DiRT, as its name implies, foregoes gentlemanly racing in exchange for white knuckle off road shenanigans, where gamers plunge their cars into mud and dust, picking up plenty more than scuff marks along the way. Its propensity for destruction notwithstanding, players will discover a fine level of sophistication beneath the game's spit shined hood.
Upon first glance, everyone notices the graphics and rightfully so. In a cluttered genre, DiRT easily stands out, thanks to its amazing visuals. Each of the 46 cars feature exquisite damage modeling that rivals the Burnout series. In addition to picking up dents and scrapes, players decimate their rides, watching (in shock or delight) as all sorts of parts fly from their vehicles. However, busting up one's speed demon has consequences. Cars eventually stop working, but seeing a head on collision, even right before crossing the finish line, never ceases to amaze.
The tracks, recreated using satellite imagery, look equally impressive, especially when cars interact with them. Smash into a wall of tires and then watch them bounce around. Burst through a sign and see the wood splinter. Crash through branches and see them bend. The entire game looks remarkable, especially inside of the cars. This particular camera view really immerses gamers into DiRT's crazy world, giving them a unique, first person look at the carnage.
Running into walls and other cars proves enjoyable, but gamers should win a race now and then. The career mode offers the most enjoyment. Spread across various event types, including Rally, Rallycross, Crossover, Rally Raid and Hill Climb, gamers compete against numerous cars all jockeying for position, the goal to earn points to purchase better cars and move up the ladder.
Gamers may tune their rides, a necessity given the various types of terrain, but unlike other racing games (Forza 2, for example), DiRT walks players through everything, thanks to narration by rally racer Travis Pastrana, who not only describes each mode, but also the strengths and weaknesses a car, truck or buggy may have.. Furthermore, and in typical rally racing fashion, a co-pilot helps navigate players around tracks, calling out sharp turns and other dangerous things.
Single player offers a deep, engaging experience. Multiplayer, on the other hand, needed more work. Instead of hopping online and smashing into people, gamers select a race type; rally, hill climb to then compete for the best time alone. There's no head to head racing, which is a shame, given the cool damage modeling and the trash talking it would bring.
Aside from that, the game suffers from long load times and an inconsistent frame rate. Not awful by any means, but it gets choppy from time to time. Finally, the cars don't hug the road, but slip and slide across it, like they're traveling on air and not atop gravel, sand and mud.
These issues are minor, however, and shouldn't affect someone's decision to buy or rent the game. Bottom line, DiRT needs to be played, and Codemasters deserves kudos for crafting an enjoyable rally game.
Final Score: 8 (out of 10)
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