Review: Colin McRae: DiRT (360)

Just like the man himself, the Colin McRae rally series has been at the forefront of the rallying genre; but the series did start to become stale, particularly with the last instalment. With increased competition, Codemasters have stepped up their game: DiRT gives the series a much-needed boost, adding far more variety than ever before, and it's really paid off. Along with the recent Forza 2, this game belongs in every racing fan's collection.

It's not just rallying that will occupy your time now; yes, standard rallies are what feature predominately, however a vaster library of vehicles can be driven along with a broader selection of game modes. Alongside the classic rally cars are super buggies, trucks and even big rigs. All handle differently as you would expect, with super buggies being far lighter and bouncing around after each small pot hole, whereas the big rigs are obviously far heavier and taking a tight corner at top speed could result in you tipping over. The race modes now include the likes of Crossover (head to head circuits), CORR (off road buggy racing) and hill climbs. It makes the career mode a lengthy and enjoyable treat.

The career is designed like a pyramid with each course having a certain number of races to compete in. Earn more points in each race and you can access new events and a higher tier. You earn money and can buy new vehicles, but if you're stuck on what to buy, a friendly announcer will give you a quick rundown of the pros and the cons of your highlighted choice at the press of a button. This makes it easy for those who don't understand the jargon involved, which is incredibly useful considering how each car handles differently and how important the fine-tuning of cars is to beating the harder settings in the game.

Where DiRT really excels, though, is how well-presented the whole game is. The menu system is the best Gamestyle has ever seen and looks like it jumped straight out of a sci-fi movie like Minority Report. Loading times are also made more interesting by giving you a meticulous rundown of your current stats (from how many races you've won to how far you've driven without crashing). Crashing is another area where DiRT is king (and no, we're not talking about the console crashing): vehicle damage is the most realistic we've seen, maybe even outdoing Forza 2. Your car will crumple, paint will peel off, and by the end of the race, your car will be absolutely covered in mud and dirt... assuming you make it to the end of the race, of course! After too many accidents, handling will suffer, causing steering problems. Have a big enough crash and you could suffer terminal damage, ending your race. Even though you win nothing for doing so, we actually enjoyed the crashing so much we would do it on purpose - it's the Burnout of the rally world, and is brought to life by the stunning graphics which really are some of the best on the console.

There is one area where the game falters - online. The back of the box claims the presence a 100-player online mode, which it has; but the more gullible consumer might take that to mean racing together. It's basically just a fancy time trial, making it no different from racing a track on your own and comparing times with others around the world, which happens after every offline race anyway. It's even more disappointing considering that there are races offline which do have around eight people competing. It seems really lazy of Codemasters not to take these online - an important feature in all racers these days. But if you're a time trial nut, you'll probably find something appealing.

DiRT is very much an offline game, so if you're looking for online thrills, look elsewhere, it does not deliver. What it does deliver, however, is a single player treat that is nothing short of fantastic. A lengthy career mode, not to mention the various rally championships to compete in, make this the definitive rally experience. DiRT 2 has a lot to live up to.

Rating: 9 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver