Video Game Vintage Title: Colin McRae: Dirt 2

Colin McRae: Dirt 2

Colin McRae: Dirt 2 is a rally racing game released in September 2009, and is the sequel to Colin McRae: Dirt. This is the first game in the McRae series since McRae's death in 2007. It was announced on 19 November 2008 and features Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, and Dave Mirra. The game includes many new race-events, including stadium events. Along with the player, an RV travels from one event to another, and serves as "headquarters" for the player. It features a roster of contemporary off-road events, taking players to diverse and challenging real-world environments. The game takes place across four continents: Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. The game includes five different event types: Rally, Rallycross, "Trailblazer", "Land Rush" and "Raid". The World Tour mode sees players competing in multi-car and solo races at new locations, and also includes a new multiplayer mode.

Colin McRae: Dirt 2 is the first PC video game to use Blue Ripple Sound's Rapture3D sound engine by default. Also it was one of the first video games to implement the then newly released DirectX 11 graphical standard on ATI 5000 and NVIDIA Geforce 400 series chipsets.

A demo of the game was released on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace on 20 August 2009. The demo appeared for the PC on 29 November 2009; it features the same content as the console demo with the addition of higher graphic settings and a benchmark tool. The Mac OS X version of the game was released by Feral Interactive.

Colin McRae: Dirt 2 was an official sponsor of Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust and Dave Mirra of the Subaru Rally Team USA. The game also features former rally driver Mohammed bin Sulayem.

The sequel Dirt 3 was released on 24 May 2011.

Colin McRae: Dirt 2 Gameplay

Colin McRae: Dirt 2 features five racing disciplines, all of which are playable offline (against AI bots when applicable) and online. In addition, three "special modes" are included. Colin McRae: Dirt 2 runs on an updated version of the EGO engine, which powered Codemasters' Race Driver: Grid as well. The engine features, most notably, an updated physics engine, which models realistic weight transfer during turning maneuvers, allowing the player to incorporate advanced driving techniques, such as the Scandinavian flick.

Rally racing occurs on non-circuit roads which usually involve public (closed) routes and technically challenging courses. Usually involving staggered starts, each driver competes against the clock. In addition, during rally events, a co-driver is present, constantly reading pacenotes to guide the driver along narrow and meandering tracks of up to 6 km in length.

Rallycross races involve cars identical to those used in rally events; the races themselves, however, are very different. Each rally-cross race involves up to eight racers competing in multiple lap events on circuit tracks of mixed surface type. The tracks, half tarmac and half dirt, exist in closed settings, such as in or around stadiums, and are approximately 1 to 1.5 km in length.

The most similar real-world equivalent of Trailblazer events are hill climbs. Unlike hill climb events, however, trailblazer races do not require a positive change in elevation. Similar to rallying, trailblazing features staggered starts. Trailblazer (and hill climb) cars, unlike rally cars, usually feature massive aerodynamic aids, such as spoilers, diffusers, and splitters to help keep traction at higher speeds, regardless of track surface or conditions.

Raid races are multi-car events involving heavyweight vehicles, such as buggies and trophy trucks. Each race begins with a simultaneous start of up to eight competitors, with tracks averaging 5 km in length.

Landrush events are similar to raid races, but take place on a circuit. Each event features eight racers on a dirt track of about 1 km, and involve multiple laps.

Special Modes

In addition to the five straight game types, there are three special variants, each applicable to multiple modes.

Gatecrasher, which uses Rally courses and cars, involves smashing yellow barriers; competitors race against the clock. When smashed, the "gates", strategically placed along the best racing line, add time to the clock; whichever racer finishes the event with the most time on the clock wins. The format of the race is more similar to a multi-competitor time trial than to a traditional rally race.

Domination, playable Rallycross and Land Rush stages, involves multiple drivers competing to set the lowest time in any given track sector. Points are awarded based on the final number of controlled sectors, as well as the final race position.

Last Man Standing is an elimination-style race based on rallycross, during which the driver in last place is eliminated at 20-second intervals, the winner being the final driver left after all others are eliminated.