Out of the blue, Codemasters has put a game called Dirt Rally on Steam Early Access. According to Eurogamer, Dirt isn't an arcade title anymore. And it won't have any of the non-rally stuff in it. 17 cars, 36 courses (more will follow), authentic handling, rain, night, a co-driver and many other features. It's -10% off for the "launch" week at 27 €. I'll follow the Steam forums for the next few days to see if it's good to drive with a G27 and quite probably will purchase it sooner or later.
This is what I've gathered from various forums: many people say Dirt Rally more realistic than the previous Dirt games, but it's not a real simulator either. Some say that the FFB effects are bad and the cars have too much grip. It does look and sound great. But do remember it's on Early Access and it's been there only for a day. Things are bound to change during the Early Access period.
Yeah, that's the risk of Early Access titles. You never know how often will the devs update the game or even when is it released. Assetto Corsa was perfect in this regard and Wreckfest's development has been very quiet for months (a year?). I'm very tempted to buy Dirt Rally right now but no one can say if Codemasters are going to regularily update it or not. But it would be a real rally game with real tracks and real cars...
Project CARS looks absolutely stunning, but I'll wait for reviews both from official reviewers and from ordinary players. All that night racing in the rain and the career mode sounds really good. If it really is good, I'll try to wait for a sale before buying.
Alright, I bought it and have played for 1,5 hours. I didn't even know rally racing was this much fun! There are 17 cars from different time periods, from 60s Mini Coopers to Subaru Imprezas, BMW E30s and modern day Mini Countrymans. There's a career mode already in the game. I started my team, bought the old FWD Mini and hired an engineer to fix my car between events. After four events I was fifth in the overall standings against the AI. I got an upgrade for the engine, making it a bit more powerful.
The graphics and the sounds are great. The vehicles can break in many different ways. In one race I had a tire puncture, in another a wheel fell completely off! I guess I haven't crashed hard enough yet, but it's possible to damage the engine, the radiator, the exhaust, the gearbox, the driveshaft, the suspension, the brakes, the wheels and the body.
Right now there are three different locations with a lot of different courses in each; the dusty Greece, the muddy and wet Wales, and the snowy Monte Carlo in Monaco. It can rain or snow and the race may take place in the morning, midday, afternoon or at night. Break your headlights and it's hard to see!
You cannot use the mouse anywhere in the game, which is very strange considering Dirt Rally is a PC-only game. When the racing wheel is connected, all of the button prompts refer to the wheel's buttons. The problem is, the G27 hasn't labeled any of its buttons. With sheer luck I've found out where buttons 5 and 17 are. I guess I'll have to label all the buttons with a pencil. (they are shown in the Logitech Gaming Profiler software) You can still use the keyboard but aside from enter and esc keys, I don't know what does what.
You can use the G27 to its full extent: H-shifter and clutch work in the game out of the box. You just have to load the G27 preset and pick the correct transmission type in the options. I set the handbrake button on the farthest red button on the gear shifter. In rallying you use it quite often, so it sticks out how unrealistic it is to hold a button to use the handbrake. It can also be difficult to find, and switching gears while holding the button down is hard. The force feedback effects are decent.
I'm not sure if there's online play yet, but you can compare leaderboard times with your friends.
Overall, I've enjoyed the game a lot and would recommend to anyone looking for a pure rally experience.
Yes, I agree. I nearly bought the game straight after reading your review Al. I will certainly be getting it soon but will be busy with ProjectCARS for a bit. I will let you know how ProjectCARS compares with Assetto.
You convinced me and have bought it. had a quick go and is really immersive. Am liking it lots. Only tried the mini cooper but as my first car was a mini is bringing back memories.
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