Dirt 3 is the best in the long running series and a must for any fan, but there is fun to be had regardless of your experience with the genre. Codemasters have taken everything that was great about the previous games and improved upon it.
Overall, Dirt 3 is nothing short of stellar. The sheer amount of variety – in race events, tracks, and vehicles – makes Dirt 3 a racer that you'll keep coming back to again and again, long after you've completed the Dirt Tour. Whether you're a fan of sim racers, arcade racers, or heck even Mario Kart, you should definitely check out Dirt 3.
Even in 2021, if you have a bunch of mates that want to play a hilarious (and seriously competitive) driving game this is the one. The racing is amazing, there's a ton of cars to choose from starting from the 60's right through to 2011 and if you can get 4 or more players together then the Cat n Mouse mode is ridiculously fun. I've chalked up over 100 hours with this game playing it in chunks of an hour or so and they're always 60 minutes of laughter, intense racing and all made funnier if you're using VoIP (game supports it, or DIscord).
One final thing, this game is (imho) a perfect fusion of realism and arcade style racing. Some will not like it so much because it's not far enough one way or the other for them. However, amongst my group of 7 friends that play there are diehard racing sim fans and casual racers and everyone loves it equally.
(My PC Review available as well) I was surprised when I started playing this, realizing that it's a racing game where you actually have to have SKILL. I can't tell you how many times I drifted off the track and crashed my car into some tree, wall, or a random object. That's what makes this game so challenging, and also what makes it really fun. You'll be going back to races over and over again just so you can get 1st place on those events. When you finally do, it's a satisfying feeling. Multiplayer is especially fun as well. This game deserves a 10/10.
If Codemasters' long-running rally series suffered something of an identity crisis with its transition to the DiRT name, then DiRT 3 has put that crisis to rest. The publisher has found an amorous new bedfellow in Ken Block and successfully built a game around his invigorating style while also managing to retain what made the series great in the first place.
DiRT 3 is one of those rare games that delivers both quality and quantity. Everything is laser-engineered to improve on the brilliant previous game. The only misstep is the anodyne Career mode interface - lots of people will be baffled by the decision to replace the bustling 3D service area with something stylish yet hollow.
Dirt 3 is a fine game and worth playing. But if you take your sequels or your driving games seriously, you're going to be disappointed to discover that it's no Dirt 2.
In Career mode, there are a number of different rally styles. There are half a dozen rally race styles altogether. You have to get through each and every one of them to complete the mode. It's really a nice touch that the races are so forcefully varied. It keeps things from stagnating, and helps develop your skills in different areas. Looking forward to Dirt Showdown which will have the destruction derby! [Waddup!] Participating in the contests here have made the wait for Showdown bearable - ****/AMD/app_370166086361523 and on ****/RelianceHVG.
Dirt 3 brings more types of racing as well as more varied terrain to a proven formula from Dirt 2. The game is very enjoyable and will give you hours of enjoyment.
There are some negatives about the new formula dirt 3 tries to implement. The first being that race types are intermixed, from rally to land rush to rally cross, there is no sense of being a part of a race league. You are just some driver jumping from vehicle to vehicle.
The second big take away is that the really unique interface of the race trailer from Dirt 2 has been replaced by generic race selection menus.
The final issue I have is that you no longer buy and upgrade cars, you simply win the ability to race them, taking away from the collection process I love in car games.
The game is a solid seven, but if you've played Dirt 2 it will feel like a bit of a let down.
Not bad, I miss a lot of physics and features from Dirt 2. Seems more disciplined and forced to race certain types, Gymkhana I feel should be a separate mode and not forced into tour events. Gymkhana is annoying as hell because of that, the graphics seem a little tighter and better but I miss the old tracks. Feels a little more arcade style than Dirt 2 it seems a little too fast compared to the realistic feeling Dirt 2 had. But I guess a good game, I was kind of disappointed over all.
What a shame a once great title turned into a second rate game. Whilst the rallying is still as enjoyable as ever, especially online the shortage of tracks creates major limitations. Add the awful Gymkhana events create a real schoolboy view of rallying. Whilst more tracks are available via downloadable content they were surely originally to form part of your games purchase price, and look like they were only not included to allow for the lets grab an extra buck attitude which blights a lot of recent 360 releases. If you can pick Dirt 3 up at less than £20 and allow an extra £15 for the missing content to be downloaded perhaps then it becomes a more rounded and satisfying product, but for myself i will not be getting burnt when the inevitable Dirt 4 becomes available.