Colin McRae DiRT Review

Having looked increasingly like a franchise in danger of being watered down from a series of annual updates, Codemasters did the sensible thing and confirmed that the Colin McRae rally series would take a twelve month hiatus, returning this year to make its debut on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3. The break has now ended, and the Scot has returned with the sixth instalment in the series, Colin McRae DiRT on Xbox 360, with the PS3 version due to start racing in the late summer.

The first title from Codies to utilise their proprietary Neon engine (as well as their recently unveiled new look Corporate Logo), DiRT aims to regenerate the series with new takes on the traditional modes, as well as multiplayer competitions for up to 100 gamers at a time - and lashings of next-gen visual effects. But with more of a mainstream feel to the game, does DiRT manage to take the classic rally sim franchise to the next level?

It's safe to say that Codemasters have spent the gap between Colin McRae 2005 and DiRT trying to broaden the appeal of the series. Much more of a sim compared to the likes of other rally titles - with the exception of Richard Burns Rally - the Colin McRae franchise has managed to build a strong following of diehard rallying fans. But it does seem that a number of elements have been implemented into the core structure of the game that may very well make that group feel like they've been abandoned. Not only has the developer/publisher expanded the range of vehicle types available to players (with SUVs and rigs just two examples), and added new race types (such as the Championship Off-Road Racing, CORR events), but there's been a concerted effort to 'Americanise' the franchise, with an American accented guide and the appearance of dynamic difficulties between rallies.

Racing to the top

Codemasters' intentions are made abundantly clear right from the start of the game with a major overhaul of the Career mode. Dropping the idea of beginning in the lower echelons of rallying, where 2WD MG ZRs and Citroen Saxos rule the roads before pulling yourself up the slopes to become 4WD Rally Champion, DiRT instead offers a pyramid structure that unlocks more tiers as players progress and score points. The Career mode not only opens up the experience to be less linear in structure; it also expands upon the number of race types available for players to take part in. Breaking away from the restricting focus of 'traditional' rallying, DiRT also includes RallyCross and the aforementioned CORR events, multi-vehicle events that pit players against competitors on the same track for the first time. The new structure to the Career mode is a far cry from the traditional format of the past, and feels much closer to Codemasters' other racing franchise, TOCA - especially when you jump from Hill Climbs in rigs to CORR dirt buggies in consecutive events. New vehicles and liveries can be bought and are unlocked as the Career progresses, subsequently opening them up in the single event/race Rally World mode or the Championship mode, so there's an added feeling of progression if climbing a pyramid doesn't quite pull it off for you.

Thankfully, for followers of the Colin McRae series, Codies has added to the depth and variety offered in the Career mode with a much more traditional structure in the Championship mode. Breaking up the gameplay into four distinct championships, from single country "National" events through to the Euro-centric "European" competition and the ultimate six country "Global" championship, players are able enjoy the strategy of Shakedowns and Staging Areas like they've always done in the past. Offering a more in-depth rallying experience compared to the playability offered in the Career mode, the Championship nonetheless is testament for Codemasters' decision to pull a McRae release in 2006.

Although the likes of McRae and the late Richard Burns managed to fly the flag for rallying in the UK, there's little doubt as to where the true masters of the sport reside: Scandinavia. In the last twenty years, the Swedes, Finns, and the occasional Norwegian, have reigned supreme in the official World Rally Championship, winning the Drivers Championship eleven times...in other words, they dominate the rallying landscape; which is why the omission of any kind of Scandinavian rally is perhaps one of the strangest decisions we've seen in a while. It's like EA removing the Brazilians from the next FIFA, or Metal Gear Solid 4 not featuring Snake, it just shouldn't happen. Perhaps it's all part of Codies' plan to bring DiRT to the masses of the United States, or perhaps it just meant that the development team didn't have to worry about programming snow and ice effects? What ever the reason, the Scandinavians' disappearance is blaringly obvious, and may just add another straw to the camel of changes brought to the series this time around.

Taking the wheel

With a 'light and tight' approach to the handling of the vehicles, which at times makes it seem that the franchise has taken a turn towards a more arcade experience than previously, the actual races feel fast paced without being overly frantic. Another instance of Codemasters' desire to expand the target audience perhaps, belting through the mountainous regions of Japan or the small hamlets of Germany has never been more controllable in the series, with the desire to push the car faster around turns proves to be quite compelling - even if you do end up going into the occasional pine.

Surpassing the disappointing damage modelling of Turn 10's Forza 2, DiRT literally smashes its cars into tiny pieces, with major crumpling occurring throughout the cars when they find themselves ploughing into the side of a track or a boulder. As with previous Colin McRae instalments, damage to the cars is extensive, with wheels flying off, windows smashing, door being ripped off, and the general shredding of paint and body work all coming together to at make it look like you've had a crash (which is more than Microsoft's benchmark driving sim can boast). Further component damage also rears its head, especially during the more challenging difficulty levels like Pro Am and Professional, where drive trains and cooling systems can shatter with a single mistake, ending hopes of a win in an instant. There's a tangible sense of impact too, not only because of the damage, but also because of subtle blurring helping to bring a sense of how much the chassis shudders over some of the more aggressive road surfaces. But the damage has always been an impressive feature of the series to date, so it's easy to expect nothing less from the title.

There's no denying that Codemasters remain very capable of producing a title with very slick presentation; DiRT quite frankly oozes it, especially in the main menu and the loading screens in between races, where a players stats are displayed while they wait (and wait a bit more...the loading times are a bit longer than we'd expect). Following in the footsteps of EA's output in the next-generation, DiRT spills litres of bloom and HDR lighting from most corners of the locations in the game, adding more fuel to the fiery debate on how much 'cheap' post-production effects lift the visual style of a next-gen title. But whilst the bright sun brings an extra layer of paint to the graphics, much of it is lost in the dark clouds of Blighty, with UK-based rallies managing to look glummer than a bank holiday weekend. When that happens, DiRT's spit and polish becomes something resembling quite ordinary.

For all its HDR glory, Codemasters' Neon engine does omit one visual and gameplay element, already used in MotorStorm and featured more heavily in the upcoming SEGA Rally...track degradation. For a franchise that has always prided itself on its visual detail and obsession to rallying sim perfection, the fact that in its first next-gen outing the track isn't ploughed under the ferocious friction of the cars' wheels, is a major disappointment. With the new race types of RallyCross and Rally Raid introducing multiple vehicular and multi-lap races for the first time to the series, you'd expect that Codies' in-house team would have jumped at the chance to show off Neon to its fullest, digging the dirt from DiRT's tracks. But it quite simply doesn't.

Taking the race online

Away from the pyramid of the Career mode, or the more traditional structure of the Championship mode, DiRT's Multiplayer mode offers one of the most inclusive and yet isolating online experience. Whilst the one hundred players per lobby is a nice stat to boast from the pages of a factsheet or product page, the fact that communication (likely due to the pressure of bandwidth) is achieved through text chat is a little unusual. One saving grace is of course that you don't have to put up with the usual slanging matches that crop up throughout Xbox Live. Following Bungie's lead in Halo 3, DiRT's multiplayer mode offers a somewhat distinct whiff of democracy, with players able to vote for the next race. Our experience of the voting feature however, was that only a small percentage of gamers actually used their 'right to vote', though whether this was down to a less than intuitive interface system or just gamer apathy, we're not quiet sure.