Codemasters is one of the most renown racing game developers in the world, which they are for a reason. For over ten years now, Codies has developed some of the most fun and authentic motorsports titles we have ever seen. The list starts at Colin McRae Rally which is now known as the DIRT series, past TOCA Race Driver, now GRID, and finally reached the official Formula 1 license as well. This year the team shipped the latest iteration of their DIRT series of titles and I can tell you right of the bat, it’s a winner.
When you deal with a property based on a rallying legend such as Colin McRae, only the best, most quality gameplay and authenticity will suffice. Even though the game hasn’t been carrying the name of the deceased legend, it is still very clear to the development team that they are dealing with a game to please enthusiasts that have been with them since the PlayStation 1 era. With all that said, I was never worried about DIRT 3 based on my previous experiences with the studio and specifically, the DIRT series.
In years past, DIRT went more into the X Games-esque format which should attract new fans but the hardcore DIRT community spoke out against some of the events included with the previous DIRT and Codemasters listened. Codies focused a lot on the actual rallying aspects with DIRT 3 and brought back the feel the series used to have.
In DIRT 3, rally fans will be pleased that lots of the events are now rally based and not only that, Codemasters focused heavily on improving handling to make it a more authentic experience for players. Cars now feel much less floaty and arcade-like and gone is some of the pivoting race action, seen in previous games. DIRT 3 has a deep and detailed physics model which allows for more dynamic handling and creates challenging situations when switching from gravel to tarmac or landing a leaping jump in Kenya. DIRT stands for rally again. Along with the new level of authenticity Codemasters returned to the roots of the sport bringing back tons of classic rally cars from several decades, reaching back to the 60s. My personal favorites are the legendary Lancia Delta Integrale, Opel Manta 400 and Fiat 131 Abarth and of course the Audi Quattro and S1! Rally fans will be pleased.
Along with the extensive library of rally cars are more point to point stages compared to past games. Codies made sure that repetition was taken out of the picture and the amount and variety of available stages is certainly solid. DIRT 3 also brings back the stadium trucks and Duel events as well as Trailblazer stages which all have been improved across the board. DIRT 3 has plenty to offer, even if rallying isn’t your favorite discipline. DIRT 3 still revolves around the ‘Dirt Tour’ which will have players progress through different events and attract new sponsors which will unlock new events, cars and locations. There still however, isn’t any straight rally world championship which is probably caused by the lack of the official WRC license.
Probably the biggest and most notable addition to the series this year is the inclusion of Gymkhana as made famous by Ken Block. Gymkhana is a discipline based on rallying techniques and requires skill and precision behind the wheel. This sport can be compared to an X Games skateboarding freestyle event with cars, high powered, 4 wheel drive and turbocharged cars screaming at the top of their lungs. Without a doubt, Gymkhana, is the most fun I have had with a driving game in years. Being able to pull off tricks like donuts around the bucket of a backhoe, drifting under 2 truck trailers or doing 360s in a tiny enclosed area are fun by themselves but when stringing all the tricks together to score a giant amount of points, while letting tires steam and smoking up the course, is epic.
DIRT 3 not only plays better and included a new discipline but also improved its visuals. The game looks better, has more detailed cars, visual effects and environments as well as spectators dashing across a rally stage just before the cars passes their spot but also introduced night stages and snow environments. DIRT 3 is a beautiful looking and sounding game that will have you replaying stages and watching replays for hours before uploading the best 30 seconds to YouTube.
As if all those improvements weren’t enough, Codemasters included the multiplayer modes from previous titles but also added Gymkhana based modes that cause extremely fun mayhem between friends and random players alike.
I had very high expectations which have just about all been met by the excellent staff on the Codemasters development team around DIRT 3. The latest entry into this extremely strong franchise is the best one yet. DIRT 3 wins players over by being an amazingly fun and beautiful looking game which has loads of noticeable polish. I loved the fact that DIRT 3 is back with giant rally elements and only lacks a desired WRC campaign. Gymkhana is an immense amount of fun and I can only imagine what the studio can do with this mode in the future. Playing DIRT 3 is simply one the best things any racing game enthusiast, fan or newcomer can do this summer.
Score: 9.5 / 10
DIRT 3 was developed and published by Codemasters for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on May 24th. A copy of the game was provided to us by Codemasters for reviewing purposes.
