Dirt Rally Is a formidable thrillride, even better on console
We go hands-on with the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Codemasters' hit PC rally sim.
It's quite daunting sitting in front of Dirt Rally. At the outset, I was concerned about how the game would look and feel if ported to PS4 and Xbox One. As I started playing, such concerns were quickly overtaken by embarrassment at my ability. For those expecting any kind of easier ride than the PC version, or some kind of lowered difficulty for the more casual market, you're out of luck.
That's not a bad thing, though. Right now, when it comes to racing titles, the industry is more fixated on decidedly arcade-style pursuits. DriveClub and Forza Horizon are the best examples of this, and although simulations such as Project Cars and Forza Motorsport offer racing simulations for consoles, they lack a certain character.
Dirt as a series has always tried to balance race sim mechanics with arcade hijinks, but Dirt Rally Scandinavian flicks into the fun, slamming you into the precise steering correction that's needed from a seasoned player, throwing you out of a corner at the best speed possible while a wave pride runs through you.
Being cocky, I approached Dirt Rally by playing with a steering wheel. An automatic gearbox setting was the default selection, so I was in a full squirt-and-go mindset, and quite rightly, I was mercilessly punished by the game for not tempering my steering to my overexuberant acceleration and erratic braking. I repented by switching to the DualShock 4 pad, which gave me a much better idea of how the cars handled. This is no accident.
PC gamers tend to be a dedicated bunch, and Dirt's community has been vocal and helpful in perfecting the game's controls with their feedback. That has helped the transition to console as well. "It's safe to say that our force feedback is the best it's been on any of the games that we've ever made," the game's designer, Paul Coleman, told me.
"I think the new controllers the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have introduced are huge improvements on their predecessors, and they give the player a lot more fidelity. And that kind of haptic feedback that they offer is really important to us."
It's not an empty boast, either. Both console controllers can accurately tell you where your driving is going wrong with this improved haptic feedback, even more so than the PC version in some cases. You can tell which part of your car is losing its grip by the way the motors are vibrating in your pad, and in the case of the Xbox One, the triggers can give you feedback on wheelspin and brake lock-ups, the latter being something that Codemasters was unable to implement with the PC build.
After getting to grips with the pad, I returned to the wheel and got a bit daring, switching my gear changes from automatic to manual sequential. It worked. Being able to play with the throttle without the game automatically changing the gears up and down gave me much better control of the car -- especially in how I was taking corners -- and provided a smoother, more rapid response to sliding and drifting. I wasn't winning any marks for the fastest runs, but I wasn't barrel-rolling into a bank of trees or incurring penalties with multiple puncture repairs either. So I consider that a marked improvement.
The outcome is a game that's currently faster and smoother than most of its market contemporaries, much more unforgiving in its realistic handling and course design, and an experience that makes you want to get better at tackling its nuances rather than hiring an Uber.
Dirt Rally Ships on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One from April 5.