The hardest thing is to start. Um… Well..
In general, I’ll start with the fact that I didn’t like DiRT 2 at the time. And all because playing it on the keyboard was pure masochism and hassle for me. True, since then I got this gamepad and the game on PeKa has changed in principle, but nevertheless I don’t think that even with a gamepad the masochism would have stopped.
Rumor has it that after the Colin Mc’Rae Rally series smoothly flowed into DiRT, it was greatly influenced and yes, that’s true. But this does not concern management, because it has not changed much. Another thing is the damage model and the “garage”: all that was left of the damage was the broken engine and axles, and the garage disappeared altogether as such.
[nostalgia]
But I still remember how my friends and I organized multi-hour multi-stage split-screen rally series in Colin McRae Rally 2005, between races having difficulty choosing which part of the car to fix with the remaining pennies so that it would somehow reach the finish line. Driving something smashed to pieces was commonplace
[/nostalgia]
Yes, engineering was abolished, paying much more attention to racing itself. Some people fiercely hate Codemasters for this and they can be understood, because now there are no “real” rally simulators left. But Codemasters had to keep up with the times… They had to sacrifice.

On this I will finish my lyrical digression and continue, actually about DiRT 3.

Beauty does not require sacrifice
I will probably never cease to be amazed by the creation of the “Masters of Code” called EGO Engine. This is because even games made on its first version like GRID still look great. About EGO 2.0 and there’s nothing to say: everything is no less cool. At the same time, to say that games on EGO are well optimized is an understatement. All (absolutely all, with the exception of DX11) of the beauty of DiRT 3 can handle even my not the most powerful laptop, and for medium graphics settings the specified minimum configuration with 256 MB of video memory is enough and nothing will slow down. The downloads will be quite long, but it’s worth it.
You won’t believe it, but the graphics in DiRT 3 have become even better. The tracks have been overgrown with details, the most amazing snow has been added, which is spectacularly falling off the cars. The sand has become even more “sandy”. The color scheme has become more realistic: well, the weather cannot be absolutely sunny all the time, there must be clouds, clouds, etc. Hence the shades of gray, which are nevertheless no worse than what was before.

In general, Codemasters have gone so far in terms of graphics that it’s unlikely that anyone will catch up with them.
By the way, DiRT 3 also sounds very good, albeit more calmly. The soundtrack includes artists such as 65daysofstatic, UNKLE and Alter Bridge. These are only those that are familiar to me personally.

Accused, but not quite
You’re wondering noverificationcasinos.co.uk/ why I’m so excited about DiRT 3… Probably because it’s a game for almost all racing fans. Codemasters staged an unprecedented promotion to please everyone – they added a “casual” difficulty level to the game and now almost anyone can become a cool driver. At an easy level, racing is so easy that..
…which is too much. The computer even helps you slow down when cornering. I’m actually not a hardcore racer, but after the 2nd DiRT I was amazed at how it happened – to go through the first stage of the series without a single restart or flashback. I wasn’t surprised for long. Then it just became boring to overtake everyone and I turned off the unnecessary assistance systems.

After that, the game changed, because it became more difficult and interesting to control, and I felt the resourceful AI here. The opponents turned out to be by no means stupid, if we talk about rallycross and the “land rush” mode, in which you have to compete with them directly. They do not follow a single path, do not always let them pass ahead, and do not get lost in unexpected situations. Here’s an example: you are driving second, and the competitor in front suddenly flips over in a skid and while you are trying to go around him and not crash, your pursuer, without hesitation, takes the place of the leader. There are a lot of cases of such “resourcefulness” and it’s encouraging.

Ken Block’s DiRT 3
The third part of the “dirty” racing series no longer reminds us of Colin McRae and, to be honest, I don’t care. And besides, already in the second DiRT, Ken Block and Travis Pastrana ruled the roost. Travis is not in DiRT 3, but Ken is promoting him to the fullest. He even conducts master classes for us in the newly added “Gymkhana” mode, in which he is a recognized master.

(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)

Before sending us “out into the field” to perform a bunch of tricks (this is what gymkhana is all about), Ken will teach us each trick separately.
Speaking of stunt modes: I didn’t like drift here at all. In my opinion it’s just out of place. This thing looks rather clumsy, even if you manage to get a platinum medal in this discipline.
For me, the standard of drifting from such semi-arcade racing is still… You won’t believe it… Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights. Yes, yes. And you probably forgot about it 😉

A little more for the mainstream
At the beginning of the post I talked about victims. Have you noticed that in the new races of the last year and a half (except for SHIFT and GT5) tuning was completely removed? Yes, it was in both DiRT 2 and TDU2, but, you see, it’s very conditional.
So DiRT 3 tuning is also missing. I mean completely. He’s not there at all. You can only change vinyl sets. Cars are unlocked only when you reach a new level.
Badly? Come on… Did you really complain about it that much while playing the latest Hot Pursuit?? No? So-and-so!
It’s not that the developers removed tuning as an extra element, but there’s really nothing wrong with that. But nothing prevents you from moving from race to race, and where has it been seen in rallies, racers paint cars at their discretion and attach half-screen spoilers to them??
There are still a lot of cars and it will take a lot of time to open everything. The cars are sorted by year: from the 70s to the present day and you can ride in any category. The difference in the behavior of the cars is really noticeable. Pre-race tuning (which, fortunately, has not gone away) also affects handling. So if you increase downforce on a car designed for drifting, it will be very difficult to enter a skid.

And yes, I almost forgot: DiRT 3 has also become socialized, because it’s fashionable now. When creating a profile, you will be asked not only for your character’s first and last name, but also for your YouTube account. Now posting a replay of your race on the Internet is nowhere easier and you don’t need your FRAPS and other sophistications.
GFWL? You again?!
You hate this horror too? I understand you. He gave me a lot of trouble back in the beta of Section 8: Prejudice. Is it really so difficult for Microsoft to establish support for the service in Russia?? The devil knows..
Well, okay, let’s leave support problems and move on to multiplayer.
In general, I have nothing to say here, because since the second part he has not brought anything new. Or almost nothing.
After all, we can’t help but mention two fun modes that are only available in multiplayer: a kind of “tag”, and CTF (capture the flag), in which you need to bring the flag to a certain point as many times as possible. These two modes are made to take a break from standard competitions. All this, of course, is fun and unusual, but for me the map for such rides is a little cramped. This is not Insane, with endless fields, and a truck from Insane can hardly even find a place to park.

And yet.
While talking about DiRT 3, I outlined several of its disadvantages, which now, re-reading my post, I can’t find. Well, I mean, I can, of course, but I don’t want to. Why look for cons in something that has been delivering incredibly over the last 4 days?? Right. No need.

Actually, yes, DiRT 3 was incredibly satisfying for me and I can hardly tear myself away from the screen after sitting down with it. Juicy picture, resourceful AI, a lot of cars and a good soundtrack will captivate you for a long time. Before NFS The Run – that’s for sure. And something tells me that after, because The Run has entrusted BlackBox, which can once again sweep the Need For Speed ​​series “under the rug”.
Oh well, I won’t make any more guesses. Wait and see.
In the meantime, racing fans have something to play. I’m telling you exactly. DiRT 3 turned out great, despite all the disadvantages, which are also very controversial.

P.S. Do you happen to know if anyone is currently playing in GRID multiplayer?? I wanted to buy it for myself to play with, because I finally mastered the gamepad.