Review: DiRT 2 (PSP)

Developer/Publisher: Sumo Digital/Codemasters
Price: $29.99
Genre: Racing
Verdict: A very average, unimpressive racer.
Pros: Decent Graphics, Game Sharing always welcome
Cons: Framerate drops, Dull A.I., and general lack of content

Lets just get one thing out of the way before this review gets going: The name of the game is DiRT 2. As such, expect many terrible puns regarding filth, cleanliness, or other synonyms and terms related to dirt. Consider this a disclaimer: If you become nauseous as a result of silly puns, leave now; none of us want to have UNSANITARY words flung around in the comments. Codemasters has received critical praise for their work on DiRT and DiRT 2 for the consoles, but is the PSP offering worthy of similar praise, or did it come out decidedly SLOPPY? Here is the review.

In DiRT 2 for the PSP, you assume the role of a young amateur off-road racer, who experiences many trials and tribulations during his racing career that really develop his credibility as not only a character, but a human being. Oh wait, my bad, actually there is no storyline at all. The World Tour (Career) mode in DiRT 2 consists of merely a bunch of races across different areas. All that there is to do is beat one race and start the next. There is no in-game cash, or progression system- all you get to know is that you placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a race. To me the career mode seemed rather UNKEMPT, as it pretty much amounts to a bunch of arcade races in a row. There are unlockables to be obtained for completing the World Tour, and unlocking all the cars is probably the only real reason for finishing the darn thing (Don’t expect that many cars, though). World Tour mode is not compelling by any stretch of the imagination- after completing each race in the mode, its UNTIDY nature will most likely keep you from returning. But who cares about storylines or progressions anyway? We came here to race!

As races progress, your vehicle will get increasingly dirty or damaged.

DiRT 2 for the PSP straddles the line between arcade racer and sim racer well. It has jumpy physics, and looks and feels akin to Burnout, but in order to keep your perfect track record from being SULLIED, you will have to strategically use the brake and handbrake to take sharp turns. At first, steering the vehicles is a pain in the side. Frustration is assured during the first few races, as your car will appear to go all Christine on you and attempt autonomy. But after a while of powersliding and getting used to how the vehicles handle, you will find yourself maneuvering through turns and tracks like a true pro. The graphics are decent, although the framerate does tend to drop inexplicably even though nothing is happening on screen. There aren’t many tracks to tear through, but what is there is pleasantly varied. At once you could be tearing through the DUSTY terrain of Ethiopia, (yes, Ethiopia)  and the next minute you can find yourself speeding through the frozen tundra of Iceland. Given the calibre of the PSP speakers, I was rather surprised to find that the sounds effects were quite MUCKY. I know that is whats to be expected about a game that takes place off-road, but the audio sounded like it would be better suited to the Game Boy Advance rather than the PSP. Besides those chugging car sounds, there really isn’t much else to listen to. There is some ambient noise, (birds chirping, etc…) but having music playing during races would have helped cover up the fact that it tends to get really boring. Don’t get me wrong here- the mechanics of racing are all stolidly in place, but the game ends up feeling tiresome because of its A.I. flaws.

Notice how there aren't any other cars on screen? Get used to it.

The A.I. controlled opponents are simply LOUSY. They don’t drive aggressively at all. In fact, after you pass them initially in a race, don’t expect to be seeing them again because they never catch up. It really defeats the purpose of a racing game if racing seems more like a Sunday drive than a head-to-head competition of speed and skill. This problem can be remedied by playing with up to 3 friends over ad-hoc mode. Although there is an unfortunate lack of Infrastructure mode, at least Sumo Digital had the courtesy to allow Game Sharing to play with one friend. Game Sharing, like I have said countless times before, is a feature to the PSP which is criminally overlooked all too often.  Besides the World Tour and Multiplayer modes, there is an extra “Challenges” mode. This involves performing actions like getting air and drifting for as long as possible over different tracks. These Challenges are nice distractions from the racing, although they are not interesting enough to cover up the flaws which make the game feel DISHEVELLED overall.

There are a nice variety of tracks in the game

Here is the bottom line: DiRT 2 is a handheld racer that is par for the course, and doesn’t truly impress or compel at all. Lack of content and many flaws will make you want to WASH your hands of this title, and considering that both Gran Turismo and Motorstorm: Arctic Edge are very nearly here, anyone looking for a PSP racer shouldn’t really need to think about picking DiRT 2 up.

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