Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (a.k.a. DiRT 2)

Colin McRae: DiRT 2 marks the debut of the franchise on the Nintendo Wii, but is it worth the wait? Was anyone even waiting? Either way, we once again have a multiplatform title that’s inevitably going to be compared with its HD counterparts. Maybe not so much in the graphics department (like anyone needs to see “it looks rubbish compared to the PS3/Xbox 360 versions” anymore), but more in terms of content. We can take the “downgraded” aesthetics as a given by now, so let’s see exactly what kind of game we do have.

Firstly, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 is played with the Wii Remote held horizontally, making the control method similar to that of Mario Kart Wii. Since the former is a race-simulation, and the latter being a less serious but fun-orientated racing game, what kind of similarities and differences will the two of them draw up? With the more “hardcore” gamers preferring the Wii Remote/Nunchuk combination in Mario Kart Wii; allowing them more precision in executing their manoeuvres, will Colin McRae: DiRT 2 suffer as a result of Codemasters opting for the more simplified way of using the wheel-method instead of utilising the control stick and more buttons?

To give you an idea of what you’re dealing with here, I’ll give you a quick run through of the controls. Press the 1 button for the brakes, 2 button to accelerate, – button changes camera view, + button to pause,  down on the d-pad for the rear view, and B button for the handbrake. As you can see, there’s no gear change; which instantly takes away some of the realism, and therefore some of the challenge. What we have now, is less of a simulation game, and more of an arcade-style, streamlined gaming experience.

Within single-player, there’s World Tour which is the career mode that contains the Clubman Tour, which you will have to play through in order to access the Amateur Tour, Pro-Am Tour, and the Pro Tour; each one increasing in difficulty.
Arcade Mode includes Single Race, Championship (tournament style), and Time Trial.
Challenges does what it says on the tin. Each circuit has tasks for you to execute and your performance is scored. For example, one of the challenges is reaching set amounts of air-time (all your “jumps” are added up) using the various ramps that are laid out for you.

It’s not long before you notice that the game suffers from drops in frame-rates. On certain courses, it’s very frequent and there’s no way you can’t notice them. It’s a bit ridiculous, really. The courses aren’t bursting with detail, and you’re only racing against three other cars, so I don’t know why it’s so laggy.

Which brings me onto the visuals. The cars look like they belong in a Gamecube game at the best of times. For some reason, the brightness on the vehicle renders is too bright; which makes them stand out from the background. The result is a disjointed offering that also ruins any suspension of belief. There are minor environmental objects, such as small cactus plants in the desert courses, which when hit bounce off the grill on your vehicle. Unfortunately, the physics used makes these objects look tacky and “plastic”, with no realism added to the experience (which I’m guessing was the desired result). If anything, examples like these take away any realism that was achieved.

By earning medals in your races (placing first, second or third), you can unlock new cars and body kits. A nice method of unlocking things, but unfortunately, there’s not enough motivation to keep going for gold. There’s not a huge of amount of vehicles or body kits to unlock, which is a massive shame.

There’s multiplayer racing that supports up to four players, but should you have friends that want to play this with you, be prepared for some sloppy split-screen action. If you thought the frame-rate drops in single player was bad, this is even worse.

For a racing game like this, I would like to have seen online play included. Once you’ve had enough of all the mediocre fun that single player has to offer, you wish you could race gamers around the world via the NintendoWi-Fi Connection. True, this game isn’t by any means brilliant, but having online modes would definitely have improved the overall experience. Even if it was just a leaderboard where you could post your times. This game hasn’t even got that.

Asides from the menu select screens, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 seems to be lacking in the audio department. There’s no in-game soundtrack, so whilst you’re playing, all you’ll hear are the sound effects; which aren’t even that impressive. The constant hum of the engines have no bass and makes them sound really tinny; like you’re driving around in go-karts. I never thought I’d be more disappointed in a game that has removed the music tracks that were likely to irritate me in the first place. I think it all comes down to options. Let me choose whether I want to be driving with music on, instead of making my choices for me.

Which goes back to the controls. After playing for a while, I appreciated the fact that someone has attempted to make a semi-realistic driving game using the Wii Remote as a wheel. The problem is, there’s no choice on whether you want to or not. This mandatory “steer the remote like a wheel to play” seems like the unique selling point for this Wii version. It’s almost like Codemasters have given Wii owners this “diluted” version of a game that impresses more on the Xbox 360/PS3, but compensating this drop in quality with this “Hey, look! You play like you’re actually driving a car!” This kind of mentality is lazy at best. I’m not saying don’t utilise the motion controls of the Nintendo Wii, take a look at what an excellent job EA Tiburon did with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 on the Wii; making it arguably the best version out there. But this…this just feels half baked.

There isn’t much in the way of variation in this game; especially in the more advanced tours where almost every race plays out the same. One car will speed off and gain a decent lead over everyone; whilst the other two will battle it out between second and third place. Should you manage to overtake them and hang in second place, it’s very difficult to beat the final car to take the gold medal.

Turning to the Challenges section, I hoped that something will grab my attention and get me hooked as I try to accomplish the task ahead. Nope. The only type of challenges remotely addictive are the “air-time” and “drifting” ones. I don’t think I could care less about the others. Another good aspect let down by content.

Overall, this is a very mediocre game. It doesn’t shine in any particular department, and in fact, leaves you with plenty to moan about. I appreciate that it uses motion controls which does add a layer of authenticity; and if you already own a Wii Wheel, why not use it? It certainly makes pressing the B button easier. Unfortunately, what little this game does get right, is overshadowed by all the things it doesn’t.

I soon got bored of what single player had to offer me because the first half of the game was too easy and the second half was too difficult, and even the multiplayer wasn’t that captivating. Frequent drops in frame-rate is one of the major downfalls of Colin McRae: DiRT 2, as is the lack of any online mode. I can’t help but wonder if F1 2009 (also developed by Codemasters) is going to be any better than this when it is released in Autumn 2009. Even if you are a massive racing/off road fan, I don’t think I can bring myself to recommending such a dull game. If you find this cheap, and you absolutely must, go ahead and knock yourself out. Otherwise, don’t bother with this mediocre title.

+ A semi-realistic racing game using motion control
+ Includes multiplayer (although not great)

- Frequent drops in frame-rate
- No online modes
- No customisation
- Gets repetitive and boring
- Feature-less compared to the 360/PS3 versions

Score – 4.5/10