Perform stunts in Gymkhana role
Race across light gravel and then switch over to a tarmacked road and you'll feel a distinct difference under your wheels and therefore need to change your racing technique accordingly. At high speeds the more powerful cars are difficult to handle across mud or gravel, meaning you have to be even more accurate at pulling off power-slides or handbrake turns around hairpin bends. Across tarmac, however, you’ll feel a noticeable shift in speed and the smoothness of the surface becomes apparent. There are a number of tracks that blend two types of terrain into one course so you constantly need to be on your guard for these shifts in surfaces and give each race your full attention. Due to the variety of classes and courses on offer, the action is often unpredictable and exciting and the tweaks that you can make to the game engine give you further control over the cars.
The new game modes give the DiRT franchise a little something extra that shifts it to the next level. Gymkhana mode is incredibly addictive as you twist and turn around the iconic arena of Battersea Power Station performing some crazy tricks and free-styling around the course over ramps. The lure of points encourages you to be adventurous and pull off some crazy turns, even though the end rewards are not that great. Online, DiRT 3 offers its most robust online component yet, with all of the events and cars from the single player tour available and for the first time the option to play it in split-screen mode. While the mini game modes are unlikely to be where the majority of rally race fans will spend lots of time, they offer a fun diversion to the more intense rallying gameplay and zombie infection in particular is highly entertaining.
DiRT 3 is an impressive evolution of the series with a strong multiplayer component held up by the riveting tour mode that puts you behind the wheel of a vast range of cars and across a variety of exciting tracks. Once again it looks stunning, with the backdrops to the tracks providing some spectacular views, but it's really the high-speed action and the thrill of the race that provides the most entertainment. A.I. of your other opponents can be a little docile at times, but overall it doesn't hamper the fun. All in all, DiRT 3 is the finest rally game to have graced the planet and Colin McRae (R.I.P) would have been immensely proud of where the franchise has ended up.
