DIRT 4 REVIEW IGN UPGRADE
Players will be asked to upgrade their support staff, their PR, their sponsorships, and facilities that enhance all three. This is the hairiest series, especially in multiplayer, and requires a user to make precise entries into each turn of the first lap to have any shot at clearing the pack.ĭirt 4 encourages the user to try all of it with a persistent career layer that applies sponsorship goals and team branding to the car in every event. There is an officially branded World Rallycross championship, which is racing against a live field on real-world courses of variable surfaces. Then there's the Land Rush, which is a circuit course for buggies (most fun) trucks (fun, but always a crapshoot, which is still fun in its own way) and the inscrutable crosskarts (no fun). The timed, straight-ahead rally is Dirt 4's bread and butter, and it has two series, one for modern cars and another for heritage vehicles of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. There is still plenty of racing enjoyment in Dirt 4's less complex settings, but experienced racers will probably blow away a bot field rated anything less than tough, while newcomers stand little chance against the top setting.
DIRT 4 REVIEW IGN MANUAL
Unless the course is raced perfectly, beating a "tough" AI field requires using a manual transmission at minimum, and maybe other advanced options, to get off the line at top speed and recover from otherwise costly mistakes down the course. I found a big difficulty spike, though, between the fourth AI difficulty, "demanding" and "tough," its hardest setting. In Wales, I was allowed to skid off the outside shoulder of an open hairpin and, with my entire rear axle scrambling for traction like Scooby-Doo running away from a ghost, still make a clean getaway to first place. Getting into these adverse situations won’t fail the race, but you still have to extricate yourself from them.
Racing a clean lap is always an admirable goal, but Dirt 4 knows the majesty of its sport is flat-out hooning through gritted teeth. Hatchback door banging, shredded tire throwing sparks, exhaust farting in the turns like a wild pony, I still snipped the finish line in a respectable third place in Australia.
DIRT 4 REVIEW IGN LICENSE
Dirt 4 was a license to sling gravel through every turn of a rally course, counter-steering to my heart's content.
The dirty secret of all racing video games is that folks coast into the turns, drift, and occasionally brake by hitting a wall or an opponent. Simulation showcases these differences more, but even in the casual setting I felt like I could bias the braking, front or back, in my pre-race adjustments and give myself - and meaningfully use - a little less steer on pavement or a little more on gravel.ĭirt 4's fundamental appeal is in the reckless handling of rally racing, after all. There are still perceptible differences in the vehicle handling and surface traction on the easier Gamer setting. The game offers two handling settings to accommodate racers: Gamer, a more forgiving setup, and simulation, which is more challenging. Codemasters has been so trustworthy in this duty that the handling and traction of Dirt 4 can almost be taken for granted. Of course, it's essential to a racing game that the driving action be distinct and understandable across multiple vehicles classes and numerous surfaces, from taut blacktop to waterslide mud and dry, pillow-soft, well, dirt. The game's most profound strength is the unlimited variety and replayability offered by a simple course creation tool, which is well suited to rally racing's basic appeal: hurtling into something new and unknown with nerve, skill and flat-out speed. It will take care of the rest.Įxperienced, novice, casual, committed, car buff, adrenaline junkie or anything in between, Dirt 4 has a sweet spot for everyone and it takes no time to find it. Dirt 4 has just one expectation of its players: Enjoy racing.