Recent reviews by ikt

What people hoped to be the ultimate combination of WRC games and what DiRT Rally had to offer, this is a sore disappointment for driving enthusiasts. Whilst the gameplay elements are all excellent, the core driving physics, tire simulation and resulting force feedback leave much to be desired, especially on asphalt.

The game is very enjoyable to play through, even with a wheel, as long as no tarmac stages are considered. The inherent extreme slip angles on gravel and snow result in a great suspension of disbelief - and the excellent presentation helps with this. But it just all breaks down on tarmac, where anybody who has driven at any speed in any car will instinctively feel that something weird is up. I can just summarize it as DiRT 4/DiRT Rally 2 physics, but with just more fake grip on tarmac, instead of properly modeled wheels with their respective things like how traction changes through varying slip angles and how that translates in the car actually being able to steer and put power on the ground.

The resulting force feedback on tarmac is disappointing at best, and completely the opposite of a realistic expectation at worst. Cars such as the F2 Kit Cars do not at all behave like their actual counterparts, something which DiRT Rally managed to represent so well.

If you do not play this game with a wheel though, or just aren't very critical of the arcade-ish handling, it's still a good game. Just not a good simulator. And on that note, I'm giving it a thumbs down, for other wheel users.

SUCH a good sim rally game, even in 2024. The graphics may not be as fancy as the newer titles, but the physics, handling and force feedback are just on-point. It's such a joy to drive this game, especially on tarmac, something which the later games completely messed up.

The career and other modes are basic, and with the sunsetting of the online modes some functionality disappears, but this still makes for an excellent "hop in and drive" game. It takes some effort to set up the wheel, especially a modern Direct Drive wheel, but I managed to set up my CSL DD, CSL Pedals (USB), SHH shifter and AliExpress handbrake without any issues.

Honestly, when this came out it was a labor of love, and you can still notice this. Crafted by and for people who just love driving. Niche, but everything checked out. With the release of EA Sports WRC, it's definitely worth it to check back on this game to see the roots - and to be saddened by how the pure driving feel has gone away with DiRT Rally 2.0 and EA Sports WRC. Sure, the "game" element may not be as thought out and complete as the later games, but honestly - do you *want* to play the "game" if the core driving mechanics are a massive downgrade?

So yeah, if you haven't played this yet on your (new) (DD) wheel, definitely grab a copy of this original DiRT Rally, because it's pretty much a sweet spot between the arcady new WRC games, and hard-core modded RBR installations.

A shame CM never addressed the tarmac physics and force feedback. The game really is much more polished and improved over DR1, but the tarmac physics just ruin the thing. Also the hilarious tyre deg physics.

For the 100GB this takes up on your drive, there is a better alternative. This will be uninstalled to make place for it - a shame, because gravel feels great at times, the car selection is stellar and it's visually appealing.

6.5/10

It is what it is, so I'll just shed my view on this as wheel enthusiast.

Core mechanics - the basic driving, mechanical simulation and generic "basic" driving feel is good. The traffic rules are somewhat strict and it's sometimes not clear why you violated them, but it's there and it generally works satisfactory.

Graphics are.. there. It's basic and contains barely any eye candy - it's functional, but that's mostly it. The screenshots are pretty indicative.

Career mode guides you through the core game mechanics and throws challenges at you, which frankly are pretty enjoyable to complete.

Wheel setup is straightforward, but you'll need to look around to see how to bind most actions to something handy on the wheel. Otherwise, be ready to grab your keyboard often. If uncommon hardware is used, some settings need to be adjusted to fix linearity and range - had such on my CSL DD and CSL Pedals. Oh, also enable force feedback manually with these newer wheels!

Once that's done, driving can happen.

Driving itself is fine, intuitive if you have ever driven, and the clutch simulation is pretty forgiving, and you can shift through the gears fine without mis-shifts happening if you drive normally.

Force feedback however, is very basic. There is some basic form of return-to-center with an amount of dampening, but nothing to customize. Cars feel sluggish and reluctant to change direction in general, and there is no actual physics-driven self-centering happening. There is no car catching oversteer, so you'll have to wrestle the force feedback in powerful RWD vehicles, unlike reality where the car self-corrects into the slide somewhat. Locked up front wheels also don't provide the feeling of understeer/light steering. There are some road effects, which feel good, but the core force feedback is just lacking.

The car roster is nice and varied with common cars and various configurations, which do have an effect while driving, but sadly the force feedback kind of muddies everything into feeling similarly. Generally the car physics are okay though.

NPCs drive decently - depending on your setting - and don't very often to NPC-y things like double parking when you're stopped for traffic or traffic signs. Otherwise, they're unremarkable, and don't have the logic to take initiative evading you or driving around you.

Final verdict/recommendation:

It's a fine game for what it is. If you have a few bucks to spare during a sale and have always been interested, definitely grab it - though I wouldn't value it higher than 10 dollars. It's the first (and pretty much only) of its kind. There's a career, there's a varied car roster and if you just want to cruise around responsibly, it's the only option. If you however expect a *great* wheel-driving experience and want to rush around in cities - maybe look further, and start modding more common titles for a more spicy city-driving experience.

Finally, bonus points for the developer seemingly keeping up with the latest trends like VR, didn't expect that in this game.

Feedback to the developer:
- Improving force feedback might be worthwhile and could transform the game into a more... "enthusiast friendly" game.
- The car engine response, and general clutch re-engagement, seem a bit sluggish. Maybe addressing this might make vehicles feel more alive.
- The camera movement and FOV can't be adjusted, this would be nice to match the steering wheel size on-screen.

This is a very well made mod and everything feels nice and polished. The puzzles are pretty challenging, but once you figure things out, they flow pretty well.

If there was any point of criticism, it'd be that the story ends a bit too quickly after having been introduced to all concepts.

This is awesome community-made content, with all the voice acting, level design and story done about as well as Valves' product. Double thumbs up!

Take Two just killed modding. Aside from the cash grab shark-cards or grind-your-life away approaches there isn't much going for GTA:Online, and the SP DLC that had been taunted years ago never appeared. And now they killed off the only saving graces of the game, namely mods. Online has been ruined since the start by a crappy anti-cheat system that gets defeated time after time anyway, that haven't ever been addressed at the source.

Don't buy the game, don't buy shark cards. Take Two ruined GTA by making it more about the money than about the game.

Update:
Since Rockstar seemingly has resolved the OpenIV issue with the team itself, I've changed this review. The SP with mods is still amazing and when there's a sale, definitely grab it to mod the ♥♥♥♥ out of it.

Simple to begin, and you can make things as complex as you'd like. Released a while ago, but still frequently updated with new levels, blocks and other things. The freedom to make whatever you want, makes you keep coming back to this game.