DIRT 2

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:48 pm

Why not more impressions yet guys? Are most of you (like me) waiting for your Gamefly copies???

I hope mine comes today!

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:28 pm

I hadn't paid any attention to this game until OS sent me one to review.

I popped it in after the NFL game last night and only wanted to play it a few minutes.

Next thing I know, it's 12:30 AM and I had to get to bed or I'd be dead this morning.

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:22 pm

I have it out right now on the Blockbuster gamepass. I played the SP mode for about an hour last night and had a blast. Yeah it's no sim... but it IS fun. I only played a few events on the middle difficulty level with damage set to FULL, setups OFF. Driving was fun, AI racers were reasonable.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:26 pm

I really can't say enough about the single player progression setup. So well done. Keeps things interesting and fresh. Oh and FUN!

The online interface and setup is absolutley awesome as well. This game is just extremely polished and makes a big impact. Well done Codies. I also liked Grid a lot and this is really a great progression from that game. Using that as a base and really improving upon the flow and interface.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:33 pm

Is there even a comparison between Dirt and Dirt 2?

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:42 pm

One thing I really like about the career setup is that so many events open up at a time. You can play about any type of race you want, whenever you want, without having to wait for stuff to be unlocked. In fact, it's almost overwhelming when you look at the map and see so many races yet to be completed.

I don't know about everyone else, but I absolutely love the Gate Crasher events. Plowing through the styrofoam blocks is a fun challenge, while at the same time it really helps me learn each course better in terms of driving lines I need to take.

The Rally Cross events are just insane. The handling is so good in those races, much like the superb handling in the regular rally events. There isn't an event type that I dislike. I savor any event where I can use the Hummer. I've got that badboy down pretty well.

A couple days after release, I am still incredibly pleased with Dirt 2. It screams quality in virtually every respect. One critical thing is that I am never bored, just getting through races to open up the next series of races. There is such a nice variety of disciplines and event types that things are staying very fresh for me.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:52 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Is there even a comparison between Dirt and Dirt 2?

If you liked Dirt you will like Dirt 2. Dirt 2 has better visuals, seems like it will take longer to complete career mode, has a more polished feel and look, and has a bit better handling. I am a big fan of Dirt, so I cannot say Dirt 2 blows it out of the water or anything. I thought Dirt was very solid. If someone asked me which one is the better game I would have to tell them one is not better than the other. Obviously the more flashy look of Dirt 2 would sway some people, but each game has some great events that the other does not have, and each game has its own personality. Codies came through in that they did not make Dirt 2 feel like it is simply an upgraded Dirt.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:56 pm

Damn it Toon stop it with the impressions. I may have to add $40 to my Sig.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 5:05 pm

Oh, and one thing I have not yet mentioned are the camera views. Someone at Codies needs a big hug for making every single camera angle totally playable. I play very few racing games where every camera view is good. Dirt 2 has them all nailed perfectly. The cockpit view, in particular, is spectacular. A lot of the time if a course is new to me I will first race it with the chase view to get a good feel for the layout, then go to cockpit view for the rest of the races on the course. The chase view is actually highly playable and not overly twitchy. I am not finding myself needing to alter my steering patterns drastically based on different camera views from which I drive. But, as I said earlier, the cockpit view is something to behold, so I stick mainly to that one.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 5:09 pm

Rodster wrote:Damn it Toon stop it with the impressions. I may have to add $40 to my Sig.

Haha. When I come across a game that exceeds my already high expectations I get pretty excited.

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 7:46 pm

toonarmy wrote:One thing I really like about the career setup is that so many events open up at a time. You can play about any type of race you want, whenever you want, without having to wait for stuff to be unlocked. In fact, it's almost overwhelming when you look at the map and see so many races yet to be completed.

I don't know about everyone else, but I absolutely love the Gate Crasher events. Plowing through the styrofoam blocks is a fun challenge, while at the same time it really helps me learn each course better in terms of driving lines I need to take.

The Rally Cross events are just insane. The handling is so good in those races, much like the superb handling in the regular rally events. There isn't an event type that I dislike. I savor any event where I can use the Hummer. I've got that badboy down pretty well.

A couple days after release, I am still incredibly pleased with Dirt 2. It screams quality in virtually every respect. One critical thing is that I am never bored, just getting through races to open up the next series of races. There is such a nice variety of disciplines and event types that things are staying very fresh for me.

It's funny you mentioned the Gate Crasher event because I've become addicted to that type as well. It reminds me a lot of that event in the Project Gotham series where you had to drive through a space between dual sets of cones, which I've always liked.

Anyway, I still can't get over the designs on many of these stages and locations. Each and every one of the stages I've seen so far have been exciting for me to race through. Great stuff. Love my blue fluffy dice that I just placed on the windshield of my car.

Kruza

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 3:13 pm

This game is a lot of fun, but it doesn't knock the socks off of Dirt for one primary reason.

Dirt has the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, that you can run from start to finish; making for a pretty long race. I haven't experienced any sort of long races in Dirt 2 yet..nothing even close to competing the Pikes Peak full course in Dirt.

Haven't hit Utah yet, so I'm still early in the game.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 3:56 pm

Last night online, Mix, Teal, Kruza and myself did a really long 'trailblazer' race I think it was in the Utah area, with crazy canyons and amazing scenery. It reminded me a lot of some classic early 3D racers from the N64 era (I wish I could remember the name of the one I'm reminded of most, but I can't recall). It was a pretty amazing ride.

We did some rally stages online too, and it's a lot better once you switch the pace notes to 'technical' rather than the 'easy' or whatever they call the 'easy right, tight left' stuff.

When we could all get in the room together, which eventually did happen every time but there were some glitchy kicks and such, it was tons of fun. It would be great to get a bigger group and do our own setups in a private room. That's not to say the ranked rotation of 'Pro Tour' mode online isn't lots of fun, but it would be cool to mix and match to our hearts' desire.

But yes, there is no Pike's Peak, which is a real shame. We did one hill climb I remember in China, but that was super short, like two minutes long or something. I'm hoping there are more longer ones in there.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 4:04 pm

Zeppo wrote:
We did some rally stages online too, and it's a lot better once you switch the pace notes to 'technical' rather than the 'easy' or whatever they call the 'easy right, tight left' stuff.

Did not know that was an option. Thanks!

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 4:12 pm

Spooky wrote:
Zeppo wrote:
We did some rally stages online too, and it's a lot better once you switch the pace notes to 'technical' rather than the 'easy' or whatever they call the 'easy right, tight left' stuff.

Did not know that was an option. Thanks!

Yeah, Mix set me straight on that. Also, once you open them up, you can choose from more co-drivers than the woman you start the game with.

I love the dashboard and mirror acoutrements because when you are in cockpit cam they really add a lot of 'feel' to the inertia and momentum of the car.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 5:07 pm

Zeppo wrote:
Spooky wrote:
Zeppo wrote:
We did some rally stages online too, and it's a lot better once you switch the pace notes to 'technical' rather than the 'easy' or whatever they call the 'easy right, tight left' stuff.

Did not know that was an option. Thanks!
Yeah, Mix set me straight on that. Also, once you open them up, you can choose from more co-drivers than the woman you start the game with.

I love the dashboard and mirror acoutrements because when you are in cockpit cam they really add a lot of 'feel' to the inertia and momentum of the car.

LOVE the Avatar hanging from the mirror. Awesome.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:02 pm

Finally raced in Utah. Absolutely beautiful and great design. My favorite location by far to race in this game. I just wish the courses were longer than 3 minute runs. I really want some 7-10 minutes sections to race. My main beef about the game. Other than this is really, really good.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:57 am

Wilk5280 wrote:Finally raced in Utah. Absolutely beautiful and great design. My favorite location by far to race in this game. I just wish the courses were longer than 3 minute runs. I really want some 7-10 minutes sections to race. My main beef about the game. Other than this is really, really good.

Yeah...that's mine too. I LOVED, and I mean LOVED the hill climb events in the first. This one seems like it's play for a couple min, watch loading screens for a couple min. It's kind of a step back. Last years was more minimal, but I think I like that better. Sometimes production value decreases the fun. They did that this year.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:57 pm

Apparently I've been pronouncing my own name wrongly for 24 years. I'm actually called "Heyadam" and nobody thought to let me know.

The rest of the in-game chatter is pretty good (and I find myself absent-mindedly responding sometimes), the handling is spot-on, the game modes are all good fun and it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm not that far in - 13% complete - but what I've played so far has been so brilliant that I feel a bit daft for ever doubting it would be.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:52 am

Spooky wrote:
Zeppo wrote:
We did some rally stages online too, and it's a lot better once you switch the pace notes to 'technical' rather than the 'easy' or whatever they call the 'easy right, tight left' stuff.

Did not know that was an option. Thanks!

Yea, me too! Thanks Zep! I spent my first hour with the game trying to figure out what the heck my spotter was talking about!

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:57 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
Wilk5280 wrote:Finally raced in Utah. Absolutely beautiful and great design. My favorite location by far to race in this game. I just wish the courses were longer than 3 minute runs. I really want some 7-10 minutes sections to race. My main beef about the game. Other than this is really, really good.
Yeah...that's mine too. I LOVED, and I mean LOVED the hill climb events in the first. This one seems like it's play for a couple min, watch loading screens for a couple min. It's kind of a step back. Last years was more minimal, but I think I like that better. Sometimes production value decreases the fun. They did that this year.

I loved the hill climbs in DiRT 1 also. I am liking DiRT2 so far, but I am not blown away yet. Yes, the graphics and presentation are top notch, but the voice acting is corny and the races are too short. Its kind of like DiRT for people with ADD. I think I will enjoy the game, but after reading all these reviews that call it "the greatest 360 racing game ever" I was expecting a little more.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:09 am

I've put in quite a few hours to this point, and it's a good game, but nothing that's blowing me away.

I agree with Jack in that the voices are corny and the races are short--the game is clearly targeting the under-20 crowd, which is fine. The dash and mirror toys are fun, even if I started using different cameras last night (it's hard to resist when I'm always so much faster with behind-the-car views).

With the driving model firmly 'arcade', I'm very surprised to say that the rally cross and truck events are my favorite so far. I was initially disappointed that there wasn't more true rally, but the way this game is set up the 'track' races with 8 other cars are simply more fun IMO. Could be a lot of fun online rubbing and grinding with the DSP crowd.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:58 am

Naples39 wrote: Could be a lot of fun online rubbing and grinding with the DSP crowd.

Do me a favor and NEVER put 'rubbing and grinding' together with 'DSP crowd' EVER again!!!! I just threw up in my mouth a little...

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:58 am

Spooky wrote:
Naples39 wrote: Could be a lot of fun online rubbing and grinding with the DSP crowd.
Do me a favor and NEVER put 'rubbing and grinding' together with 'DSP crowd' EVER again!!!! I just threw up in my mouth a little...

I almost deleted that sentence, but was too lazy to think of a better way to put it.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:08 pm

Naples39 wrote:
Spooky wrote:
Naples39 wrote: Could be a lot of fun online rubbing and grinding with the DSP crowd.
Do me a favor and NEVER put 'rubbing and grinding' together with 'DSP crowd' EVER again!!!! I just threw up in my mouth a little...

I almost deleted that sentence, but was too lazy to think of a better way to put it.

How about slamming and banging?