The End is Nigh: DiRT 2

‘The End is Nigh’ is a weekly column by Play.tm’s Martin Gaston, pondering the nature of videogame endings and why we do or don’t choose to finish the games we play. This week: DiRT 2 and its inability to escape repetition.

I rarely finish racing games. That’s something I’ve mentioned before, but I remembered it again this week after inadvertently giving up on DiRT 2 about half-way through.

I’ve picked on DiRT 2 especially because, out of all the major developers of racing titles, it’s Codemasters who seem to be trying their darndest to work some kind of narrative hook into their titles. “I’m Ken Block,” chimes Ken Block (I presume) at the start of the game. My immediate question: who is Ken Block? Pause the game and it’s off to Wikipedia. Back in the game – he’s one of the co-founders and recently appointed Chief Brand Officer of DC Shoes and has competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, motocross, and most notably rally racing, of course – I get given a trailer, where I’ll co-ordinate my races and start an epic career which will, I’m told, span the entire world. But first I’ve got to earn enough respect to impress some other rally drivers, who I’m also completely unfamiliar with, to get their permission to follow them to other continents. What happened to just racing? At this rate the ghost of Colin McRae will descend from the heavens and tell me only I, and my trusty Ford Fiesta WRC, can stop Ganondorf and save Hyrule.

IN YOUR FACE
Codemasters are attempting a very specific theme with the game; DiRT 2’s desire to reappropriate the kind of nu-XTREME styling of SSX is forever apparent, and my problem with this aesthetic is how it’s been done with about as much tact as a cutscene from Need for Speed: Underground. It’s unapologetically lacking in subtlety, although this is hardly surprising coming from the game which advertised itself with a flash title which let you etch ‘dirty’ tattoos onto a generous pair of lady baps. That being said, I do like the fact you can choose from a range of bobbleheads to jazz up your excellent in-car view.

Personal taste aside – Codemasters have some of the most talented UI designers on the planet and their presentation is certainly stylish – the game goes for a theme and sticks with it. You, a mute up-and-comer, will fraternise with unrecognisable names and faces to become the best rally driver in the history of the world of all time ever. So extreme! The trouble with all this is, even though they’re trying to tie everything together into a neat and tidy package, it doesn’t rid the game of one of its genre’s biggest inherent flaws: repetition.

I’ve spoken of how Burnout Paradise overcomes its repetitious nature, but DiRT 2 doesn’t fare so well. I can’t fault the game itself; it’s a lot of fun. It’s a fundamentally well-constructed title, with some very fancy graphics and excellent arcade handling, which basically nicks off with PGR’s core of lots of little events over and over again. Forza 3, on the other hand, gives you a chap with an English accent and loads of nested menus. All three games work on the idea of laying a trail of breadcrumbs, assuming the player will consider each race a step on a bigger journey where, at the end of the game, they’ll magically end up at some scrolling credits and the satisfaction of a job well done. DiRT 2 just can’t sustain its initial momentum, and like most racing games it has a campaign which demands a great deal of invested time to see the end. Its idea, of the player going from zero to racing hero over the course of the game, is a novel spin but ultimately one that can’t stop it falling by the wayside. Shame. By Martin Gaston