Stunning locations and fierce AI
The realism of racing around some stunning locations, in vehicles which certainly look the part, is made even more appealing by the physical interaction with the environment and objects. Hit a chicane head-on and tyres scatter unpredictably across the track; if you're racing around two laps of the circuit the tyres will still be there the next time around so you'll have to avoid them. Smack into a tree and your bonnet will buckle and dent, your door may hang on a thread or your bumper may spin off; I've even inadvertently knocked over a tree with the force of the impact. Smash into anything on or surrounding the tracks and the car reacts a hundred different ways depending on the angle and speed of impact. In races against AI opponent, if you crash or bump into them, you may see your car door hang off on its hinges or parts of car debris go flying backwards onto the track, affecting the AI behind you who swerve out of the way to avoid the flying fragments or sometimes smack straight into them sending them spiraling off course. Sparks fly when metal hits metal, glass smashes and gets strewn across the track and grass flattens under the weight of your vehicle. The damage system employed and the way your vehicle reacts to every bump and object in or around the track is outstanding.
In each race the damage to your car is assessed in real-time and can range from engine and gearbox damage to suspension failure. The damage to your car is shown via icons on the right hand side and you'll soon know if you've done any serious damage as the car may lose power or become more difficult to handle. Providing you don't write your car off totally during a race, you'll often be re-set back into position on the track should you cross too far over the boundaries of the circuit or crash in a position where you can't move. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work out as it should. There's something fundamentally flawed with this function in the game, because of the inconsistency of when it decides to reset your car. I've been stuck numerous times in places where I can't get myself back onto the track (i.e. nestled between two trees or upside down in a field) and sometimes it will reset and other times I'll need to restart the course of my own accord. To be fair this is a very minor annoyance and was the only negative point I could possibly think of in what's otherwise an outstanding game.
Click for larger image
Click for larger imageThe NEON engine has improved so many aspects of the Colin McRae experience that in many ways it's unrecognisable from its predecessors and feels like a totally new gameplay experience. One of the main highlights for me personally, and one which I think others will absolutely love, is the races involving 9 other AI opponents. The AI compete fiercely for position on the track, especially if you crank up the difficulty level, and they fight aggressively around corners, shift position on the track in order to make space to overtake and react realistically to anything on the track that may affect them, such as falling debris from other vehicles. The race experience in Dirt is one that I can't ever see myself getting bored with; each race offers a different experience, the courses are a joy to drive around and the challenge facing you is so enticing that I've played the same tracks over and over again just to try and shave a few seconds of my best lap.