Colin McRae: DiRT 2

Colin McRae: DiRT 2 for PC, PS3 and X360, which is a sequel to the very successful racing production by Codemasters, allows us to take part in a number of dynamic off-road tournaments. Compared to the original DiRT, the developers decided to put even larger emphasis on off-road racing which makes the game stand out with its very youth extreme atmosphere that still retains the class of its predecessors.

Mechanics

In the new DiRT, the single player mode was expanded and shows the true spirit of off-road racing in an exceptional way. It was designed to resemble that from GRID, the previous racing production of Codemasters. The players travel around the world, take part in races, and by winning them, build their reputation. Achieving high level lets us make friends with aces of the sport, such as Travis Pastrana and Ken Block. Our new friends invite us to special events and tournaments in which we can win incredibly attractive prizes.

DiRT 2 features a brilliant replay system, universally acclaimed in case of GRID. Enhancements were made in, among other things, the Flashback option that lets us reverse the time and forget about more serious mistakes that unable us to succeed in races. Moreover, the game features a completely new multiplayer mode, significantly better than that of the original DiRT. The players can take part in all classes of races and build their position by winning prizes and climbing up the ladder of the best race drivers. The gameplay mechanics were also updated.

Races take place in tens of locations. The available levels include, among others, a track near the Battersea power plant, which is famous because of the cover art of the Animals album by Pink Floyd.

Technical aspects

DiRT 2 is powered by EGO, a proprietary engine by Codemasters which the studio previously used in the original DiRT and GRID. Since the launch of the former and the latter, it was significantly modernized. Improvements were made in, among other things, the environment modelling, shading, and lighting. The developers also worked on implementing sharper textures while preserving the smoothness of the gameplay.

Last updated on 26 November 2009