1. sinadoom

   9

   Graphically, this game is extremely inefficient. DiRT 2 on Ultra is equivalent to this on High without Ambient Occlusion. The Medium preset in DiRT 3 is what the Xbox 360 version looks like. My PC crashed within 2 minutes of track time on Ultra, which doesn't happen after 2 hours on BF3 on High! Anyway, the only graphical difference between the 360 version and PC is the more consistent environmental textures. Cars look no different really, apart from more reflections. The green tint can be annoying as well. However, that's the only downside to this game. Achievements are good, career is of perfect length and variety and multiplayer is even more rewarding than DiRT 2, and more balanced and polished. This really is an ultimate package. I'm glad that there is now full controller support for PC. You can navigate menus easily and most controllers will work with the game. This is a racing game for everyone. There is rally, rallycross, gymkhana, hillclimb, one-on-one crossovers and landrush. You really can't go wrong. There are now assists so you can cater the experience to suit you. Vehicle set-ups are simplified like in DiRT 2 but now the game will automatically choose the optimal even if you don't change anything. Only gear ratios are constant, but they're more personal preference. Anyway, apart from the inefficient and taxing EGO 2.0 game engine, which quite evidently isn't very good given how demanding games like this, F1 2011 and F1 2012 are for very little eye candy gain, it's still just as good on PC as it is on 360. The lack of improved graphics is dissapointing, but that shouldn't be enough to stop you buying this amazing game. You can read my 360 review of why this is the case if you want to know more. In short, it's the variety of game modes, variety of cars, complete and near-perfect multiplayer and a well-paced DiRT tour along with polished time trial leaderboards. What more could you want?!… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
2. orion89

   8

   This really is a great game but I just can't say I enjoy it as much as Dirt 2. The poorly kept RV that traveled around the world with you in Dirt 2 was such a charming idea for what was essentially the menu screen, which was always set in the middle of a huge crowd with music blaring and the scenery of the location you decided to race in looming in the background. Dirt 3 ditched that for a much more simple menu that, while streamlined and stylish, is just kinda boring, unless rotating golden pyramids are your thing. The gameplay is fantastic of course, the cars handle wonderfully and the sense of speed is spot on. However, I didn't get the same sense of excitement, the rush I got when I played D2. Watching a replay of my speedy little Ford Cosworth zipping through the Finnish wilderness in its beautifully rendered glory was cool and all but the techno-pop track that played in the background simply didn't fit. At all. It didn't hold a candle to watching the replay of my Mitsubishi Evo X tearing ass through canyons in Utah while My Delirium blasted from my speakers in D2. The music list in general adds to D3's somewhat sterile presentation. I've heard mostly techno oriented tracks so far and it's just so quiet, so subdued and when you mix that with the games (overly) simplified, calm presentation, it kinda comes off as just another race sim. Compare this to D2 which was constantly noisy and flamboyant with its presentation, which was good because it's rally racing. It's supposed to be noisy and dirty and fast paced, not quiet and clean with a bunch of friggin triangles. Graphically the game is better than its predecessor but not by leaps and bounds. This isn't a bad thing though, far from it in fact. The Dirt series is known for being beautiful and Dirt 3 doesn't disappoint. There's too much to mention in a little review like this, you really just have to play it, but the one thing I want to stress is the performance. I run these games on a 2007 iMac.... ya. Despite the fact that it's very underpowered by todays gaming standards, I run Dirt 3 perfectly fine on high settings. The Ego engine is just so well made, you get marvelous detail and performance even on lower end tech. One area they skimped on a bit was the driver detail. They sit as rigid as crash test dummies, hardly ever moving and the overall detail put into the models is lacking compared to D2. In D2 replays the game never shied away from showing your driver struggling with the vehicle, all the animations reasonably smooth and realistic. Hell even your co-driver would turn their head to look at you once or twice, a small insignificant detail but that's what made me surprised and happy to see it. There was a person next to you not a dummy. The only other downside other than the presentation is one.... single... race type.... Gymkhana. Some people may like it and that's fine. I don't hate it, it's fun to watch, but God almighty it can be a pain in the ass. Despite the games wonderful controls Gymkhana is just flat out hard and, at times, confusing. I zoom out into the arena and my first thought is "What the f*ck do I do?" I decide "Ok, I'll spin around this pole and maybe smash those blocks. Perhaps then I'll drift under that thing and make a futile effort to connect it to the donut I'll do over there." Unless you're pretty good and I wouldn't be surprised if there were those who are, it just ends up being kind of a mess and a bit frustrating. I've never once felt like I was doing one of those events for any reason other than getting it out of the way. It doesn't help that I'm a bit of a purist I guess, I absolutely love the rally events and trailblazing and thank God Codemasters really emphasized them this time around. There's also your little "HR Rep" I guess you would call him, he is annoying as all hell. He's always calling you ridiculously cheesy nicknames like "amigo" and "muchacho", it's flat out painful to hear him talk. I even found myself unconsciously hitting the mute button on my keyboard when he started to speak, it's that bad. Speaking of voice work. What happened to driver chatter? Where are the big name racers? Why aren't Katie Justice or Ken Block congratulating me on a good race? Where is Foust to be a douche when I come in second and he's first? It kills the immersion! Overall, I strongly recommend this game to racing fans. It's a strong racer. Just be prepared to be put off by the achingly sterile presentation if you were a big fan of Dirt 2 like I am, it damn near ruined the game for me. That sense of occasion, of pure excitement, is simply lost. I know I keep referring to it but it really does make a huge impact on the game.… Expand

   • Helpful? 14 of 17 users said Yes.
3. pzeudo

   6

   Who the hell decided that it ought to be impossible to make the tutors stfu inbetween races.., I came here for driving, not wasting my time on worthless hints and bad jokes.
   
   Besides that, it seems fair enough. But come on, ABS brakes and speed control on by default? Makes as much sense as playing CoD with a paintball gun. (You can turn it off obviously though).… Expand

   • Helpful? 3 of 3 users said Yes.
4. novinar4

   0

   This is not Colin Mcrae anymore. I know in the game must be new something, but in this Dirt 3 is like 10% rally. And more funny stuff is, that the maps is all the same. I am disappointed. I want true rally with lots of maps and rally. If you have more then 50% rally in the game, and more maps, that it is a true rally.… Expand

   • Helpful? 9 of 11 users said Yes.

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