There are certain genres that companies just seem to own, lock, stock and two smoking barrels.  When you think of MMORPG’s, World of Warcraft immediately comes to mind as the defining game in that genre.  Or when you look to stealth action titles, and immediatly pull the Metal Gear Solid card.  Well Codemasters has become the go to brand for arcade racers over the years, and DiRT 2 only cements this reputation.  After thirty minutes with this title, I almost moved it to the top of my list for my game of the year.

DiRT 2 keeps up the forumla of Rally styled racing, but improves on the presentation, style and format of the game.  After installing the game, you do not even get to a menu screen before you are put in a game.  Right out the gates, you enter your info, choose a car and start up a beginner race that gives you a feel for the racing in DiRT 2.  The presentation was slick, and immersed me into the rally culture, including messages from fellow drivers.

Once you hit the track, I was floored by the solid looking graphics, easily propelling DiRT 2 to best looking title on my PC this year.  Factor into this, an absolute smooth framerate around the track, and I was on cloud nine.  I tried out both my Force Feedback wheel and gamepad and found that both were easy to use with DiRT 2, but it definitely favors the controller.

After three races, I hit the end of my thirty minutes, and sat down to capture one of my replays for this article.  As you can see above, the game looks as good as that video.  My only regret is that I did not have a current ATI card around to test out the DirectX 11 video functions. 

I have a lot more to say on DiRT 2, but I am saving it for the review, as I saw my notes turning into more of a review, and less of a First Thirty article.  So far, I would say that DiRT 2 is looking like a must buy for racing fans.  Look for a review on DiRT 2 in the near future.