There’s so many different racing disciplines out there… you could be a fan of NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula-1, Outlaws, MotoGP – the list just goes on and on. And I know that I’m one of the few in GTM that is even remotely interested in Rally, and I’m in an even smaller circle of die-hard WRC fans. That being said, I’ve been following World Rally since the ’80s. My dad signed us up for cable for the explicit reason of watching Grouppe-B Rally and Trans-AM races – mostly because of Audi. Later on his interests changed to Formula-1 and MotoGP, but I was always a Rally fan – and it’s still a dream to one day race in a Rally Car. But state-side that’s a lot harder than it sounds, its just not part of our racing culture. So I’ve found that over the years, the way I could escape this bleak reality was to immerse myself in the virtual world. And there is one name in virtual Motorsports that has always been on top when it comes to Rally (Formula-1 and Touring Car), and that’s: CODEMASTERS.
My first Codemasters games were: Micro Machines and Ultimate Stuntman for the NES. And for many of you it might be the “F1” games or TOCA. But my first foray into Rally was in 1998 with the debut of Colin McRae Rally (CMR) for the PC. While everyone else was playing Madden or FIFA, I was tearing up the Finnish country side in a Ford Escort!
Codemasters carried the “Colin McRae” name on its rally series up until his death in 2007. The transition titles were called “Colin McRae: Dirt” until finally dropping to just “DIRT.” For those keeping count: Codemasters has put out 22 versions of Rally games since 1998. I haven’t kept up with all 22 variants, but I’ve had the pleasure of owing/playing the bigger titles like: CMR, CMR 2.0, DIRT 1-4, DIRT Showdown, DIRT Rally, etc. And even though DIRT Rally (2015) and DIRT 4 (2017) have been out for quite a while now they were the two titles most closely released to one another** in the franchise.
My wife knows when another “rousing round of rally” is coming. Usually when times are slow or the weather is bitter cold, I turn to these sorts of games, because they make me happy. And with Soooooo much extra time these days it only makes sense that I head to my comfort zone. Which got me thinking… new games release every week, and much like any other “critic based” industry, reviews are conducted independently and on individual titles. Not a lot of seat time is spent with the games because of writing deadlines and most of them read like book reports. Why not step back and setup a “Rally Special Stage” and compare these two titles side-by-side!
Ready… Steady… GO!
DIRT RALLY | DIRT 4 | ||||||
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So what’s it like to play?I could use 1000 words to try and describe what its like to play each game, but figured it might be easier if I just recorded a session from each for review. As much as each game would allow, I choose the same location, course length, weather conditions, and car type: Sweden, Varmland, about 4 miles, Afternoon – Snowing, Grouppe-B Audi Sport Quattro. I run without any assists, and manual transmission. I also tried to save time by cutting out all of the loads times, which can be upwards of 30+ seconds. Sit back, and experience virtual Rally for yourself (below). In lane-1: DIRT RALLY
In lane-2: DIRT 4
okay, take it up to the Marshall…If you took the time to review the videos above, you can see that the games are same-same but different. Graphically DIRT Rally is crisper and more detailed. You have to be very concentrated to have a “perfect lap” – its stressful, and you can loose control very easily. Resetting the car is annoying unless you have a reset key mapped (but you’ll take a +15 sec penalty). The cars are “twitchier and darty” and walls seem to magnetize the vehicle if you miss your apex. DIRT-4 on the other hand… is much more playable. #sendit. You can carry more speed, throttle steer more easily and track widths are slightly wider making the run more enjoyable. And more importantly, the cars are somewhat indestructible! The menu system in DIRT-4 doesn’t follow the “2-clicks max” rule, and you spend as much time clicking through screens as you do waiting for the sessions to load. Both DIRT Rally and DIRT-4 have highs and lows, but if they were somehow merged, you could make ONE awesome game, because where one lacks the other excels. Sadly there is no talk about a DIRT-5 yet, but I am still hopeful! Overall, if you’re looking to try something new, and Rally is of interest… start with DIRT-3 #wink-wink.
**Although DIRT Rally 2.0 released in 2019, I haven’t picked up a copy to see if they’ve corrected some of the challenges the original version presented. More to come. #keeptheshinysideUP! | |||||||
