Game: Dirt 3

Platform: Xbox 360; PS3

Publisher: Codemasters

Developer: Codemasters

ESRB: T

Genre: Racing

Players: 1-8

What's Hot: fancy new graphics, weather effects, nighttime lighting, gymkhana arenas

What's Not: desultory world tour, narrower courses, uninspired level design, no sense of attachment to cars

---

Review by: Tom Chick

If you're just into racing games for the way-to-pass-the-time fun of it, hey, you can't go wrong with a latest-gen romp like Dirt 3, the most recent entry in Codemaster's energetic rally racing series. Fire it up and enjoy the ride. Whee! Enjoy the graphics. Pretty! You might even come to enjoy the weirdly Tony Hawk trick arenas inspired by real-world gymkhana events. Crazy!

But if you're a discriminating fan of racin’ games, I have some bad news. Dirt 3 is not as good as Dirt 2. I know that probably sounds like the usual "I don't need no sequel!" videogame revanchism. I'm not happy about it either. But for all the nifty new graphics in Dirt 3, you won't go anywhere comparable to the places you went in Dirt 2. There are none of the iconic centerpieces like Dirt 2's oil pipeline or drainage canals. You won't see any sense of progression during a race like plunging into and then climbing out of the canyon in Utah, or racing through the village in Morocco and then up the hills overlooking it, or the long regal switchbacks in Japan. You won't get any distinct cultural touches like the massive Mexican flag and cruise ships in Ensenada, or that crumbling ancient church in Croatia. Dirt 2 practically throbbed with inventive level design, something too few racing games attempt.

You'll also miss Dirt 2's feel for geography. You worked your way around the world, racing in specific biomes one at a time. It felt like an actual world tour. But Dirt 3 jumps around neurotically from snowy Norway to dusty Kenya to sunny Monaco, all in the same event. And whose idea was it to have Norway and Finland as half of the locations? What kind of world tour dilly-dallies for so long in Scandinavia? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, where is my jungle? What kind of rally racing game doesn't visit the jungle? Dirt 3, that's what kind of rally racing game doesn't visit a jungle. It's all lighting technology and weather effects, with no heart or sense of place.

What's more, the tracks in Dirt 3 are much more hemmed in. There are none of the open areas that gave the cars so much elbow room in Dirt 2. As near as I can tell, none of the courses have alternate paths. It's almost as if the nicer graphics -- and they are nicer -- were purchased by giving the cars less room to drive.

Then there are the cars. There's plenty of car porn in Dirt 3, which knows enough to fetishize these cars, trucks, and buggies. They're even more gorgeous when they've gotten dirty and banged up. You can watch a replay at any time during a race (although you can't save replays, which is a shame) and you can easily upload footage to YouTube. But for all these long admiring looks, Dirt 3 doesn't present any sort of caRPG hook. The best racing games let you collect and upgrade cars, like a cross between a Pokemon game and an RPG. A good caRPG conveys a sense of ownership. It makes you care about certain cars, and it encourages you to use a variety of them. You earned that car by unlocking or buying it. You chose the color. Maybe you even applied some custom vinyl. You know how it's better or worse than other cars, and you're damn well going to drive it for all it's worth!

But in Dirt 3, cars are just presented for you to choose for each race, with no helpful information about performance beyond horsepower and weight. There are custom vinyls in the sense that you get canned sets of sponsorships stickers, but it's all busywork someone else has done. What if I just wanted to drive a pink car? No dice, says Dirt 3. We're calling the shots. Shut up and drive. Admire some close-up shots of this car we made for you while the race loads. At least Dirt 2 let you customize the mirror ornament and horn sounds for your car. Dirt 3 can't be bothered. Shut up and drive.

Of course, once you're in a race, it's easy enough to shut up and drive. You might even forgive Dirt 3 for not being as good as its older brother. In fact, you might even have fun. This is a gorgeous and accessible racing game, with some stellar weather and nighttime effects. It's got solid and forgiving driving physics. It's got some pretty cool arenas where you can set up gymkhana tricks at your own pace, ticking missions off a list one at a time. It's got easily accessible multiplayer races and splitscreen support. Dirt 3 is a fine game and worth playing. But if you take your sequels or your driving games seriously, you're going to be disappointed to discover that it's no Dirt 2.

Tom Chick, aside from being a regular contributor to GameShark and countless other game sites, owns and operates the popular website Quarter to Three.com

Questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you .