Colin McRae DIRT Demo Review

Home : Games : Articles




Getting down and dirty with Mr McRae.

It's time to get down and dirty the Xbox 360 and PC as Codemasters, the UK developer that has been keeping us off-road with its Colin McRae titles for about the past decade brings us the latest installment: Colin McRae: DIRT

The demos are nearly identical, save for the inclusion of a multiplayer event in the PC demo (PC gamers have to give up the Arizona hill climb race in exchange for getting their multiplayer on), and offer three vehicle to test drive on three different tracks.  For the purposes of this review we sampled the Xbox 360 version of the game and are happy to report that DIRT looks like its going to be a solid racer coming this summer.

C.O.R.R. = Championship Off Road Racing and it rocks!

The vehicles and tracks go together in this demo.  If you want to get behind the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRX STI spec Cs - the wheels that McRae himself drives - you'll have to do it in a crossover race against the man on Germany's Avelsbachring tarmac track.  Next you can hop into a Mitsubishi Evo IX for a hill climb event which represents the last 1000 feet of a track called Windy Point set in Arizona. 

The final and, in my opinion, most enjoyable, event in the demo is a ten car C.O.R.R. race in V8 650hp buggies Michigan's Bark River Off Road Raceway.  Each event can be played in any order (or ignored completely) and as many times as you like - there is no time limit on the demo.  Two difficulty settings are offered: rookie and amateur and I strongly suggest that anyone new to the Colin McRae series or racing sims in general start out on rookie.  Keeping your car on the track takes a little practice - especially during that hill climb in Arizona where a single mistaken turn translates into a plunge off the side of the mountain.

Of course in this day of Forza and Gran Turismo, the real key in any racer that aims for realism is how the cars "feel."  As fun as DIRT is, this is one area where I found it lacking.  The Mitsubishi, Subaru, and the buggies don't seem to have a lot of difference in terms of handling and general driving experience. 

Cars will get filthy and all smashed up before it's over.

Once you've tooled around in each for a couple of laps you get the feeling that they might as well be interchangeable.  Handling itself is sublime as it has always been in Codemasters' racing games, but the cars (at least the three in the demo) all handle in the same sublime way.  This could be different in the final game (the demo includes a disclaimer that it is not fully representative of the completed game), but at this point it is the major (and really the only) complaint I have about the demo.  And, let's face it, not every game is Forza or GT; nor should it be.  DIRT is tons of fun as is.






Recently added articles:

September 30, 2008

Nicholas DePalmer Interview
We interview Pro-Gamer and Razer employee Nicholas DePalmer.

4 More Games We Want Remade
It's round two in for games the we want to see remade.

September 27, 2008

EA Makes ESPN Stars Virtual
You've seen the stars of ESPN pre-game shows and other TV spots deliver their entertaining analysis. Now, because of EA Sports, you'll see them in the virtual world with players doing the same thing.

Four Shooters That Made the Dreamcast Awesome
In keeping on with our Dreamcast love, we take a look at four shooters that made the system an arcade shooting powerhouse.

September 26, 2008

Why Comic Book Video Games Suck
Comic book characters have often come to life on the big screen in very successful adaptations. However, turning comic book stories into video games often ends in disaster.