Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the most difficult/exciting/unforgiving/rewarding racing games I've ever played.
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2016
Trix are for kids. I would say Dirt Rally is not. It's a game that doesn't coddle your lack of control, like most racing games. There are no invisible walls disguised as fences and guardrails to gently nudge you back onto the track when you enter a corner a bit too eagerly. Sure, there are fences; but if you hit one at speed, you're going to go through it, and possibly into a tree where your lap abruptly ends. This is probably my favorite thing about this game that so many racing sims before it have lacked: That element of risk. The courses are truly open, and your every screw-up can have painful repercussions.
If you're used to traditional racing sims, you'll find yourself glancing up at the corner of the screen for a map. It's not there. Your only clue to what's ahead is that voice in your ear rattling off an endless stream of numbers and terms you're probably not familiar with. You might notice that the faster you drive, the faster and more frantic these instructions become. If rally is new to you, this is going to really throw you off. What does all this rambling mean?! Eventually, though, it just clicks. Your brain starts drawing the course ahead of you from the instructions, even when you're not paying attention to the words. So if you're having trouble with this bit, just stick with it. Granted, a tutorial mode would have been immensely helpful to get players familiar with this! There are plans for tutorial videos in the April update that should help a bit.
The physics model is very well done. The different surfaces and conditions all have a dramatic effect on how the car handles, and often change dynamically throughout a stage. It's something best experienced with a force-feedback wheel. Yes, you can play half-decently with a controller, but you're really missing out. I even played the first couple days with a keyboard (I really don't recommend that.)
The damage model, I feel, is almost too forgiving. Smacking head-long into a tree at 50mph isn't necessarily the end of your race, as it would be in the real world. You may bust your radiator and headlights and crack the windshield, but a lot of times the car can be reset and continue on. This is something I'd tweak if I could. It's still brutal enough to give a good sense of realism and risk, though. It's not too hard to puncture a tire, which will cost you a lot of time. Damaging your lights at night is also a show-stopper.
Graphics and sound are fantastic. The tracks are rendered in beautiful detail - so much so that I've wrecked while taking in the scenery at the wrong time. The engines sound true to life, and all the pops from the exhaust are there. Water and dirt collect on the windshield and effect your visibility. Keep the wiper button handy if you're driving through water! I wish there were more of these in the game. All of this runs very smoothly, even at max detail levels on the right machine. (My specs are below for reference.)
Content-wise, the game is pretty generous. There are a lot of courses, with many variations of time and weather and direction. Most are quite long, too, so the game does not get repetitive. Global Rallycross mode adds a lot entertainment as well if you're looking for some closed-circuit, car-on-car distraction. Hillclimb mode is there, although that mode is a bit lacking (more on that below.) There are a decent number of cars now in the full release of the game. Sure, there are a lot of holes that fans of the sport will want to see filled if licensing allows (Group B RX-7 from the 80's?) but there's a wide selection available with more to come in April.
My only real complaint with this game is the strict separation of game modes. Particularly hillclimb: They've recreated Pikes Peak in stunning detail, but limited it to just a single class of just 3 cars! It's one of the best locations in the game but can't be enjoyed in most of the game's vehicles. I really hoped they would have this fixed before early release ended, but two months later it's still a disappointment. Hillclimb really needs more classes, particularly with more production-based vehicles.
All-in-all, Dirt Rally is a solid racing sim and a great platform for future expansion that I hope Codemasters continues to build on.
Specs of my machine for reference:
Intel 6700k CPU @ stock clocks
EVGA 980GTX SC @ stock clocks
16GB AData DDR4 2800 ram
Samsung 850 EVO 512GB SSD
![DiRT Rally - V1.0 Full Release [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51x5yvp0+yL._AC_US60_SCLZZZZZZZ__.jpg)
