Finally, after a long hiatus, Afterthoughts is back and hopefully better than ever! I got a handful of stuff for y’all that you probably have already played but I’ll be talking about them anyway. So without further ado, lets get started on one of the prettiest racers to hit store shelves in a while….

Codemasters‘ follow up to the hit DiRT and the latest installment in the Colin McRae Rally racing scene DiRT 2 takes racing to an impressive new level. Hitting the ground running with a bevy of new; cars, tracks, locations, and races, this games sure wants to make a name for itself in a sea of upcoming racing games.

Pros:

• Graphics-Let me start out by saying, “Holy Mother of all that is great in this world this game looks amazing!” I hate mentioning graphics because they aren’t that important to making a good game but DiRT deserves its dues. The cars all look lifelike, the different countries that you get to visit all look gorgeous and the game boasts one of the most impressive cock-pit cameras available. Ever.
• Interface-The original DiRT had one of the best menu designs in any racing game, and this game follows suit. You are put into an RV that serves as your hub for everything. Checking the world map for new races, buying new cars, checking stats, hitting multiplayer, pretty much everything is done through here. As you progress through the career you also see different collectible items start appearing randomly about your RV, such as medals won at the X-Games, sombreros from your trip to Baja California and an awesome dancing robot from Japan. Which all adds to the immersion that you are the driver.

  Also adding to the immersion is the in-game chatter from the other drivers. They’re all friends in real life and in game it seems no different. Another nice touch, when in a rally race, your co-driver calls out the upcoming turns and hazards. Crash, and they’ll grunt in pain. Get close to the finish line and they start sounding excited. Add it all together and it just makes the game that much more personal.

• Cars-With a laundry list of cars that span 7 classes you’ll be pressed to find something that you don’t like. You got your trophy trucks, true rally cars, rally cross, stock baja and even some buggies thrown in the mix.
• Locations-Races take place in typical fare such as the U.S. Central America and London, but then progress to the breathtaking locales of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Each changes the course settings too. Race in Morocco and you’re kicking up the dust from all that desert, go to Malaysia and you’re battling through the jungles and swampy marshland, hit Japan and you’re drifting across the paved streets.
• Driving Mechanics-As I was whipping my Subaru Impreza WRX STI around a hairpin turn in China I noticed something. Precision. Lift your finger off the gas and lightly tap the brake and you can hit a drift while still maintaining speed. With practice, a race can turn into a beautiful work of art with drifts, slides, overtakes, the works.
• Realistic Damage-After hitting a turn too fast and slamming into a wall my car reacted. It lost its door, the front bumper came loose, the windshield cracked and I got some wheel damage that prevented me from winning. The damage is superb and actually feels like it can change the outcome, which makes for a more concise racer.

Cons:

• Tracks-Even with the different locations, most of the tracks are overused. Usually they get split or turned in reverse, but it still gets cumbersome traveling the same lines over and over.
• Floaty Cars-At times and especially at high speeds, some of the trucks start feeling like they are sliding on ice and are going to lose control at any time.
• Limited Unlockables-With the exception of a few cars, all that you unlock as you go through the game are liveries (decals), dashboard and mirror items and different sounding horns. Kind of boring stuff.
• Mulitplayer-Not a fault of the game, but the MP community is filled with reckless drivers that love using other peoples cars as brakes. It sucks when you get into an awesome drift only to be slammed out of it by some guy that doesn’t want to take the time to apply the brakes.

All in all, DiRT 2 definitely delivers the goods as the first major racer releasing towards the end of this year. For sure it will be competing for attention against the likes of Need For Speed: Shift, Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5. But one thing that DiRT 2 will definitely do, that no other will, is make a wonderful homage to the legend that is Colin McRae.

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