As perhaps the biggest downside to the package, Dirt 2 doesn't allow for online racing or track sharing with a global community. It's a simple addition, but it's also a nice way to get around the lack of extra cart space for tons of paintjobs and designs. In addition to track editing you've also got a decal editor as well, allowing you to make your own pixel-pushed stamps and smack them onto your ride. Created tracks can also be used in multiplayer as well, so if you've got a few friends that each have a copy you're looking at some easy replay value right there. Sharing a level with a nearby friend takes all of a second, and single card multiplayer is included for those that don't have their own copy of the game. The created courses don't have nearly as much detail or look quite as nice, but the create-and-share concept is still there, and it works great. A full-on 3D track designer is included in the game, allowing for piece-by-piece editing (using unlocked pieces found in career mode another incentive to keep playing) or on-the-fly stylus drawing to set up your track. On the customization front Dirt 2 is a pretty expected experience on DS at least if you've been following Firebrand's other racing options. I'm not into huge, heavy vehicles in racing games – give me a Lancer EVO in Dirt 2 any day – but when there was cash to spare I was still buying, upgrading, and giving it at least a few runs around the track. It's as simple as earning enough cash to purchase your car and upgrades – steering, body resilience, speed, tires, etc – but it also gives the game some decent legs as well. Upgrading and car unlocking is also pretty simplistic, but it at least gives you a reason to go back and complete finished races on a higher difficulty. It can be annoying, but it's pretty seldom that it actually gets in the way of a competitive race. Running into other vehicles will bounce you off them in the direction you hit, which can cause some pretty unexpected collisions or spin-outs if you aren't careful while passing. As one minor gripe, car collision in the game is a bit odd. Cars can be raced in either automatic or manual transmission, and learning to use the handbrake to initiate drift is a fun addition, and really makes the drift feel come alive on DS. There's no glorious race-to-the-top scenario, each event feels like a standalone experience, but it's still fun to jump in and play at leisure. Even when you sit down to really dive into the game you'll find that Dirt 2 moves along at a pretty quick pace – which is nice, since I'd rather spend more time in races than in menus – but also doesn't hold a whole lot of weight to any sprint on its own. I had fun ripping through the game's varied terrain and level set, but it also was never much more than quick spurts of a few laps each. ![]() Most of that time will be spent on the track, and while the areas themselves are pretty varied (circuit and point-to-point races are supported) there isn't much of a career feel outside of unlocking the next race, getting more cash, and unlocking/upgrading a new vehicle. The entire game will take a good eight or so hours to complete, which is a beefy single player offering. ![]() Players jump across the world and participate in events divided between three difficulties, with a larger purse for winning harder races. The overall gameplay in Dirt 2 is arcade-inspired and pretty fast all around. You'll get a taste of all racing types, but not a full-on AAA effort in any of them, which is what Firebrand has offered in the past on DS. You'll race in everything from Hummers to Lancers, and while there's obvious high points to the game – dirt rally rocks – it also feels like a little too much for the team to tackle. With so many disciplines and styles, however, the game ends up being a decent racer on all fronts, but not a standout experience on any in particular. Dirt 2 is a true remix of the racing world, combining some classic tarmac sprints with snow rally, dirt, and the over-the-top attitude found in today's arena racing.
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