Dirt Rally 2.0 – PS4 Review

Review by Marc Smith

First off, Dirt Rally 2.0 is a rally/rally cross simulator game set in the new era of rally with modern cars and courses as well as the classics thrown in, This is a top-notch return by codemasters and make no mistakes it will not disappoint even if your a pro-racer or just a Sunday driver 

Let’s talk about the Graphics and in Dirt Rally 2.0, Codemasters have gone above and beyond in the game to make sure that no matter which camera angle you use it is authentic and genuine to that situation. Dirt Rally 2.0 looks stunning from the different variations of glare from the position of the sun, from the angles your driving and the sun even catches you out when you are leaving a shaded forest area. They have even gone to the smallest minor details to the mud tracks your car leaves to damage to your car like scratches and dents and to rain running down the camera or your window screen however annoying looks spectacular and with Codemasters making other titles in the racing genre like F1 there is no wonder they have got this one right !

So on to Game Modes, there are two main Career Modes Rally and Rally Cross, while separate you will find it useful to do both in alternate goes to help you on your way as wrecking your car costs money to fix, but is easily done when missing a corner or two on a rally stage but fear not the rallycross stage is there to help as free repairs and easier tracks make its less demanding but does not compromise on the fun. Codemasters have gone to a slider style difficulty tab like F1 than its own difficulty which makes it more accessible from the level of driving you need to compete. Also there are daily and weekly challenges available for all the different cars. These bring the fun of competing against AI or other people from around the globe. There is also free play which is fun playing with friends to compete against each other if your competitive or just seeing who get the best wipe out or biggest air for fun!

This brings me onto Game Play, and first off the bat is that Codemasters must have got some inside knowledge off of the rally/rallycross drivers to get this gameplay as good as it feels. I have played it on a PS4 with a PS4 controller and even with that been said the feedback from the car is excellent! From feeling gravel been flicked from the back tyres, the oversteer/understeer on your car, to other cars in rallycross trying to ram you and it’s not like its a Sunday drive no mater in what difficulty or career mode they make sure its still competitive and have your wits about. No slacking otherwise its back of the pack! The only problem with the career gameplay is you need to be online to access it!

Now I have got these points explained lets go to Pros of the game and with what I have stated so far that would have to be a definitely a big thumbs up to the Game Play and the Graphics, they are the big stand out pros for me as well as the difficulty slider been in the game  compared to its predecessor which didn’t.

As for the Cons, where it does not have many, for the inexperienced players getting a foothold in to the game can be hard if you don’t look after your money as even in the easiest modes two big wipeouts can leave you far behind or with a broken car struggling to do 40mph for the rest of the event! but this can all be eradicated with a bit of practice and some money management. The biggest con of the game is you can’t access Career mode if Racenet is Unavailable or you are Offline!

All in all, my final thoughts would be put a flashback in as Codemasters have done in F1, make it so you can access Career Mode offline but other than that it would be money well spent for hours of enjoyment and fun. I have already put a ton of hours into the game and am going to put in plenty more. I would of given Dirt Rally 2.0 a 10 out of 10 if it had not of been for the fact that you have to be online to play the single player career mode.

Overall Score – 9/10
 

Badger

Life long gamer and Geek, Considered by most to be of doubtable sanity. never seen without my trusty Stetson

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