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I just downloaded the "DIRT" demo on xbox Live Marketplace the other night. Some of you may know it under the name "Colin McRae Rally" that's been on last gen consoles for a number of years. Now, with the new platforms comes a new name and also a new approach at the Rally Racing genre. Now, we all Xbox 360 Rally Racing is a hugely flooded market with 1,000s of titles every day, so how does this stand apart? Well, the demo's opening screens tell the story.
You start it up and it says "This demo does not reflect the quality of the final product." Hmm.. okay, yeah, we usually see this. Demos are usually in beta or even alpha stages when released, so that's a given. Load up the opening cinematic ... looks pretty damn sharp. Okay ... hit the start button ... and ... wow. Holy shit. This is what next gen should look like. The menu screen is this dynamic looking ... Macintosh-esque style that just screams at you "Play me!". No joke, this is next gen, it's finally here. But, really, I can slap a fancy ass cover on a book with blank pages inside so what's under the engine?
Alright, I get to the race mode. There's 3 cars. The WRX, the Lancer, and this buggy car. Each of the 3 cars is associated with 1 mode for each, which I figured sounds about right. the WRX is for a mode called "Crossover" where you are on a track that, not unlike your slot car racers, goes down a short, windy path before crossing over to the other side. It's you vs 1 other guy and you gotta beat him across the line, simple as that. The Lancer is associated with "Hill Climb" mode. It's this desert, loose gravel and dirt mountain that you drive up without falling off the sides. You're the only one on the track in a race against the clock. The last, the buggy, race is you and 9 other buggies on a mud and dirt track representative of CORR racing. Flinging mud everywhere and going a couple laps barely keeping your car straight sliding through every turn.
The cars pilot as well as you think they would in their given environments, asphalt, dirt, and mud respectively. I wouldn't say these cars drive with Gran Turismo-like realism, but a very good and fun mix of the Arcade and Sim. Yes, you'll have to hit your brakes, but no, you won't have to drive like a grandma. Collision detection and damage effects are top notch. On the easiest mode the destruction is just aesthetic and in harder modes it'll screw up how your car drives until it quits on you. The 'car reset' is very forgiving for screw ups that send you off the sides of mountains to your 'should-be death' or if you just clear over a fence off a jump into the totally wrong part. The game will put you back on the track with very little penalty of just having to get going from a standing start again.
From a graphical stand point, this is an amazing achievement. When you start a race the camera swoops around the corners of your car showing off different pieces of it which look real enough to touch. The environments are not bland at all and look very live and vibrant. All the graphical effects for sun and sky, dirt collects on your car, the damage and hits look and almost feel real. The tracks themselves have a style and a character to them when you first see them. And the tracks, so far, are definitely not boring. I'm not 100% sure if they're fantasy courses or actual ones yet, but regardless, they're very well made.
And lastly, one issue you hear a lot is about the load times. Some games have a small mini game that you play during loading, or a little animation to amuse you. Remember that scene in the Matrix when Neo wanted guns and all those racks flew at him in the computer? Well, it's somewhat reminiscent to that in a way. The screen is white, but slightly textured that gives you this feeling you're in that same place Neo was. And as you're waiting for it to load all these random facts about your playing habits are thrown by. Average placing? Wins? Losses? Times rolled over? Longest time driven without crashing? And there are many more little factoids that are constantly updating and keeping you abreast of how you are fairing. And yes, it loads quickly, but you wouldn't even notice.
Now, as the demo said "this is not representative of the final product". Well, shit, I hope to God this is representative cause I just shat my pants in wonderment over this amazingly crafted racer. The new Sega Rally coming out has it's work cut out for it, I feel kinda bad for them, actually. Beautiful, beautiful game. The next gen, it's been here, sure, but it's finally becoming that 'next level' we've been waiting for. Bravo Codemasters. We'll be tearing up the track this summer.
You start it up and it says "This demo does not reflect the quality of the final product." Hmm.. okay, yeah, we usually see this. Demos are usually in beta or even alpha stages when released, so that's a given. Load up the opening cinematic ... looks pretty damn sharp. Okay ... hit the start button ... and ... wow. Holy shit. This is what next gen should look like. The menu screen is this dynamic looking ... Macintosh-esque style that just screams at you "Play me!". No joke, this is next gen, it's finally here. But, really, I can slap a fancy ass cover on a book with blank pages inside so what's under the engine?
Alright, I get to the race mode. There's 3 cars. The WRX, the Lancer, and this buggy car. Each of the 3 cars is associated with 1 mode for each, which I figured sounds about right. the WRX is for a mode called "Crossover" where you are on a track that, not unlike your slot car racers, goes down a short, windy path before crossing over to the other side. It's you vs 1 other guy and you gotta beat him across the line, simple as that. The Lancer is associated with "Hill Climb" mode. It's this desert, loose gravel and dirt mountain that you drive up without falling off the sides. You're the only one on the track in a race against the clock. The last, the buggy, race is you and 9 other buggies on a mud and dirt track representative of CORR racing. Flinging mud everywhere and going a couple laps barely keeping your car straight sliding through every turn.
The cars pilot as well as you think they would in their given environments, asphalt, dirt, and mud respectively. I wouldn't say these cars drive with Gran Turismo-like realism, but a very good and fun mix of the Arcade and Sim. Yes, you'll have to hit your brakes, but no, you won't have to drive like a grandma. Collision detection and damage effects are top notch. On the easiest mode the destruction is just aesthetic and in harder modes it'll screw up how your car drives until it quits on you. The 'car reset' is very forgiving for screw ups that send you off the sides of mountains to your 'should-be death' or if you just clear over a fence off a jump into the totally wrong part. The game will put you back on the track with very little penalty of just having to get going from a standing start again.
From a graphical stand point, this is an amazing achievement. When you start a race the camera swoops around the corners of your car showing off different pieces of it which look real enough to touch. The environments are not bland at all and look very live and vibrant. All the graphical effects for sun and sky, dirt collects on your car, the damage and hits look and almost feel real. The tracks themselves have a style and a character to them when you first see them. And the tracks, so far, are definitely not boring. I'm not 100% sure if they're fantasy courses or actual ones yet, but regardless, they're very well made.
And lastly, one issue you hear a lot is about the load times. Some games have a small mini game that you play during loading, or a little animation to amuse you. Remember that scene in the Matrix when Neo wanted guns and all those racks flew at him in the computer? Well, it's somewhat reminiscent to that in a way. The screen is white, but slightly textured that gives you this feeling you're in that same place Neo was. And as you're waiting for it to load all these random facts about your playing habits are thrown by. Average placing? Wins? Losses? Times rolled over? Longest time driven without crashing? And there are many more little factoids that are constantly updating and keeping you abreast of how you are fairing. And yes, it loads quickly, but you wouldn't even notice.
Now, as the demo said "this is not representative of the final product". Well, shit, I hope to God this is representative cause I just shat my pants in wonderment over this amazingly crafted racer. The new Sega Rally coming out has it's work cut out for it, I feel kinda bad for them, actually. Beautiful, beautiful game. The next gen, it's been here, sure, but it's finally becoming that 'next level' we've been waiting for. Bravo Codemasters. We'll be tearing up the track this summer.
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