DiRT 3 Review

Ever since the first Colin McRae Rally was released in 1998, Codemasters have been leading the way in rally games. But when they decided to pull away from just a rally-oriented game to Dirt in 2007, which introduced events like rally-cross and rally raid from just the normal point to point stages, this opened doors to new players. In 2009 Codemasters moved away from rally almost altogether with DiRT 2. This was all about the X-Games and lost the feel of the older Colin McRae games. So will DiRT 3 be able to reignite the thrill of flying down single track dirt roads and snow covered mountain passes like the Colin McRae Rally games of old?

The first thing that you notice it that Codemasters have decided not to use Colin McRae’s name. Instead this game will revolve around Ken Block and the new game mode Gymkhana. Like the DiRT games that have come before, you will have to encounter all kinds of environment including dirt, asphalt and snow in events including rally, trailblazers and rally cross.

The career mode is split up into four seasons; for every race that you win you will get reputation which you use to unlock more events and tournaments. As you progress through the seasons, the difficulty gets increasingly harder and the stages/races get longer. You can earn reputation in three ways, the higher up the order in the race you finish, the more you will get. In each race there are also bonus challenges that you can try and complete; for example, travel faster then 100 mph and complete a lap in 2:10 or under. You can also get reputation for your unused flashbacks.

One thing where Codemasters seem to have made a mistake is instead of having money to buy the cars that you want to use in the races, they get unlocked as you level-up and you are given them by sponsors who then have their graphics all over the car. This, therefore, can make some of cars irrelevant. But this does however let you try most cars without having to worry about saving your money for a different event.

Obviously the selling point of this game is the new game mode Gymkhana, where you can have the chance to step into Ken Block’s shoes. If we’re being honest, you can act like you wanted to when you were young and handbrake your car around the waste lands of Battersea Power Station. To unlock the Battersea Power Station you will need to complete the first season; every other season you complete after that awards you with more of the Power Station.

As well as flying around Battersea there are competitive Gymkhana events where you can compete against the best in the world. In the competitive Gymkhana events there are five obstacles that you will have to drive round, through, over and drift under to gain points and climb up the leader boards. Some of the obstacles that you will need to safely drive your car round will include, drifting through the yellow poles, drifting under the lorries that are dotted about the courses and spin in the boxes that are marked out by the four purple poles.

Even though DiRT 2 moved away from your “normal” rally stages I am glad to say that Codemasters have included more of them in this game and it starts to feel more like a Colin McRae game again. With a vast array of vehicles to choose from, including classics from the rally world like the original Mini and Lancia Delta Integrale, to modern day race cars like the Ford Fiesta and Citroen C4. Another new addition to this instalment of Dirt is the ability to upload your replay straight to YouTube and show off your skill to the world.

The cars in this game are really easy to control including in the Gymkhana section of the game. If anyone has played the recent Shift game from EA you would have noticed that the drifting section of that game is near impossible. But in DiRT 3 anyone really can come and pick up a controller and get any car sideways and have fun. Along with the pick up and playability of the game, the menus are really easy to navigate for new players to the game, with a walkthough the first time that you put the disc in.

Overall DiRT 3 seems to have moved forward from DiRT 2 with more features and vehicles. This game has brought rallying to everyone and has shown people what Gymkhana is. Also with the introduction of Gymkhana and the ability to upload straight to YouTube you can show off to your friends and even the world what skills you’ve got.