DIRT 2

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:15 pm

Rodster wrote:
Teal wrote:Helpful tip: Don't play this one directly after playing Shift. It ain't pretty...
Which is easier to play? I still don't have either one.

Neither, and both. I love both of 'em, and I guess if I had to compare them, (which isn't easy), I'd say that Shift may be a tad easier to play, because of the tarmac/grip.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:35 pm

Teal wrote:
Rodster wrote:
Teal wrote:Helpful tip: Don't play this one directly after playing Shift. It ain't pretty...
Which is easier to play? I still don't have either one.
Neither, and both. I love both of 'em, and I guess if I had to compare them, (which isn't easy), I'd say that Shift may be a tad easier to play, because of the tarmac/grip.

Tarmac? Come on, boy, in Alabama they call that hard, black sh*t pavement!

Don't go all Euro on us, son!

Take care,
PK

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:41 pm

pk500 wrote: Tarmac? Come on, boy, in Alabama they call that hard, black sh*t pavement!

Don't go all Euro on us, son!

Take care,
PK

lol.

Teal (aka Charlie Daniels) go "Euro" on us"???
"Aint ever gonna happen, you sombitch"!

That's about as likely as PK getting back on XBL

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:51 pm

I just wanted to say thanks for the impressions. I downloaded the demo and liked it, but had some reservations on game length and other issues. But after reading the feedback, I could tell I would really like the game, so I ordered it.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:02 pm

pk500 wrote:
Teal wrote:
Rodster wrote: Which is easier to play? I still don't have either one.
Neither, and both. I love both of 'em, and I guess if I had to compare them, (which isn't easy), I'd say that Shift may be a tad easier to play, because of the tarmac/grip.
Tarmac? Come on, boy, in Alabama they call that hard, black sh*t pavement!

Don't go all Euro on us, son!

Take care,
PK

It's Blacktop in Alabama, ya ignorant yankee! Pavement is a sidewalk! (Damn, some people don't know nuthin'...)

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:03 pm

pk500 wrote:
Teal wrote:
Rodster wrote: Which is easier to play? I still don't have either one.
Neither, and both. I love both of 'em, and I guess if I had to compare them, (which isn't easy), I'd say that Shift may be a tad easier to play, because of the tarmac/grip.
Tarmac? Come on, boy, in Alabama they call that hard, black sh*t pavement!

Don't go all Euro on us, son!

Take care,
PK

When Teal starts spelling tires (tyres) you'll know he's definitely gone Euro.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:05 pm

JackB1 wrote:
pk500 wrote: Tarmac? Come on, boy, in Alabama they call that hard, black sh*t pavement!

Don't go all Euro on us, son!

Take care,
PK
lol.

Teal (aka Charlie Daniels) go "Euro" on us"???
"Aint ever gonna happen, you sombitch"!

That's about as likely as PK getting back on XBL

I refer you to the words of a certain well liked country song here:

If you're a downhome, backwoods redneck
Stand up, and raise your glass
But if you ain't down with my outlaw crowd
You can kiss my country ass...

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:06 pm

Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote:
Teal wrote: Neither, and both. I love both of 'em, and I guess if I had to compare them, (which isn't easy), I'd say that Shift may be a tad easier to play, because of the tarmac/grip.
Tarmac? Come on, boy, in Alabama they call that hard, black sh*t pavement!

Don't go all Euro on us, son!

Take care,
PK
When Teal starts spelling tires (tyres) you'll know he's definitely gone Euro.

Actually, the way we say it down here, it should be spelled TARS...

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:08 pm

Teal wrote:
Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote: Tarmac? Come on, boy, in Alabama they call that hard, black sh*t pavement!

Don't go all Euro on us, son!

Take care,
PK
When Teal starts spelling tires (tyres) you'll know he's definitely gone Euro.
Actually, the way we say it down here, it should be spelled TARS...

Oops you got me.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:10 pm

Rodster wrote:
Teal wrote:Helpful tip: Don't play this one directly after playing Shift. It ain't pretty...
Which is easier to play? I still don't have either one.

For me it is Dirt 2. Obviously you can make either game ultra hard or ultra easy depending on the settings, but the driving in Dirt 2 comes a lot more natural to me. I also like the driver AI in Dirt 2 more, as it seems to be more realistic than that of Shift. That is not to say Shift is not easy to play -- it's just that my personal driving style is more oriented toward racing on dirt and slick surfaces more than pavement.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:07 pm

Finally snagged a new X360 copy on ebay for $49.99 with shipping included.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:24 am

Picked this up as a rental over the weekend and so far I am enjoying it. It came with no manual, so I have a couple questions:

1) Does changing the difficulty level change the assists or handling (ie the physics) in any way, or does it just increase the performance of the AI, increase the money, and decrease the # of flashbacks.

2) Can anyone else using the wheel confirm that there is absolutely no force feedback? Seems strange decision for a rally game.

3) Not that I condone this, but how do you use those flashbacks?

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 9:49 am

DChaps,

For question 3, when you want to use a flashback, pause the game. You can rewind the replay to where you want to resume, and then hit X. The game will resume from that point. You can only go back so far, so use it fairly soon when you want a mulligan on a section. You'll also be prompted to use it if you total the car and have a flashback available.

I started playing this over the weekend and love it so far. It's like someone took what I loved from Project Gotham and put it in an off-road setting. My first raid race in Croatia was a riot -- looking for shortcuts and racing along a "track" that was massively overgrown in parts was so much fun. At one point I came out of a turn too hot and hit the side of an old stone building. During the replay, some of the stones gave way from the impact. That adds nothing to the racing but just looked so cool.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:27 pm

You can also use those flashbacks I've absolutely not used upwards of 100 times by pressing the right bumper instead of going through the pause menu, or at least us European Tarmac-based types can. Naturally I found this out through slipping onto the button while accelerating, and not because the flashbacks encourage me to push stupidly hard and crash a fair bit.

I'm trying to think of a racing game I've enjoyed more on this generation of consoles, and I'm struggling to think of one. Everything from the handling across the classes to the track design to the graphics is consistently brilliant.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:57 pm

Contrary to my own post I like Shift

but now that Ive read this thread Im getting this game too.

Thanks alot.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:59 pm

love the flashbacks!!!

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:18 pm

I played this extensively online last night for the first time.

I must say I was extremely irritated and frustrated with it. It seems that when you jump into their "Pro" mode online, where it's a round robin ranked match with whoever is doing it as well, it orders the starts in reverse level. Not random. But reverse level.

Think of racing an off-road game like Dirt 2 against a full field of ranked match assclowns behind you. I was level 1 so I started each race from the pole. There was one guy who was a level 119 and a bunch of others that were 15-45. That's a lot of experience behind them.

Anyway, 2 races in it was painfully obvious that cockpit camera will not work online for ranked. I wouldn't even make it to the first corner without getting absolutely cornholed into oblivion, going from 1st to last each time. I mean EVERY f*cking race. It was infuriating.

Then we'd do Trailblazer or Rally where there are no collisions and I'd win them. But if there were collisions? Game over. Every race. Absolutely infuriating.

I guess if you do nothing but TB or Rally for about 15 or 20 levels you'll be alright, as you get to start in the back and watch the carnage. But without having random starts, that's horribly frustrating. I couldn't even miss the carnage half the time because guys would flip, then spin it and take off right into the track to block you (or hit you) outright.

I had one clown named aTerribleFart that was the worst I've raced in any game (no shocker with a name like that). He would intentionally slam into a guy if you passed him. If he wrecked he'd back up and park in the middle of the track, etc. No way to boot him, either.

All in all, fantastic single player game, but the multiplayer was an exercise in extreme frustration.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:00 pm

TCrouch wrote:I played this extensively online last night for the first time.

I must say I was extremely irritated and frustrated with it. It seems that when you jump into their "Pro" mode online, where it's a round robin ranked match with whoever is doing it as well, it orders the starts in reverse level. Not random. But reverse level.

Think of racing an off-road game like Dirt 2 against a full field of ranked match assclowns behind you. I was level 1 so I started each race from the pole. There was one guy who was a level 119 and a bunch of others that were 15-45. That's a lot of experience behind them.

Anyway, 2 races in it was painfully obvious that cockpit camera will not work online for ranked. I wouldn't even make it to the first corner without getting absolutely cornholed into oblivion, going from 1st to last each time. I mean EVERY f*cking race. It was infuriating.

Then we'd do Trailblazer or Rally where there are no collisions and I'd win them. But if there were collisions? Game over. Every race. Absolutely infuriating.

I guess if you do nothing but TB or Rally for about 15 or 20 levels you'll be alright, as you get to start in the back and watch the carnage. But without having random starts, that's horribly frustrating. I couldn't even miss the carnage half the time because guys would flip, then spin it and take off right into the track to block you (or hit you) outright.

I had one clown named aTerribleFart that was the worst I've raced in any game (no shocker with a name like that). He would intentionally slam into a guy if you passed him. If he wrecked he'd back up and park in the middle of the track, etc. No way to boot him, either.

All in all, fantastic single player game, but the multiplayer was an exercise in extreme frustration.

XBL+Randoms=whadjaexpect?!?!?!

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:03 pm

Typically I can find a way to avoid the carnage in any racing game in history. This is what I do.

Yet in this game, you have nowhere to go. No little runoffs to quickly pull over to the side. The Rally Cross events are the worst, as you can at least let the rest of the line go in the land rush events.

But in pavement games it's easy to make a decision. In this one, they can plow you and send you teetering, then you're always going to be close to a bump or a jump, so you're suddenly flipping end over end without fail.

I can race randoms in almost any game out there and have some fun--with this, it was anything but. The Rallies and Trailblazers were awesome, though.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:22 pm

We really need to get a night together where we can play this game with our private group. It would be great fun, and in the unranked sessions you can mix and match vehicles to tracks at your will, so that would be nutty.

I don't think I could do it this week, but Thursday may work out. We should think about it.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:16 pm

Brando70 wrote: My first raid race in Croatia was a riot -- looking for shortcuts and racing along a "track" that was massively overgrown in parts was so much fun. At one point I came out of a turn too hot and hit the side of an old stone building. During the replay, some of the stones gave way from the impact. That adds nothing to the racing but just looked so cool.

I think I know that wall, I've hit that one a few times already.

This is probably my favorite racer so far on the 360 now, the graphics are beautiful, the controls are great, the whole presentation is just pure fun!

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:35 pm

Thanks for the feedback, so can anyone answer questions 1 and 2?

1) Does changing the difficulty level change the assists or handling (ie the physics) in any way, or does it just increase the performance of the AI, increase the money, and decrease the # of flashbacks.

2) Can anyone else using the wheel confirm that there is absolutely no force feedback? Seems strange decision for a rally game.

TCrouch wrote:Typically I can find a way to avoid the carnage in any racing game in history. This is what I do.

I can attest to that. Terry is fast, but in all my years of sim racing I have never seen anyone as adept at avoiding crashes and being involved in incidents. It is an art. I watched countless replays of Terry from our NR2003 racing league where he could always avoid trouble, no matter what kind of bone headed moves the rest of us were pulling.

That sounds like an extremely frustrating online experience, but I would bet that we could solve that real quick with a poker night or two.

One last question, for the time trials does it allow you to use flashbacks there as well? If so, once again we have another racing title where the comparison of times on your friends list really means nothing as it does not take into account what cheats or assists you used to get there, nor does it even show it.

WPatrick · Post by **WPatrick** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:55 pm

TCrouch wrote:Typically I can find a way to avoid the carnage in any racing game in history. This is what I do.

Yet in this game, you have nowhere to go. No little runoffs to quickly pull over to the side. The Rally Cross events are the worst, as you can at least let the rest of the line go in the land rush events.

But in pavement games it's easy to make a decision. In this one, they can plow you and send you teetering, then you're always going to be close to a bump or a jump, so you're suddenly flipping end over end without fail.

I can race randoms in almost any game out there and have some fun--with this, it was anything but. The Rallies and Trailblazers were awesome, though.

I am loving this game online and off. I have been spun numerous times online, but I just don't expect a lot of racing etiquette in a game like this.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:56 pm

1) I didn't notice a change in handling from Serious to Savage to Hardcore. It would appear to just make the AI faster, give you less flashbacks, and give you more cash.

2) I'll try the wheel again tonight, Don, but I'm damn sure I had FF when I played it before. It may have been a rumble over ruts or something, but I KNOW I had FF. Then again, I had FF when other people complained previously about it not being there in some other game. I think I have the magic wheel

I'm all for a poker night. Especially the rallies, those were an absolute blast since you were "racing" ghost cars and not just the clock. Very cool.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:57 pm

WPatrick wrote:I am loving this game online and off. I have been spun numerous times online, but I just don't expect a lot of racing etiquette in a game like this.

Why not? Racing is racing. What about offroad or rally racing invites people to act like tools? I don't get it.