Dirt 360

[Winnow]

fun fun fun game!

What makes Dirt great is the opposite of what makes Forza 2 a good game. Dirt is all fun road rally type racing.

-outstanding graphics
-physics great for more arcade oriented game than Forza 2
-If you wipe out or screw up running off the track, you're put back on pretty fast and you still have a chance
-damage model/physics are outstanding. My car was beat to hell.
-buttload of tracks with a wide variety of environments
-game gets you up and running fast with quick overview

I'm playing on "very easy" mode...managed to find a mode easier than easy. It's perfect for me! I can have fun and play a sort of demolition style mode. As with Forza 2, if you play any of the four or five higher difficulty modes, your car's damage is a factor and the competition is a lot harder but you also make more money for winning high difficulty races.

This is the game for those that want to have fun racing and aren't concerned about realism.

Some youtubes of the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmuNwb47Gas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giYV7C4B ... ed&search=

I've only played on a dirt track so far but the variety of terrain should keep this one interesting.

Deserves the 84 rating on Metacritic.

[Janx]

cock - pit view is outstanding. All racing games need to have the same level of detail when using a behind the wheel view.

[Winnow]

cock - pit view is outstanding. All racing games need to have the same level of detail when using a behind the wheel view.

I like to use the view from behind my car while racing but the cockpit and front views are fun to watch in replay.

I just completed my first Rally - 4WD. The game is excellent in preparing you for the races and explaining things. My navigator dude calling out the upcoming turns and difficulty of the turn was a huge help. Replaying the game in free-view (where the camera randomly changes viewpoints) I could see my navigator looking at me with a "wtf" look as I ran off the side of the road and into a trench. I guess he took it personally. lol. At one point a broke my fender off and ended up pushing it down the road for a quarter mile or so.

There's a slow motion button during replay that really shows off the graphics. The replays are addicting as they look so good. Keep in in the default random view for most entertainment.

The types of races and pyramid of races to climb to the end of the game is impressive. This game is all the better for letting people who suck at racing still have fun. Best racing game out there atm (except for Forza 2 if you're into realism, customization and super twinking). Will have to get the opinions of those that have played the PS3 Morostorm game after they've played Dirt.

[Winnow]

After playing Dirt for a few hours, it's only getting better.

For the first few races I was on a desert track or desert roads which looked great but once I started hitting Rallys in France, Japan, Australia, etc, the varied landscapes are beautiful.

There's 100 different events/courses and I'm still on the bottom row of the pyramid with eight events completed (8% of game completed) with what looks to be 10 tiers above me. That's on "Rookie" Very easy mode with four difficulty levels above that. Regular track races, rallys, cross rallys, and hill climbs are the main types of races. Some of the rallys switch from dirt to asphalt in various parts which completely changes the handling of course.

The Japanese race just completed was mostly downhill which required lots of hand braking with wet road conditions. I found myself sacrificing a little time to sneak a peak at the scenery. I'll have to cit back on that and check it out on the replays.

This is already my favorite racing game ever with maybe only the original Burnout beating it for head-to-head racing against a live opponent (since Dirt doesn't have split screen mode)

9.3/10 Winnow Game Hall of Fame Candidate.

[Animalor]

So how does it stack up against Motorstorm though? Cause I personally was really impressed with the graphics that I saw on the PS3 demo stations.

[Winnow]

So how does it stack up against Motorstorm though? Cause I personally was really impressed with the graphics that I saw on the PS3 demo stations.

I've only seen videos of Motorstorm but it seems more arcadish and focused on the physics of bodies flying around after crashes.

Watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBWzxcbMmqo

Half of it is slow motion of rag doll physics after crashes. Dirt, while not a technically realistic as Forza 2, is still focused on driving. You won't see explosions and bodies flying around. All the Motorstorm videos I can find are set in the desert as well while Dirt has an amazing variety of environments both for visual eye candy and that actually affect your driving.

Motorstorm is more comparable to a game like Burnout while Dirt still has one foot on the ground based on reality.

Depending on what graphics you mean, Dirt has the more realistic vehicles, environments and driving physics while Motorstorm may have the better "blur" effects from going turbo speed and rag doll physics when you wipeout. I'd give Motorstorm a try for sure if it was on 360. It's the only PS3 game that looks interesting to me atm.

[Boogahz]

I picked this up last night, and I am loving it. I got through the second tier on the rookie difficulty, and I figured out that I really did need to do a tougher setting in order to afford the vehicles needed for some of the new races unlocked in tier three. I want to check out the online races to see what they're like, but I plan on finishing more of career mode first. The box mentions 100 player races which seems unreal. I am guessing that is the pool size rather than the number in each race.

[Winnow]

The box mentions 100 player races which seems unreal. I am guessing that is the pool size rather than the number in each race.

Aye, great game.

Is the 100 player online possibly a tournament elimination style? have 10 races with 10 people then start eliminating and reseeding as you make it up the ladder.

I played a little "The Darkness" on the 360 last night and have had fun so far. Will post about that on the other thread later.

[Boogahz]

I am not entirely sure. It states "100 player online mode," and if you look at the game specs it shows "online multiplayer 2-100."

Aha, checked out the manual and it states:

100 player online mode
In DiRT you can take part in online races with up to 100 people at the same time on a Rally or Hill Climb stage. To do this, go to the Xbox LIVE option in the Multplayer Menu (if connected) and follow the onscreen instructions.

IIRC, these stages are raced against the opponent's time. If so, that would mean that you are racing against the time of up to 100 people.