DiRT is a well renowned franchise that has gained popularity not just among hardcore rally enthusiasts, but also a wider casual audience. The last iteration in the franchise, DiRT Showdown, lacked the magic that the series had held up until that point, and for a minute it had us all worried. With DiRT Rally the team at Codemasters have taken things back to basics. Gone are the flashy menus and overly Americanised voice overs, and in has come a bare bones ‘simcade’ racer with piles of potential.
The game currently contains an impressive roster of cars and circuits, with players being able to attack Pikes Peak in a Group B Audi Quattro, before seamlessly switching to RallyX circuit racing, ‘Joker’ laps and all. All of the above being rendered in the new EGO engine ensures that this is one of the most visually stunning games from Codemasters to date. However none of this matters if the handling model is not up to spec, good news is that it is. The car feels connected to the road, the sense of speed has been nailed down and mistakes will punish the players while at the same time allowing them a small window to escape such punishment.
The new game currently dwells on Steams Early Access marketplace, with players able to buy the base game for around £25. In traditional Early Access style, future updates (up to an official store release) will be free to anyone who makes this initial purchase. You can buy the game from Steam or directly from the official Codemasters site.
Published: Sep 30, 2015 04:20 pm