May 7th, 2011

DiRT 2

DiRT 2 (Colin McRae: DiRT 2) is the continuation of the popular off- road racer game launched by Codemaster in 2007. In this game you have the role of a pilot who starts with the famous Ken Block and Travis Pastrana for the first time.

In career mode, besides the fun that it offers you, you get to finish as champion, even if you're not the best in driving cars in the rally. The difficulty mode is medium and the damage and the control of the car are not realistic but are exciting and accessible. The car with which you start the career is Subaru Impreza, Colin McRae’s car. In addition, there are 34 other cars that have a rating system based on performance: acceleration, speed and direction. Along the way you can buy car upgrades and besides them you can set your car as you think is better for the next route.

Whether you drive a rally car, a trophy or a buggy, the control helps you to keep the car where you should, as you take tight curves, make spectacular jumps, and go through water or passing on portions of asphalt in a mud race. Although it is recommended a gamepad, the game can be controlled very well also from the keyboard. Every car is controlled different and looks incredible. It can be customized, and the damage can only be seen, without affecting the car's performance or may be more realistic, affecting all parts. The game offers six modes of difficulty and the system car reset is pretty interesting. You can activate the instant replay with 10, 15 seconds before the crash and you can resume the game from there. Because the opponents that are behaving quite realistic will always want to be in front of you, you may have problems in terms of accidents and you will be forced to use the replay system. In each race you play with seven opponents of which attitude towards you becomes increasingly respectable as you advance in the game. The concept of interacting with other drivers is interesting but the result is only related to results and not of the way you drive. The menu in career mode is very interesting, a kind of first person view that allows you to attend the next event in career if you read the notes on the table or you can buy new cars if you're going to garage.

This system provides added realism to the game yet from the menu. The graphics look incredible and the game tracks are excellent. Whether you're in the jungles of Malaysia, in the Utah desert, on the streets of London or in the closed stadium from Los Angeles, the sense of speed is excellent. The engines sound incredible and each car has a specific sound. Spectators and ambient sounds are also impressive and the energetic soundtrack keeps you plugged in. But not these details are transforming DiRT 2 into a superb game but the fact that it supports so many difficulty modes and forgives you many times through the gameplay and makes it available for new ones, while providing a challenge for veterans. You can play the trial version for free online.