Bloody hell this looks amazing!
In the fight between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 both camps have been extremely vocal in how powerful their machines are, and, if I’m honest, the PS3 so far has been something of a disappointment. You see, on paper, the PS3 is the powerhouse machine with that CELL chip should more than make up for any shortcomings in the graphics department.But, besides MotorStorm, I’ve yet to see anything that really goes to town with the eye-candy and the Xbox 360 fanboys will wave copies of Madden in the air should you bring up the question of framerates and slowdown. Being an even handed kind of guy, I’ve put this down to sloppy programming or the oft-denied by Sony claim that the PS3 is harder to develop for. And now, with Colin McRae DiRT I feel somewhat vindicated because I doubt you’ll see a better looking racer than this for a good while yet and yes, that includes Gran Turismo HC Concept or Gran Turismo 5 or whatever it’s called this week. Colin McRae DiRT is better.
Click for larger imageQuite how Colin McRae DiRT is better is tricky to define. Maybe it’s the soft-edging which reduces the ‘drawn’ look of the cars and environment. Perhaps it’s the subtle use of weather and environmental effects such as dust, grit and smoke. Possibly it’s the blistering frame rates or perhaps it’s the superb damage model that sees your car literally disintegrate around you as you slam into obstacles. Maybe it’s the physics engine that has everything acting as it should with broken spoilers tumbling down the track behind you after a slightly too vigorous rub along the Armco…
I reckon it’s all of the above and then some. You can dress it up anyway you want but with Colin McRae DiRT the Codies have managed to strike the perfect balance between arcade playability and simulation realism… and the best thing of all is that this too is scalable, giving you the game you want to play. Either go out for an out and out blast or don a Nomex suit, plug in your rumbling race chair and sit in the living room with the girlfriend lobbing gravel at you. The choice is yours.
Click for larger imageThe actual racing experience has to be the Codemasters’ crowning achievement. The sense of speed is quite stunning and, even though I’ve been a Codies race-fan since the days of TOCA, it’s never been as good as this. For the purists, you’ve got a choice on two in-car views, either from the dashboard or from the driver’s point of view, as well as the more normal chase and bumper views. I thoroughly recommend getting to grips with the drivers view as this’ll give you the most blistering experience, especially if you have a large HD TV to run your PS3 into.
Click for larger image