DIRT 2

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:14 pm

One month away from release and looking pretty good. Online modes also this time, although only with a max of 8 players.

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xnh6xoIPlRg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed>

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:43 pm

I'm pretty jazzed for this game. I really liked most of the last one, and maybe I'm a sucker, but it sure seems like this one will be much improved. The CORR type stuff should be a total blast online, and I LOVE that 'any car on any track' was clearly mentioned as a feature for online. I guess someone is stil there from form Xbox ToCA days who remembers those patches!

fletcher21 · Post by **fletcher21** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:51 pm

Dirt was gay as a bag of dicks, but I still will hold out hope for the 2nd one.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:51 pm

Wow. I'm sold. Looking forward to this one.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 5:32 pm

Yeah, I'm jazzed for this game as well. Dirt was a a great racing game in terms of variety of vehicles and plain ol' fun factor. There's no telling how many dozens of hours I played that game. Dirt 2 looks to be even better, so it's a day-one purchase for me.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:26 am

mark me down as "jazzed" for this one too

Loved Grid and Dirt! 2 of my favorite all time racing games. Perfect blend of fun, arcade and realism for me.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:10 am

Ok, I'll be the party pooper.

Dirt was perhaps the single biggest disappointment of this console generation for me. Loved the older CMR games and REALLY looked forward to Dirt, but was totally turned off by the super brakes and otherwise super-grippy cars. Then I liked Grid even less with its kamikaze AI drivers, so at the moment, I have no plans at all for this game.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:53 am

Naples39 wrote:Ok, I'll be the party pooper.

Dirt was perhaps the single biggest disappointment of this console generation for me. Loved the older CMR games and REALLY looked forward to Dirt, but was totally turned off by the super brakes and otherwise super-grippy cars.

Snap. What really got me about Dirt was how often I'd be going around a well-designed stage (Australia, I seem to recall, was as good as stage design ever got) reflecting on how much fun I'd be having if the cars behaved even halfway sensibly. Then again, I'm one of those tedious sim racers who ranks Richard Burns Rally and WRC 4 above anything Codies have done, so...

Having said that, I'll be giving this one a shot at some point. Even a Brit with a real enthusiasm for proper, traditional rallying has to concede that the X Games business, provided the handling is right, has to make for good gaming.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:43 pm

GB_Simo wrote:Then again, I'm one of those tedious sim racers who ranks Richard Burns Rally and WRC 4 above anything Codies have done, so...

Never heard of that game. What platform was it on?

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:53 pm

Rodster wrote:
GB_Simo wrote:Then again, I'm one of those tedious sim racers who ranks Richard Burns Rally and WRC 4 above anything Codies have done, so...
Never heard of that game. What platform was it on?

PS2, mate. There were 5 games in the WRC series, though it occurs to me now that the later ones weren't released in the USA. Shame, because they were brilliant. The dev team are now working on the Motorstorm games, which are an altogether different affair.

Eurogamer have a hands-on of DiRT 2 here, which spends a lot of time talking about the X Games and almost no time at all discussing how the game feels to play: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/colin ... -2-article

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:21 pm

I certainly don't need the most realistic racer in the world to enjoy it, but when you basically never have to consider braking distance, it just doesn't feel like racing to me.

Additionally, when you similarly can disregard losing the back end while swerving or coming out of corners, and the car instantly responds to all inputs and grips the road so thoroughly, it just doesn't feel like rally racing to me.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:27 pm

I think part of the problem people have with Dirt is that for so long Codies were associated with a more sim approach to racing games. I approach Codies games now knowing that I am not going to be buying much of a sim. All I am looking for in games like Dirt and Grid is a fun experience, and that is what they deliver if you are not worried about the sim side of things. From what I've read Codies will be taking a more sim approach with the F1 game, so hopefully the sim crowd will have something to look forward to on that front. That being said, I truly wish Codies would make a sim-style WRC game with a full license in addition to the other games it has been putting out.

WPatrick · Post by **WPatrick** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:44 pm

toonarmy wrote:I think part of the problem people have with Dirt is that for so long Codies were associated with a more sim approach to racing games. I approach Codies games now knowing that I am not going to be buying much of a sim. All I am looking for in games like Dirt and Grid is a fun experience, and that is what they deliver if you are not worried about the sim side of things. From what I've read Codies will be taking a more sim approach with the F1 game, so hopefully the sim crowd will have something to look forward to on that front. That being said, I truly wish Codies would make a sim-style WRC game with a full license in addition to the other games it has been putting out.

I agree with you on every point. I tried to dislike Grid and Dirt due to their lack of realism, in the end they both were fun games.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:05 pm

WPatrick wrote: I agree with you on every point. I tried to dislike Grid and Dirt due to their lack of realism, in the end they both were fun games.

I didn't like the loose physics in Grid but I did have a blast with the garbage trucks i.e. Dakar Rally trucks in Dirt.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:15 pm

YES, PLEASE!

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:16 pm

This site has a learning disability lately...

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 6:47 pm

Demo tomorrow on XBL and PSN, at least for us European types - haven't checked to see if this applies to other territories. Apparently, this is the demo course as driven by one of the development team, and there are 'some awesome Prizes', so awesome they're worth a capital P, for the top 10 times set:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_SaZrxtZYWM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed>

I guess the choice of music is to remind people like me that it's not a rallying game any more, just in case the rampant corner-cutting (which is legit until you start driving through bushes and largely ignoring the course) and the bit at 2:10-ish where he drives straight through the plastic barriers denoting the track limit hadn't driven that home.

Alright, I'll stop it. It does look like good fun.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:04 am

The Dirt 2 demo is now available on the marketplace.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:34 pm

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:14 am

Hey, GB_Simo, the background music wasn't on while I was playing the DiRT 2 demo. So there may be an option to turn that off if you don't want to hear it.

Anyway, as many have already pointed out, DiRT 2 does lean toward the arcade side in terms of handling. One thing I noticed right away driving the Mitsubishi Eclipse GT in the Trailblazer event is that the car handling model is definitely more forgiving on long drifts while countersteering. While negotiating medium-speed and and low-speed bends it's easy to swing the tail of the car wildly and sustain large drift angles without the threat of spinning the car out. One would really have to be careless on the throttle while applying power or be just plain reckless with steering inputs -- basically jerking the left stick (or wheel) back and forth -- in order to spin out.

Plus there is a lack of pace notes and any kind of co-driver or assistant who can inform the driver of the degree of the next series of bends and warn the driver of upcoming roadside hazards.

With that said, the DiRT 2 demo is definitely fun, and I'm confident to say that the full retail version should be a fun game to play as well. But don't get fooled and categorize this as a serious rally racing game.

Kruza

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:40 am

I guess everyone's still busy trying the NHL demo? I was hoping on some impressions this morning, but only one

I will be trying both demos tonite and over the weekend. Looking forward to DiRT2.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:47 am

Kruza wrote:Plus there is a lack of pace notes and any kind of co-driver or assistant who can inform the driver of the degree of the next series of bends and warn the driver of upcoming roadside hazards.

With that said, the DiRT 2 demo is definitely fun, and I'm confident to say that the full retail version should be a fun game to play as well. But don't get fooled and categorize this as a serious rally racing game.

Kruza

Sounds a lot like Rallisport Challenge for the original Xbox.

Take care,
PK

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:16 am

That's a good comparison as both games do play a lot alike. The only major difference I could tell between these games is that the controller doesn't vibrate playing DiRT 2 like it did while playng RalliSport Challenge. I really miss that. Heh, most people didn't like the excessive controller vibration in RSC, but I did. There's no controller vibration whatsoever while playing DiRT 2 and it feels just... empty. But regardless of controller feel, I am holding out hope that the Fanatec wheel coming out that can be used to play Forza 3 can support this game too. I really want to play DiRT 2 using that wheel.

At any rate, I have to mention that the effects of muddy water coming from a puddle splashing on the windshield is awesome. It really does hinder driver visibility for a couple seconds -- just before the wiper blades clean the windshield off.

I wish there would be snow and ice stages included for DiRT 2, but oh well. I think the current car handling model would be a perfect showcase to host this type of road surface.

Kruza

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:26 am

Kruza wrote:The only major difference I could tell between these games is that the controller doesn't vibrate playing DiRT 2 like it did while playng RalliSport Challenge ... Heh, most people didn't like the excessive controller vibration in RSC, but I did.

Hell, I loved that!

Very weird design decision by Codemasters to omit FFB in a racing game, especially an off-road game.

Take care,
PK

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:28 am

pk500 wrote:
Kruza wrote:The only major difference I could tell between these games is that the controller doesn't vibrate playing DiRT 2 like it did while playng RalliSport Challenge ... Heh, most people didn't like the excessive controller vibration in RSC, but I did.
Hell, I loved that!

Very weird design decision by Codemasters to omit FFB in a racing game, especially an off-road game.

Take care,
PK

That is a weird decision. Maybe just in the demo?
I thought Rallisport Challenge was a very underrated, fun game.