley.
This type of racing involves six vehicles being raced simultaneously on the same thin, dangerous track. This makes competition very aggressive, and at times dangerous for your vehicle.
CORR:
Short for Championship Off Road Racing. This is the most popular short course off-road competition in the USA. The races take place between buggies, by which I can't help being reminded of the Smugglers Run games. Very similar to Rally Raid in terms of course terrain, only these specifically designed vehicles can survive the sever land.
Hill Climb:
Fairly self explanatory. This is the most extreme of the racing disciplines in the game; seeing you racing 850bhp behemoths skyward to the peak of the mountain.



All these disciplines will be tested if you choose to partake in the career mode. This comprises all of the above racing types, giving you a pyramid of events you must climb to become the “Champion of Champions.”

For the old school, die hard Colin McRae fan there is the Championship mode. This is the classic Colin McRae rally mode, where you progress through the championships as in the WRC (World Rally Championship.)

Of course, these race types are available outside of any progressive mode; the tracks and vehicles you have purchased during the Career and Championship modes can be used at any time, in single races, single events (comprising several races) and time trials.

Finally we can talk about the gameplay. I knew what to expect at the Amateur (Medium) difficulty setting from the demo: A semi-real Arcade/Sim hybrid which allows you to throw your car around, making you feel like a stuntman, but also punishing you if you fail to brake or decelerate when necessary.

The higher difficulties (Pro-Am and Pro) are, as far as I can see, aimed at the simulation fans among us; they require far more concentration and skill to prevent yourself from skewing of the track or tumbling down a mountainside. So, there is something here for Forza fans, especially when you consider the fact that the realism of the damage system is also altered by the change of difficulty.

The lower difficulties (Clubman and rookie), in my opinion, are an unnecessary addition. I believe that anyone could progress comfortably through the game at Amateur difficulty with 20 minutes or so practice.



The instructions given by your co-driver are very helpful, telling you how far away and how sharp the upcoming twists and turns are. If you listen carefully they eliminate the need to look at your course map, allowing you to focus on the track ahead.

The physics engine in this game is, at times, unpredictable: it can feel very realistic one minute and then suddenly very unrealistic, obviously by my assumption, I've never driven a Rally car. For example, at occasions the handling seems very light and floaty, this can make it much harder or much easier than I assume it would be to handle the cars.

Aesthetic damage is however, a completely different story. Fences and crowd barricades crumple and fall away realistically as and when your car hits. Stronger obstructions, such as billboards and railings mould around your car, often getting caught under parts of the bodywork and tearing away as you attempt to get back into the race.

The same is true for damage in the vehicles-aesthetic damage not only occurs where you've collided with another vehicle or part of the scenery, but also how you'd expect to happen. I'll take the above as an example; reversing with part of the rail tangled under the front body work of your car may leave you deprived of a bumper.

Mechanical damage, as far as I'm concerned, is also very realistic. As with the aesthetic side of things, wreckage affects the areas of the car you would expect it to-driving over a large rock, hidden in the Aussie undergrowth at 90mph will damage your wheels, suspension and steering.
Although the damage system is not as detailed and precise as Forza, let's be honest-the benchmark in realism, it's works well in this game.

The car setup options are also excellent. I personally have no idea what to do with them, so can't offer any insight into getting your car running perfectly. I can, however, assure you they are there, and that there are basic audio explanations of what they influence.

Here's one I think many will have been waiting for; visuals. I for one feared that it would be a major let down after the screen shots and videos littered across the web, but it wasn't. The graphics are exactly as they are in the media you may have seen, which I think you'll agree is superb. Mud and sand are flicked up realistically and are hurled over your vehicle. This effect works much better in DiRT than I've seen it work in any other game; the thickness of the grime and the speed of the vehicle effect quite clearly the amount that ends up on the bodywork, it isn't just slapped on willy nilly.
The HDR lighting effects are also superb, coming out from a shaded area into the sun is one of the most impressive pieces of visual assertion in any game, ever. The only gripe I have in terms of the visuals is that some of the textures of the car interiors are of low quality compared to the rest of the game, as are the crowds. On the whole I think DiRT steals the graphics crown from GOW, not an easy thing to do.




The sound is also very absorbing, engine sounds very real, as do the strange grinding and crunching noises rally cars always seem to make (if anyone knows what these noises are, please share.) The clang of vehicles colliding with each other or parts of the environment are also very accurate, you can hear the fibreglass crushing in on itself. Bear in mind, I'm listening in a stereo HiFi, many of you will have better audio setups than me.

As of yet I've had no chance to play online, I'll add to this when I have.

I'd recommend this game to anyone; racing fan or not. The visceral and realistic visuals and sounds make up for the occasional wobble in the handling and until another Toca Race Driver is released nothing offers the range of racing types that this game does.


Gameplay:8.9
By far the most enjoyable racing game I have played since the days of the PS.
Graphics: 9.4
The best graphics of any 360 game, I think you'll agree there is some pretty strong competition out there.
Sound: 9.5
Brutal and realistic, I'd love to hear it on a decent surround setup.
Longevity:9.0
The Career and Championship modes will pan out differently each time, giving great replay value.

OVERALL:9.2