DiRT 2 (PSP) review
On the consoles DiRT 2 is a welcome addition to a prestigious franchise, however on the PSP it is a very different story.
While the gameplay is not the best on offer from PSP racing sims it does at least present a challenge, although this challenge is a battle against the game engine. The car’s handling, while being workable, is poor and corners cannot be taken well at any speed and those who dare try try to drift will inevitably spin out.
There seems to be little if no variation in performance on different terrain. The terrain itself is hit in miss quite literally, as cars may pass through some scenery and others, despite size, will stop you dead in your tracks. Some rocks and trees’ positioning means that, accompanied with the poor driving engine, you will hit them on most laps forcing you to reverse or use the reset vehicle option while the other cars zoom past you.
Having the whole field race past you never means you should give up hope as the AI uses elastic band tactics, by which I mean that when they are in front of you they slow down to allow you to catch up while only when behind you will they begin to race with something resembling aggression. A race in which other drivers adapt to give you an advantage, does not necessarily become easy but does mean regaining ground on the opposition is not a necessarily product of your work or test of your skill.
The career mode has little sense of progression. You make your way through a list of races and cups at different levels. There is no system of currency to purchase cars would be expected nor do you really. Cars, kits and competitions locked at the start are unlocked at random as you go through but you have no idea what you will unlock at what stage.
The challenge mode puts you on tracks doing laps to beat a set airtime or powerslides. This itself is flawed as you will find yourself doing a U-turn on the best section of the course to beat the record rather than doing laps.
The visuals are a strong aspect of the console versions, while the capabilities of the PSP must be taken into consideration, it is still a poor showing. Some surroundings are so dull and similar it is almost like the background of a Scooby-Doo chase scene.
The cars look very poor, however they do take on a coat of snow or dust as the race goes on which rescues a bit of realism. I felt that the road circuits were the best looking and most real but in the desert or snow it got a bit samey and sometimes it was not clear where the track was.
Upto this point it must be said that I didn’t dislike the game but its flaws were becoming more apparent and frustrating for me.
The straw that broke the camels back was the sound. All cars sound virtually the same and when they bounce around the track it sounds like someone searching through a metal tool box. My one massive sound bugbear was the sound the braking made which was slightly altered on the different surfaces but was ultimately the same strange shuffling noise played over and over again. The in game sounds are poor but the game sports a decent soundtrack in the menus.
The 4 car field is small but for the ad-hoc play with friends and is just right and adds a nice little extra. As well as the game sharing option which is often overlooked.
I can’t imagine rushing to play DiRT 2 again but perhaps the game sharing ad-hoc may merit a few plays with friends.
When playing DiRT 2 it is difficult not to be critical as its flaws are obvious and frustrating. It has the air of an unfinished title about it. However, Once getting to grips with its obscure engine it did present a brief challenge but considering other PSP racers available such as Wipeout or Ridge Racer it becomes apparent that this title just cannot compete.
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