Colin McRae: DiRT 2 Preview

10 Aug 2009 at 12:19:10 by James Chalmers

When I arrived at the Codemasters event there was only one game on my mind, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. The shooter has been at the top of my wish list since the day it was announced, however by the end of the day it was a different title and genre which left the lasting impression and it was in the form of Colin McRae: DiRT 2. This is the first outing from Codies since the tragic death of rally legend and game figurehead, Colin McRae, and I feel Codies has done him proud.

I'm no racing game fan; I will admit freely that you would never normally see me playing a racing game because for some reason I just don't find them invigorating, however with DiRT 2 I couldn't put it down. There was something about the game that just made me want to come back again and again.

From the off the game's presentation is loud, vibrant, hip and artistic. Bold colours and novelty menu screens are all incorporated into your home, which is a RV caravan. Codemasters want to create a "festival feel" and they have done this perfectly.  You can venture out of your RV and into the camp, as a fully licensed soundtrack mixed by Kerrang! Radio DJ Kristian Stephenson blares out and numerous fans gather outside to get a glimpse of you. One of the most impressive things with the menu screen is that the music changes volume in different locations, inside the RV the sound is muffled but move towards the door and it gets louder, you really feel as if you are apart of the virtual rally event.

I was introduced to the multiplayer aspect of DiRT 2, finally introduced in this iteration, and supporting up to eight players. One of the failings of the previous McRae games was the lack of multiplayer which, ultimately, didn't leave much of a reason for you to go back and play the game.  Adding the multiplayer function hasn't only given the game more playtime, but it's also given it that much required replay-ability.

You'll be able to participate and race across many different countries, including England, Croatia, Malaysia, and America. Each location is stunning to look at and you'll find yourself staring at the game world.  The game utilises the enhanced EGO engine which featured in GRID and with a BAFTA winning team behind the game and the engine you won't be surprised to hear that it is a pretty impressive game world.  Even little things such as having water spray onto your windscreen and blurring your visibility as it would in the real world, until your wipers kick in, show the attention to detail that Codemasters has focused on. And the races aren't too bad either.

Gone are the days of just one race type as your drive around vying for a position against other cars. DiRT 2 incorporates the realistic race types from the sport and still manages to include the competitiveness that racing games carry with them. My personal favourite was the scarily realistic staggered start, a new addition to the game and one which enhances the intensity of rally runs.  If you've ever watched a World Championship Rally race you'll know that one car follows another in rally stages, and if an incident occurs with the car in front of you, it'll more than likely effect you when you get there.  But it is a real rally feeling.  You're in a queue of eight cars and set off at different intervals racing along a course as you aim to score the quickest time. You can imagine how much fun this is if all of the eight opponents are human controlled!

DiRT 2 boasts the crème de la crème of rally vehicles in an impressive garage; historical cars from the sport are included such as McRae's winning Subaru's that won the WRC.  You can even play with McRae's own concept car, the McRae R4. Each machine has three different stats, top speed, acceleration and drivability, and one of the promising things to come with the cars is that every single one feels different to drive. Picking one with high acceleration fills the rev meter quickly but can be very difficult to handle around the corners, where as sacrificing speed and acceleration for handling can be vital for shaving off the important seconds in a mountain top time trial.

Damage once again features in the game and can decide the novices from the experienced. Driving at fast speeds may well be fun, but if you do not prepare yourself for the drift on the dirt you could soon see yourself ploughing head on into a tree and writing your car off and having no choice but to retire from the race (believe me I've done it).

Overall I was left pleasantly surprised with DiRT 2 it's a racing title that has broken me into the genre and I'm feverishly looking forward to the 11 September release date. Codemasters has created a suitable tribute for Colin McRae while racing title fans can feel assured that DiRT 2 lives up to the previous titles' reputation while overtaking the competition and raising the bar to a whole new level.

Be sure to keep tuned for our video interview with Matt Horsman, chief game designer at Codies, as well as a video preview later on this week.

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