The History of rallying games is as complicated as that of WRC itself. For a sport so suited to a console, the official license has been consistently wasted on a series of feeble releases. The venerable Richard Burns series was brilliantly authentic, and we’ve fond memories of the deeply silly Sega Rally.
But that was about it, until Codemasters launched the off-road DiRT series in 2007, and even they never quite nailed the rallying side. The first iteration came endorsed by Colin McRae, and had rubbish physics. For DiRT2, McRae’s name and sport had been quietly sidelined in favor of Ken Block, the X-Games, et al. A bit of WRC bolted onto a whole load of American hooning around in buggies.
Still, we’ll stop moaning, because DiRT3 fixes all that. To cut to the chase, it’s the best rallying game of the last 10 years, and possibly ever.
This time, rallying dominates. It’s spread across Kenya, Finland, Norway and the US, and boasts a fantastic array of cars, from Paddy Hopkirk’s Mini all the way to Kris Meeke’s JCW Mini. Meeke consulted on the handling physics, and it shows. Purists may grumble at the too-wide roads, but when you’re whacking through a Michigan maple forest, using a wheel, at night, in cockpit view, following the detailed pace notes, and you nail that final hairpin in second, you won’t give a damn. It all looks absolutely beautiful.
The other modes are still around, including Rallycross, Hillclimbs and Gymkhana, where you can play at being Ken Block in Battersea Power Station.
One button also uploads your best car ballet to YouTube, a nice innovation. And there’s also split-screen multi- player, a rare and welcome addition to add to the post-pub fun.
Ultimately DIRT3 is finally a game worthy of the Colin McRae name. It’s just a shame his name’s not actually on it anymore.
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