Nice review. I'm sceptical about some of the points, especially tarmac physics and I think Codemasters could have done a much better job of communicating some of the 'negatives' up front.
But it feels like they've really taken on board requests from the community and it looks like the game is gradually improved in all areas across the board. Boxes ticked:
+ The stages look superb again. Dirt 4's stages killed that game quickly for me, whereas I was happy with DR1's for months. They may not be my choices, but New Zealand, Australia, Argentina have been frequently requested since DR1 and the Polish and US stages look superb too.
+ Physics on gravel look ace, they look to have improved all around and the immersion-breaking weightlessness is gone.
+ 'Offline' career mode seems to be an evolution of D1's well done but simple one.
+ A nearly 'complete' modern car roster - R2, R4, R5 classes are all well stocked and I'm really looking forward to the RGT class' addition.
+ Multiplayer rallies. This was well done in Dirt 4, but missing in DR1 so glad to see it's in this one.
+ Logical new features, like surface degradation and tyre choices. Some may want this done in more detail, but anything like this can ruin offline experience if it doesn't work with the rest of the game (see Project Cars 2's weather) so for me I'm happy with it being a step forward the way it's being done.
+ The big one to me: DLC and ongoing support. I was hoping for this on the last two titles, but this time I'm really happy they've waited for the base game to be 'right' first. Whilst I expect Season 2 to have too much RX content for my liking, Season 1 is perfect for me (apart from the 'missing' Lancia and Porsche).
Minuses are really personal to me:
- There are only 10km more unique stage mileage in this game than the first one at launch. More is coming, which is great, but they should have said very early on that this would be the case. I hope all 6 DR1 locations are added back in if that's the quickest way to generate more stage mileage.
- Tarmac physics still look really bad. After the first version of Germany in DR1 felt so 'right', it's a pity that they're really struggling to nail this one. With Monte Carlo and Germany coming post-launch, hopefully there are improvements to come here.
- AI feels very disconnected, little chance to develop rivalries and I can't even see which driver is using which livery. The performance of the cars aren't taken into account in times and I don't think drivers have surface preferences or different ratings, they're just random names and logos on a list.
- The class structure remains bizarre. The Stratos and 240Z should be in the same class as the Escort and 131, whilst Group A cars from the late 80s are split across three classes rather than brought together (H3 RWD BMW and Ford, H2 FWD VW and Peugeot, Group A Lancia). Makes for a very uneven selection in some classes. I hope they can move some of these.
- At the moment, it doesn't seem like AI strength or 'Hardcore' mode are options in Career mode. Hopefully this is a UX oversight.
- It seems like there are car licence struggles still; Toyota is the obvious one, but it feels like Hyundai and Seat might be the latest to fall foul of Codemasters' licence woes. Hopefully I'm proven wrong on this.
- RX inclusion and focus. I still wish the team would concentrate on rally.
- No 'hot seat' mode. Hopefully this is something that can be added down the line.
But in not way do those minuses add up to a poor product - they're just things I'd like to see improved and done better. DR1 was one of my favourite games from recent years and DR2 looks like a step forward in almost every area. Add to that the commitment to support and add content to it over the coming months (and hopefully longer) then this looks like a winner to me.
As somebody who was fooled by DiRT 4, if I'm fooled this time it's all on me. Looking forward to finding out and to the content that will be added over the coming weeks and months.
Agreed, the graphics look immense and the gameplay sounds like a good improvement too, the addition of the stage degradation is also awesome, but the dlc is a disgrace. Charging for old content, even some of the dlc cars are from the first game. I’m surprised it’s even legal. People wanted dlc for Dirt Rally 1, and codies seem to think this was the correct action to take, they are either trying to pull a fast one or are just very deluded, thinking that customers want to pay for the same content again.
"Surprised it's legal" - really?
You are aware that they're not taking DR1 away from you, right? They're not deactivating those stages in the first game. They're upgrading three locations from the first game (new spectator models, new foliage, new textures, adding stage degradation and updating the AI for the new format and classes) and making it optional. Personally I hope they offer me the option on the other three from DR1 too. They could have been less consumer-friendly about it and included those in the base game and then included the new locations in the DLC, but they made it optional instead.
I agree they misread how people would see the situation, but it's a very consumer-friendly approach IMO.