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| Dirt 2 is pretty good. by Dream Cast 12/22/2017, 11:13pm PST | ||||
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| Pro: The Graphics
They're photorealistic. This game came out in 2009, which is apparently the year we solved graphics because we're never going to meaningfully improve on these. If I look hard enough I guess I can still see textures and polygons and shit but what motivation do I have to do that? These are good enough until I get a bigger TV. Or maybe one of those VR headsets, I bet this beautiful game would look like garbage half an inch from my eyeball. The most welcome change from Dirt 1 is how much they toned down the colour grading, ushering in a whole new world of contrast and saturation. It's like going from Saving Private Ryan to Disney's Aladdin. They also ironed out the frame drops and screen tearing while they were at it. Nice work Codemasters, feels good to finally say your name unironically. Pro: The Physics Remember all the bleating I did in that last post about traction and weight transfer and bloo bloo drowning in my own tears? Dirt 2 fixes all of that. You can tell exactly what it is your car's doing (and more importantly, what it's about to do) by the way it responds to your controls, and the handling model makes acceleration and braking as much a part of steering as turning the wheel. There's some nice, perceptible variation in road surface, too. This isn't to say the physics are remotely realistic: they have more in common with Sega Rally than Richard Burns Rally, meaning taking your foot off the gas in Dirt 2 works more like braking in a real car, while braking works more like a magic genie wish. Sega Rally is awesome, though, so I'm fine with it. Pro: The Career The game shows you a map of the world with nine locations marked on it, from LA to China. You choose a location, choose an event within that region (each one a slightly different combination of discipline and speed class), choose a qualifying vehicle (from what's usually a pretty broad pool, say 'all trucks' or 'all buggies'), and go. You unlock more events by completing events, while also earning cash with which to buy more vehicles (vehicles are each about the same price, and more-or-less balanced on an axis of speed versus drivability). The way events are stamped on the map as physical stickers for you to collect is also cool. Con: The Tracks They're not good. I think the longest is half the length of Pike's Peak from the first Dirt, which for all I know could've been a necessary compromise to improve graphics or performance (did I mention how much better those got?). There's no excuse for how wide and gentle they are, however; you can count on one hand the number of times you need to brake in most of them. Which wouldn't be AS MUCH of a problem if they were all rallycross circuits, but when it's just you and your co-driver out there, you're going to want SOMETHING to do besides speed up or slow down. The stages in Dirt 1 were so fun! Why couldn't they make more of those? Con: The Difficulty Curve There is none. This is one of those games where you select your difficulty from a menu and can change it at any time, but once you do there's not really anywhere for it to go. There are three speed classes, but just like Super Mario Kart none of them are crazy fast, and unlike Super Mario Kart you've already seen and mastered all the tracks before you get out of 50cc. This lack of escalating challenge makes the bulk of a very long, well-structured career mode feel like going through the motions. I finished it anyway, because they were very aesthetically and kinaesthetically pleasing motions, but a lot depends on your tolerance for driving for its own sake. Con: No Onscreen Arrows Telling You What Kind of Corner is Coming Up in Case You Can't Hear Your Co-Driver I'm not deaf, but when I'm on the phone with mother or listening to Sir Patrick Stewart read a Star Trek meets the X-Men novel I might as well be. Dirt had visual pace notes, so whose idea was it to remove them entirely from Dirt 2? Maybe all the easy corners made them look too patronizing. No, you don't really need them in this particular game, but the issue is kind of a hobby horse of mine. Oh! I also can't hear my co-driver when I'm riding my rocking horse too hard. Say what you will, it's still less humiliating than a sim seat - at least Comet's an antique. Overall: 7/10 Technically the best game I played this year. What a waste of a year. |
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Codemasters announces DiRT 4 by 01/26/2017, 8:06am PST  I played DiRT 1, and it was magnificent. Not sure what you don't like. NT by 01/26/2017, 8:15am PST 1-3 minute long stages, separated by a full 3 minutes of menus and loading. by 01/26/2017, 8:27am PST After going back and finishing Dirt 1, I'm ready to admit I was wrong. by 11/20/2017, 7:55pm PST Dirt 2 is pretty good. by 12/22/2017, 11:13pm PST |
