DiRT Demo Impressions

The 769MB DiRT demo was made available on the 24th May on Xbox Live Marketplace. Thanks to the new low power download settings of the dashboard I was able to download this overnight as it was going at a snails pace yesterday.

I wasn't really aware of this game before the demo, and I was pleasantly surprised with how the games shaping up.

Colin Mcrae DiRT (to use its full name) is all about off-road racing, as you'd expect if you've heard the name "Colin Mcrae" before as it's synonymous with a number of rally games over the years.

The demo offers you three different cars (Subaru Impreza, Misubishi Evo IX and Ickler Jimco Buggy) but each one is linked directly to a track, so unfortunately you can't try out each car on each track. The tracks on offer vary quite a bit from a tarmac based rally special stage using the Subaru, a long hill climb on gravel using the Mitsubishi and finally a mud based circuit using the Ickler buggy.

Two difficulty levels are available: "Rookie" and "Amateur", with the damage and the opposition skill increasing for the latter of the two. For each race you can also get additional track information including a verbal rundown from your co-driver if desired.

Overall I was impressed with this demo, the graphics are excellent and you're offered a good variety of camera angles including two in-car views. Both the Subaru and Impreza handled pretty well, but it took some time to get used to the Ickler on the mud track. Damage looks like it will have an impact in the game. The cars get nicely deformed from each knock, and handling does deteriorate. However with the difficulty levels available in the demo your car can take a significant amount of damage and you can still make the finish line.

I'm pleased I played the demo as it has now brought the game to my attention. I'm not sure of the exact release date, but hopefully it won't clash too much with the Forza: Motorsport release date on 8th June.