DIRT: Colin McRae Off-Road
- March 22, 2007 10:07 AM PST
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FIRST LOOK: If you like MotorStorm, you'd be a sucker not to check out the new Colin McRae game DIRT!
Perhaps the MotorStorm carnage spillover pushed the Colin McRae series, which previously focused primarily on rally racing, in the off-road direction. It's no surprise that the popularity of rally racing lies chiefly in Europe, and the North American market is much fonder of off-road destruction. Hence, Codemasters brings us DIRT: Colin McRae Off-Road, a game that is trying to do a heck of a lot more with its cars.
What They Say:
DIRT is not just Colin McRae with an added off-road mode to suit other audiences, but a unique off-road touch on rally racing. It's high-speed, and now the game rides on mud and dirt in races that span the globe. There are trucks and beastly 4x4s in Rally Raid desert competitions, as well as a Rally Cross where players switch between dirt and road racing.
For the extreme rally folks, there's the Rally Championship, a dedicated rally mode with loads of customizable options. New systems for physics and damage really turn up the technical aspects of the game, and the new graphics engine--called Neon--creates an overall great-looking package. Plus, the online multiplayer component allows for 100 players (yes, 100!) to compete simultaneously on a rally or hill climb stage.
What We Say:
Colin McRae games have been somewhat of a cult favorite here in the States, whereas they are a huge draw in Europe. Honestly, I've played them here and there and always thought they were decent, but was much more impressed with DIRT and the sparkling game engine. Realistic damage makes the off-road races so much more interesting, as you can really mess your car up pretty bad just from one single veer off the track.
There are a ton of different camera angles (I personally loved watching the cockpit view even though it makes racing even harder) to mess around with. The car handling seems very good, but because rally is so much about staying on a tight track, it looks like it is going to take a lot of practice to substantially move up in the ranks.
DIRT is a logical step for the Colin McRae franchise, and it seems like the right one. If you like games like Burnout and MotorStorm, you'll probably feel at home with DIRT even though it's still a very meticulous racing experience where you can't always let it all hang out. The slick menus and simple setup should make things easier.
