DiRT 3 Review

Multiplayer has a wider range of modes thanks to Gymkhana and party modes. Party modes might involve driving around Battersea smashing aliens, avoiding infected cars or carrying flags. The Zombie mode, Outbreak, is disappointing with only a few players due to its simplistic nature and quick completion time. Transporter is a fun mode that involves collecting a flag and bringing it to a capture point before another car crashes into you. Players can wait at the capture point to head off the flag carrier or chase after them to steal it back. Although Invasion (smashing aliens) never reaches great heights it is consistently enjoyable and can require skilled car control.

Competitive online modes will certainly get the blood pumping. Head2Head creates even more tension when players are racing closely on opposite sides of an impassable barrier. The hardcore modifier removes the HUD and will not grant a car reset after a bad crash, raising the stakes even further. RallyX and Landrush modes put you at the mercy of other players who can decide if you deserve to be rammed into a barrier. Point to Point events against multiplayer ghosts are still very enjoyable due to the constant pressure. You never really know how many people are playing each mode but competitive races are usually well populated. Wait times between races can be long with some players taking a while to load into tracks. A veto vote, for discipline and track location, takes far too long when the actual action is short enough as it is.

Yes this game looks outstanding

Although DiRT 3 may not initially seem like a huge step forward for the franchise it comes off as a solid sequel. You can’t buy vehicles anymore and there is no team management like in GRID but these features don’t really feel lacking. Gymkhana has been well crafted and opens up a bunch of new modes to mess around with. Rally tracks toward the end of the tour are less repetitive thanks to the well designed locations. Visually the game is still spectacular with amazing tracks, nice weather and plenty of detail in the environments. The collection of small changes and the Gymkhana related events ensure DiRT 3 is a very worthy successor.