Dirt 2 PC Game Review

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The races vary between your usual race to the finish line, time trials, and so on. The game also keeps up with your stats like fastest lap speed, longest jump, and other things that help track your progress. The online multiplayer racing is equally as fun where you can compete against real drivers instead of computer-driven vehicles. This changes things quite a bit when you’re not going up against somebody pre-programmed to follow certain paths.

My only complaint about the design of this game is that it’s a little menu-heavy. Sometimes you just want to hit a few buttons and race, but this game makes you select this and that on various different screens and it gets a little tedious when you have to do it every time. A lot was put into making for a realistic environment back at your home area, but getting from the main menu to a race takes a lot of user input.

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On the plus side, this game has a really cool feature called flashbacks where if you do wreck, you can actually go back a few seconds in time and correct the problem. I love this feature because too often you’ll be doing really well in a multi-lap race, then have one slip right at the end and blow the whole thing. By using a flashback, you can correct your error without having to run the whole race again. It may be kind of like cheating, but it does help keep frustration levels down.

You are greatly encouraged to use a gamepad or some kind of controller to play Dirt 2 PC, because it is virtually impossible any other way. You can play with the keyboard arrow keys, but I’d be impressed to see anyone do so and not place last in a race. The reason is that you need a controller than can handle sensitivity based on how much you are turning, otherwise you’ll just spin out of control. That being said, I thought the controls in this game were pretty solid. I hate racing games where it’s too easy to lose control of the vehicle, and this one gives you some room to play. The key to it all is learning how to take turns without losing too much speed or momentum, and that’s pretty much the secret to getting through all racing games.

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The graphic engine in this game uses what I can best describe as motion blurs to show sudden movement, and it really adds to the realism of the game. I was impressed by the physics of it all as the cars jump and crash, plus I have to admit that I like seeing dirt and mud fly while I am racing around. I think off road racing games are superior to regular old asphalt track racing games because the environment is much more challenging and volatile.

A full soundtrack of real songs, as opposed to computer synthesized music, makes up the music you’ll hear while racing. You’ll also hear lots of narration and comments from other racers, great engine and car sound effects, and more. It’s even better if you have a surround sound set of speakers for your computer.

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Be sure to check out the free Dirt 2 demo that lets you race two different vehicles on two tracks. It’s a great introduction to the game and will really make you want to play more.