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When Codemasters released Colin McRae: Dirt back in 2007, the game was met very well to high review scores and it just being a very awesome game. More than three years later, Codemasters is bringing the series back for another entry with DiRT 2. Being the first game in the McRae series after Colin's death, it was only right that Codemasters made this game bigger, better and more gorgeous then ever to look at. With my recent playing of the game, I can say they have succeeded.
Released today, the DiRT 2 demo allows the player to try out the Dirt Tour with a selection of racers to get a feel of the game. Immediately upon starting the demo, you’re greeted with possibly one of the best looking character animations and event graphics ever. The game takes focus on selecting everything as if you are there doing it yourself in a total first person point of view. After selecting a race and your vehicle, you can look around the stadium event and see wow in the scenery and live character models wandering around and there are a lot of people. This kind of reminded me of Need for Speed ProStreet and EA’s attempt to do similar things, just a ton load better.
You have the music and band playing in the background, your trailer to the right, trucks that carry vehicles off in the distance, other racers and just much much more. You also have your average announcer who speaks out every now and then as you would at a real event. This presentation really nails the feel of being at an actual stadium event and I must say kudos to Codemasters because I myself have been to a few of these events and I must say they just about damn near perfected it and I love it. The lighting is phenomenal too by the way which just makes the environment look just that much better with the wind blowing and flags breezing through.
Of course, what really matters is the racing correct? Fear not, for that aspect of the game was of course top priority with Codemasters and they have done a good job with it. The car models are very detailed and looking at the other seven racers you’re racing against makes you feel as if you are watching those early CG-Target renders for videogames like MotorStorm. Racing on the dirt track (what’d you think you were gonna be racing on) looks pretty neat seeing the dust blow by from the vehicles. There may be some water puddles you drive over which look very amazing splashing over. The driving itself is not bad at all to get the hang of after a few minutes.
The presentation is also extended very much into the racing as well. When you reach a jump on the track you get fireworks on the side which is pretty cool. Also, a neat feature that is present while driving is the instant replay with the push of a button. That feature to me is a really nice addition as you can instantly, and I mean instantly run back about the last 10 seconds and see anything awesome you just did again with all the average replay controls you would expect to see. Maybe in the final version there will be an option to save these clips and upload and send to friends and possibly YouTube. The best part about this feature is that with it, you can have the ability to go back those 10 seconds and wherever you made have made an error, with a push of a button restart the race at the exact point before you goofed.
There are five cameras to choose from to you’re liking. I never really was a fan of the dashboard camera and always stick to the close outside cam but fans of any camera will be pleased to know at least one of their favorites is present.
The demo also features the two events to play in 8-vehicle online multiplayer. In the Trailblazer event, players take on the ultimate test of rally car against the challenging Moroccan terrain on a point-to-point track filled with flat-out straights and hair-raising hairpins in the Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. Gamers can also race in a Landrush event at the spectacular Ensenada Port circuit set in Baja California, where players go wheel-to-wheel in an 8-vehicle riotous race over lethal bumps and killer jumps in the heavy duty West Coast Choppers Stuka Trophy Truck.
When the game finally ships out September 8th, players will be pleased to know that DiRT 2 will feature a roster of contemporary off-road events, taking players to the most diverse and challenging real-world environments. This World Tour will have players competing in aggressive multi-car and intense solo races at extraordinary new locations, from canyon racing and jungle trails to city stadium-based events. Expect our full review, later that month.
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