Time to Get DiRTy

Published June 15, 2007

Racing fans are still eagerly immersing themselves in the glorious simulation of Forza Motorsport™ 2, upgrading and tweaking their rides, competing in online and offline career modes, browsing the Auction House, and designing their cars.

Drop-dead gorgeous.

But now, all of a sudden here comes DiRT, a dynamo of intense rally racing that is perfectly timed to give racing fans a refreshing change of pace.

Rallying Defined
Rally racing encompasses all manner of off-road elements: sand, dirt, mud, gravel, or a mixture of all of them. Where there is an occasional track-based circuit race, point-to-point races in exotic and remote locales are more the norm.

DiRT offers a slickly presented, authentic, and most
important, incredibly fun rally racing experience.

Rally races require a rare blend of speed, endurance, preparation, awareness, and an astute mastery of drifting as you focus more on the dangerous terrain and less on the competition. In fact, in most races, you'll compete against time as you race alone without the threat of opponents to spin you out on the dangerous tracks.

Also unique to rally racing is your navigator, who sits beside you in the passenger seat offering a constant stream of useful commentary. The navigator calls out each segment of the track, identifying the turns, the intensity of their angle, upcoming jumps and even the rapidly approaching finish line. They're not automaton yes-men either. They will frequently comment on your skill, or in some cases, lack thereof.

A rare reprieve on asphalt.

Vehicle Fare
One must drive something on the tricky, but beautiful, terrain. Begin your career in a comfortable sedan, and quickly escalate to trucks, SUVs, wagons, buggies, and even a few industrial-sized vehicles. All cars are licensed too, so whether it’s a Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW or any number of other manufacturers, DiRT has you well covered.

Like any good racing game, you're not stuck with a single car for long. After winning a few races, use your credits to purchase new cars and add to your collection. Base your decision-making on detailed statistical readouts covering each vehicle's power-to-weight ratio, torque, wheelbase and drive train. New liveries, essentially custom, sponsored paintjobs, are unlocked as you continue to play so you'll always be styling.

A Tiered Career
Your offline career in DiRT is broken down into eleven separate "tiers," with each successive tier offering fewer events but far greater, and often lengthier, challenges. Each tier represents different disciplines, so you may drive a classic point-to-point challenge in sandy terrain on one race, and a grueling hill climb in the mud the next.

The Shakedown
Racing games are well known for comprehensive stat-tracking, but even among other genre leaders, DiRT excels in this area. Entering the Shakedown option in the menu offers a detailed and sometimes bizarre rundown of your entire rally career. For example, you'll find entries for:

• Average Speed
• Longest Jump
• Longest Time on Two Wheels
• Most Podiums

Engage the drift.

Rally Narration
For those unfamiliar with the rally genre, DiRT does a remarkable job of guiding you on your path. From picking out races in career mode to selecting and tuning your car, every step offers detailed text accompanied by narration to explain and expand on every element of the game. Even hardcore rally gamers will learn a thing or two as they tackle new tracks, change car classes, and repair and tune their ride.

DiRT offers classic rally racing with intense speed, a wide variety of tracks and vehicles, and spectacular damage modeling, but to top it off, it's also one of the prettiest Xbox 360™ games to ever grace the console across any genre. Whether you're marveling at the fine web of cracks on your windshield, the door you accidentally tore off on an errant turn, the splatter of mud, the chunks of dirt you kick up behind you, or the fierce blaze of the desert sun, DiRT is a visual treat.

DiRT offers a slickly presented, authentic, and most important, incredibly fun rally racing experience. It's time to get DiRTy.

Article by Ryan Treit