DiRT Rally 2.0 Game of the Year Edition (Xbox One) Review

By Athanasios 18.04.2020

Review for DiRT Rally 2.0 Game of the Year Edition on Xbox One

When Cubed3's own Tomas Barry paid a visit to DiRT Rally 2.0 back in 2019, he discovered what was one of best of its kind, and gave it a stellar review. Yours truly wouldn't do so, though. Not that it's bad. Far from it. Codemasters crafted one of the finest racing games ever, but in terms of content, almost everything was hidden behind a paywall, with an unforgivable amount of DLC available. Plus, it was also somewhat of a technical mess in regards to online connectivity, at least for some people. The Game of the Year Edition fixes the first problem, by bundling together the vast majority of DLC, making this finally feel like a complete product, worthy of its price tag - but is it?

Compared to the DiRT series, DiRT Rally 2.0 leans much more towards the realistic side of things, with a driving experience that's, well, quite unforgiving to the ones who'll approach it like any other racer. Players must be concentrated every single millisecond of the road, and really pay attention to dealing with the challenges that lie ahead, always keeping in mind that this isn't Need for Speed, but something whose main focus is realism, even when outside the track, as you are expected to "play" with the settings of your machine, without this ever holding your hand.

Yes, you will never be told what needs to be done, but it's this "hardcore" approach that's great here. Having said that, DiRT Rally 2.0's realism doesn't hurt the fun. Needless to say, of course, that it's not aimed at those who wanted something more arcade-y. It should also be noted that the bulk of the experience is about racing on special stages, yet there's also a Rallycross mode for those who want to. In the end, although enjoyable, this can't match the excitement and challenge of a 10km ride in the harsh conditions of outdoor New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Greece, and so on.

Screenshot for DiRT Rally 2.0 Game of the Year Edition on Xbox One

The engine powering this isn't exactly filled with all the bells and whistles that one can find in most post-2017, triple-A productions (even on ultra settings), but everything looks great, with a variety of locales to visit, which are all quite detailed. For true immersion, avoid third-person cameras, as the sound quality is even more impressive than the graphics, especially with a good sound system, with which players will feel every pebble, rain drop, and so on, while your co-driver calls out sharp corners with a clear tension in his voice, but doesn't give a damn when you fall over a cliff.

As mentioned in the intro, the Game of the Year edition is the full package. Within you'll found many cars, that range from vintage pieces of history, to modern beasts, a decent amount of tracks to race on, as well as an extra mode that basically covers an assortment of chapters from the life of rally legend Colin McRae, something that fans of the sport will really love. Generally, there's a little bit of everything here, whether you want to try your luck at a championship (custom or otherwise), some online racing, the - quite long - career mode, and so on and forth.

…But no, this isn't an easy recommendation. Sadly, as fantastic as the actual game is, many of the things one can partake in is "hidden" behind an online connection, which isn't a bad thing, of course - although online make almost everything surprisingly slower for some reason - but good luck connecting to the server. Expect not being able to enjoy any online features, or losing progress mid-course, and very, very often. It's not something that has happened to everyone, so one might thing that the one writing this was just unlucky, but, no, visit a forum or two, and it's obvious that is a common issue. Simply inexcusable for a GOTY edition.

Screenshot for DiRT Rally 2.0 Game of the Year Edition on Xbox One

Cubed3 Rating

6/10
Rated 6 out of 10

Good

Ask anyone who has played DiRT Rally 2.0, and they'll probably mention how great this is. They are right. This is one of the greatest rally games one can enjoy right now, with the Game of the Year edition being the best way to do so, as it includes every DLC that has been released. The problem with it, is that a great deal of the content on offer requires being online, yet this is plagued by some severe connectivity issues.

Developer

Codemasters

Publisher

Codemasters

Genre

Driving

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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