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DIRT XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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DiRT comes
to the Xbox 360 racing scene in full throttle,
with next-generation graphics and gameplay
innovations. While it reinvents the benchmark
for off-road racing, that is not to say that
there are no stumbling blocks to its other
content. On its shell, this is basically an
improved Collin McRae title but the driving
mechanics are more like the Rallisport Challenge
on the old Xbox console. Visually, the game will
blow you away! The rendering of cars, tracks,
and damage modeling are in its finest seen to
date! It’s easy to be mesmerized by how the cars
look so photo-realistic that you think you
actually own one of them. The tracks are just as
impressive. From the countryside of Britain to
the dry outskirts of Italy, the game truly takes
you there. DiRT uses the lighting effects
effectively, not just to show off the shiny
paint job on cars but to bring out an
unbelievable realism of atmosphere towards the
environment.
One of the most brilliant aspects of the game is
the damage design on how cars can disintegrate
into debris of scrap metals. You can trash your
doors, shatter your windshield, or even tear-up
your shiny bumper during a hard collision, where
your car flips over and over again. While the
remaining parts of a vehicle slowly give way to
the force of nature, underneath the wheels,
there is a whole of mud, dirt, and gravel
constantly kicking into your face! So expect
your car to be buried with a thick pile of road
grime when the dust settles. The game also gives
you room to drive recklessly. You can bust
through barriers, fences, and bushes if you want
to cut everybody off. Another jaw-dropping
visual feat in the game is the navigational
menus. It’s built with hovering boxes with
selectable options that focus in and out when
highlighted.
During the loading screens, you are presented
with real-time stats of your accomplishments,
ranging from the longest jump, fastest speed,
favorite tracks, etc. DiRT's overall
presentation may seem impressive to fans of
racing, but the
performance is not up to par. The game can be
frustrating at times due to its unstable frame
rate. The animation on single-player session is
fine but it becomes unbearable when multiple
vehicles are bunched up on the screen. The most
irritable part is the long load times. You're
sitting there pumped up, waiting to smoke your
opponents, but the lengthy loading just gets you
annoyed and drains your appetite to compete.
Fortunately, the racing portion is easy to pick
up. Codemasters made sure that the driving
aspect is more on the arcade side rather than
fussing on pure realism. Still, the higher the
difficulty level is, the more sensitive the car
becomes to damage and flipping over. |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 8.0 OUT OF 10 |
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The physics
of the game are far from being realistic—that is
not to say they are out of control. Actually,
the wackiness of it translates to some of the
most amazing car wrecks! When you’re driving,
you feel as though you’re floating for each bump
you clear on the track. You just need to nail
the control to get the feel of the racing
mechanics. The game features an incredible
collection of camera views. You can immerse
yourself in the racing experience depending on
what kind of camera perspective you choose. You
can go for the full cockpit mode for intense
realism or go for the overhead view to gain a
level of the playing field. When you adjust the
camera, you also adjust the sounds of the engine
surrounding you. The closer you are to the
cockpit mode, the louder the sound of the engine
roaring.
Speaking of sounds, the game’s audio component did a fine
job in producing materials needed to evoke a
racing environment, including those spectacular
crashes, “burning” of rubber tires, tearing up the
tarmac, engine noise, and what not. The
voice-over work is alright for the most part. It could use more
enthusiastic dialogues in the future. The edgy music
fits the object of the game well, providing
players some adrenaline rush. However, these
soundtracks aren’t licensed at all. The game
includes six different racing options, which are
broken into rally, rally cross, hill climb, CORR,
crossover, and rally-oriented competitions. DiRT
also has a nice intersecting career mode where
winning races earns you points, which unlock new
tiers. The cash you potted buys new cars and
upgrades. There are about 45 vehicles to unlock
and more than 50 career events to complete.
Don't be surprised when your thumbs balloon up
with calluses.
The whole single-player experience of DiRT is
great but we can’t say the same for the
multiplayer mode. First, you are only limited to
rally and hill climb. Second, there is no way
for you to pick specific cars or tracks that are
available offline. Third, there is no online
racing. Still, DiRT is an amazing off-road game
in terms of graphics, damage modeling, sounds,
and single-player experience. The game’s arcade
nature put you at ease for a more casual driving
style, while the sleek camera views provide you
with a greater level of comfort. We like the
idea that you can bust through fences and
various barriers. That's a nice touch to cutting
corners to gain a lead. We especially like the
fact that you can drive those big rigs, yep, you
heard it right. Just imagine the chaos
semi-trucks can bring onto the tracks! But DiRT
isn’t perfect. It is riddled with long load
times and fluctuating frame rate; however, if
you can look pass its shortcomings, you should
be able to enjoy the game. For now, DiRT sits at
the throne for best off-road title--that is
until maybe a more sophisticated Rallisport
Challenge comes to the Xbox 360 scene. |
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