The race for the genre's crown of best is always a very exciting occurrence. Last year Codemasters won the BAFTA award with an excellent re-introduction to F1 racing, a title that received high honours from this site among others. Now they're introducing Dirt 3, is it another potential winner? Let's find out.
Modes
This year's instalment of the rally series offers plenty of changes including a new menu scheme. The trailer sequence is gone and replaced by a simple menu structure that is highly inspired by the triangular shape. It definitely reminds me of the Need for Speed series for some reason, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Without the trailer I can't help feeling less immersed into the whole driver experience.
The now simplified menu gives access to a host of familiar modes including: Dirt tour, multiplayer and singleplayer. The last mode offers all the different types of racing and grants control over all the criteria.
Dirt Tour
As I mentioned earlier, the career mode in Dirt is no longer accompanied by a nice little trailer sequence that stitches it all together. Instead every year of racing is represented by an unwrapped triangle. You will earn points by participating in races and once you've earned enough, the grand final will open up.
The races offer plenty of variation and challenges for gamers of all backgrounds. All the previous types of off-roading are back, but to mix things up Codies added a few more into the mix including smash attack and Gymkhana. Both of them rely heavily on the art of doing tricks on wheels and moving about with absolute ease. While they definitely help cement Dirt 3 as the ultimate arcade racer, I'm not a huge fan of this type of racing. Luckily they can be skipped by excelling in other, more meaningful, events.
Great success comes with more privileges than just the option to skip. Podium finishes will earn points that go into Dirt's ranking system. By obtaining higher levels other teams will offer you a seat in their team. Most of the time these offers will be a trade off between having a faster car and earning more credits for the win, but luckily there're some exceptions to this rule.
Driving
Modes
This year's instalment of the rally series offers plenty of changes including a new menu scheme. The trailer sequence is gone and replaced by a simple menu structure that is highly inspired by the triangular shape. It definitely reminds me of the Need for Speed series for some reason, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Without the trailer I can't help feeling less immersed into the whole driver experience.
The now simplified menu gives access to a host of familiar modes including: Dirt tour, multiplayer and singleplayer. The last mode offers all the different types of racing and grants control over all the criteria.
Dirt Tour
As I mentioned earlier, the career mode in Dirt is no longer accompanied by a nice little trailer sequence that stitches it all together. Instead every year of racing is represented by an unwrapped triangle. You will earn points by participating in races and once you've earned enough, the grand final will open up.
The races offer plenty of variation and challenges for gamers of all backgrounds. All the previous types of off-roading are back, but to mix things up Codies added a few more into the mix including smash attack and Gymkhana. Both of them rely heavily on the art of doing tricks on wheels and moving about with absolute ease. While they definitely help cement Dirt 3 as the ultimate arcade racer, I'm not a huge fan of this type of racing. Luckily they can be skipped by excelling in other, more meaningful, events.
Great success comes with more privileges than just the option to skip. Podium finishes will earn points that go into Dirt's ranking system. By obtaining higher levels other teams will offer you a seat in their team. Most of the time these offers will be a trade off between having a faster car and earning more credits for the win, but luckily there're some exceptions to this rule.
Driving
