Dirt 3 is without a doubt an excellent racing game, if you are at all familiar with the previous instalments then this is a no-brainer: you'll want it. People are going to be divided on this issue but i personally appreciate the move away from the very americanised style of D2. The sober triangular menu system is functional if a little staid, it would have been nice if a side effect ofDirt 3 is without a doubt an excellent racing game, if you are at all familiar with the previous instalments then this is a no-brainer: you'll want it. People are going to be divided on this issue but i personally appreciate the move away from the very americanised style of D2. The sober triangular menu system is functional if a little staid, it would have been nice if a side effect of this was fewer load times but alas not. I like the British lady and Australian guy chatting between races but the American guy has to go. The soundtrack is, apart from the odd teeny-punk track, surprisingly bleak ("I am a man with a heavy heart"???), very British in a dubby and string sample-y way, and it really grew on me and i can now honestly say, i like it. Graphically it's superb, pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a Dirt2 sequel, it's a bit more colorful as well thanks to a wider variety of locations. Kenya and Norway are just, wow. I for one also really appreciate the wider variety of cars, especially the inclusion of more classic rally cars like the Lancia Fulvia. Alpina A110 and Mini Cooper, this is something i personally just am into. I really wish Porsche didn't give their licence to that nemesis of the racing genre, EA, because this game would have benefited fro the inclusion of one or two of those. Gameplay-wise it feels like the handling is a tiny bit more noob-friendly, there are a lot of assists that you can select and on the whole it feels to me as if the force feedback is a bit less violent than in 2, I may be mistaken about it though and need to uncheck some assists or something but i miss that sense of danger a little bit. As always, the flashback system is there, and this something i've never liked because it influences how you play, you're not careful and strategic, you just make a mistake and go, 'Oh well, i'll just rewind'. Consequently you just kind of power your way through the career mode with one or two races that you need to retry along the way. I can understand why it's necessary but i feel it cheapens one's experience of the game.
Gymkhana events are surprisingly fun (coming from someone who routinely sucks at things like Drift trials) and the Battersea Power Station sandbox is brilliant.
Tiny nitpick, i would have appreciated if the car setup would default to the last one you used, currently, if you want to use the same one you used last you have to reselect it. Also, the shortest gear ratio setting feels a bit extreme and unnecessary, any car using it will be redlining in 5th within 2.5 seconds.
All in all, nothing short of an excellent racing game, i would give an 8.5, while i don't think it's the revelation some reviewers are making it out to be it's a solid, enjoyable and polished experience.
Now, the bugbear, which you may argue does not reflect on the quality of the game: the VIP pass, or more specifically, how the developers chose to rub your face in it at every given opportunity. I have no problem with, in fact i'm completely in favour of, an online pass system as a way for developers to profit from second hand sales of their game. But to rub your customer's nose in it every time the game starts up is inexcusable. If, like me, you bought the PS3 version at launch, you wouldn't have been able to redeem your code owing to circumstances beyond your control. Codemasters choose to ignore the fact that some consoles are simply not online, those gamers will still be prompted to redeem or purchase a code. This, to me, is the equivalent of a DRM system that punishes the people who actually paid for the game. It's letting external political factors encroach on the experience of your product and i really think Codemasters need to be castigated for it.
A similar hassle is the fact that the insufferable Daniel tells you after each win: "You GOTTA upload that to Youtube, amigo, your fans will go nuts!". I won't deny that the youtube functionality is neat, for the handful of expert players out there, but i really don't think anyone wants to see my races and thus i never intend to use this feature, don't shove it in my face after every race!
Again, i understand that these questions are peripheral to the issue of whether Dirt3 is a good racing game or not, because it really really is, but i do feel they intrude on the game experience and therefore are pertinent reasons to knock he score down a notch or two.… Expand
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