Dirt Rally 2.0 Review

If one company dominates the simulator racing market right now, it is certainly Codemasters. Not only do they have Dirt Rally 2.0 in their portfolio but they have also acquired the rights to Formula 1 and have released a line of successful titles over the last five years. See their name on the cover of a racer and you know it means quality. This developer has earned plenty of trust.

Driving

The previous Dirt Rally set the bar pretty high even if it did have some minor problems. The main one was that handling could sometimes just feel off. The car might refuse to respond to your steering. The subsequent crash into a tree just felt completely out of your control.

Fortunately, that is definitely not the case in the sequel. Dirt Rally 2.0 is incredibly sensitive. Even with a controller rather than a racing wheel setup, it is like you are really in the driving seat. Take a little trip off road in this title and the blame will squarely be on your shoulders.

That’s not to say that you are completely in control all the time. Maneuvering your car around a tight hairpin and then accelerating away often feels like you are on the very edge of turning your prized vehicle into a complete wreck.

Drama

Dirt Rally 2.0 creates more drama than even the best horror or thriller games. It ratchets up the tension with every twist and turn that you manage to get around safely. The tension builds so much that you unconsciously lean forward as the end of a stage approaches. It is so easy to end up almost on the floor of your living room.

All of this makes getting to the end of a rally stage feel like a true accomplishment. Especially when you know that any major mistake on your part would have added dozens of seconds to your time and sent you tumbling down the order.

The fact that no two runs feel the same adds to the excitement. You never take a corner the same way twice. Each attempt constantly evolves according to how you wrestled the car around the last corner. It’s a truly exhilarating game where you constantly strive for perfection while knowing it is impossible to attain. Dirt Rally 2.0 doesn’t expect perfection but does demand that you try your very best to deliver it.