PlayWhat - DiRT

DiRT
Publisher:	Codemasters	Developer:	Codemasters
Released:	06/19/2007	Updated:	07/26/2007
Official:	Game Homepage	ESRB:	Everyone
Genres:	Simulation, Driving, Racing

Description:

DiRT, another addition to the Colin McRae franchise, is a rally racing game that lets you barrel through, as the name suggests, lots of dirt-covered off-road courses as well as some track races, in a variety of rally cars and 4x4 vehicles. Visually, the game is dazzling and provides a strong sense of realism; light, for instance, reflects cleanly off of your car's highly-polished paint job at the beginning of a race and becomes muddier as your car takes damage and gets grimy. The courses, particularly the landscapes on the off-road tracks, are beautiful and authentic; each S-curve and mud puddle is detailed to function as it would in its actual setting. You control your car using the keyboard's arrow keys - up and down arrows respectively to accelerate and brake, left and right arrows to steer. Unfortunately, these controls are hyper-sensitive and you can easily send your car into a 360-degree spin if you're not careful - one of the few pitfalls of the game. The default camera angle is a third-person, follow-the-car view, but you can switch to first-person perspective to get a true sense of immersion. Renowned Motocross racer Travis Pastrana provides lively narration for the game, upping the cool factor in this already slick racing title. Though newbies may have difficulty adjusting to the extreme sensitivity of the controls, fans of previous Colin McRae games and rally racing fans in general are sure to get a kick out of DiRT.