DiRT Rally: Console Release
For years I have wanted to get my hands on a real rally racing game, one where you could feel the ground moving under your wheels, that white knuckled ride, as soon as you hit the gas, you're on the edge of your seat. Yet time and time again I have been let down.
Sure some have been fun, but none seemed to have the realism I was craving. I was never drawn into one.
That is until now!
Codemasters, along with Bandai Namco brings you DiRT Rally! Now released on the XBOne and PS4 after a successful outing on PC earlier this year.
DiRT takes everything I love from the world of track racing, puts it in a little car with insane horse power and lets you loose.
First up is your career. Find yourself a car within your price range and you're ready to go. For me it was the good ol Mini. While my driving style is better suited to a rear wheel drive car, I thought I would go for something a little different.
DiRT at its core is running the same idea many other racers before it have and many more will. Get to the top. And really do we need any more encouragement than that?
Where DiRT differs though is in the details. You have full control over your car, your setup and your team. You need to hire engineers to work on the car to keep you on the track. If you are a grease monkey at heart, like me, you can tinker away with all the different aspects of the cars setup and have specific setups for each terrain you come across.
When the racing begins there is one omitted item that becomes glaringly obvious as you come sideways into your first corner. THERE IS NO MAP!
The mini map in the top corner giving you a bit of a leg up as to what is coming is gone! and the game feels better for it.
After all it is a rally game, so what better way to work out what is coming up then listening to your co-driver. They are giving crisp, clear and quick instructions to you the whole way through. Once you get the timing right you start to wonder if there was ever any other way to do this.
Let me point out one call that had me a little confused to begin with. Don't Cut. He kept calling this after certain corner calls but for the life of me I didn't know what he was on about. That is until I hit a sharp hairpin perfectly, well nearly perfectly, I pulled the front of the car over the edge of the apex of the corner. BANG!! good bye front end, hello rock of Dick Johnson proportions. So yeah, Don't Cut...
The one big change that has me singing such praise of DiRT is the environment itself. Too often I found rally racing to be nothing more than a slippery track racer with ridiculous invisible walls making you pretty much bounce down the track. With DiRT, if you get it wrong, you're off, and by off I mean pack a lunch and your hiking boots. Sure you get spawned back to the track, but that first few seconds of flying off the edge of Pikes Peak really does get your heart pumping.
You notice the difference in surface types too. The feel, the sound and the control all differ from surface to surface. Throw in rain and well, good luck.
Gravel feels rough and very slippery yet grippy at the same time. Snow seems to be all about controlling the slide and compensating for a complete lack of grip. Soft clay or dirt is soft, yet again lots of grip can be found and little movements are necessary.
My favourite so far has to be tarmac, Pikes Peak, with the new Red Bull Pikes Peak car. That thing is insane. So overpowered, huge down-force and precise controls. I love that sliding through a corner and hitting the gas, you can feel the front tires grip and pull you straight again. It is magic!
Overall I don't have any complaints for DiRT Rally other than I need to get my hands on a wheel not just the controller. The graphics don't have the polish some other top level racers have but with so much going on I don't expect it to, nor is it overly noticeable.
If you're like me and have been hanging out for a true rally experience then this is the game for you.
Available now on the PS4, XBOne and PC
And remember DON'T CUT!
Pat (Snoogan512)
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