The demo for Colin McRae: Dirt is now available for both PC and X360. See alternative sources for download mirrors of the PC version (833 MB).
Xbox Live members can download the 769 MB sized demo from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
A whole host of Codemasters games are on sale until the 26th of this month on Steam. DiRT Rally is on sale with a generous 33% off mark up, which makes it a bargain! You can also get your hands on DiRT 3 Complete Edition at 50% off, DiRT Showdown at 80% off and even the original Colin McRae Rally at 80% off if you fancy going “old skool”.
Other sale items include the F1 series, Grid series, Overlord and Operation Flashpoint, along with a few other titles. If you have missed the opportunity to play any of these games in the past then now might be the time to give them a go.
Cars cars CARS. These are 10 of the best racing games – old and new – ever to grace a Playstation platform. From all time classics to the current best of the best.
I love driving games, but this gen there's been one huge problem for most of them... Loading times.
In NFS Hot Pursuit it sometimes felt like I spent more time looking at loading screens than taking part in the races!
Also, it's one thing to have long load times before getting in to races, as the game engine etc loads; but also having long load times waiting for the menus (like Dirt 3) is just ridiculous.
Gran Turismo 5 is way better than GT3 Aspec. GT3 was the most disappointing in the series imo. Sure it had amazing graphics for the time but it went from 500+ cars to 170. The content lacked and was stripped away from the previous title.
GT5 may have had its flaws but it had tons of content AND new features. After being updated several times it nearly eliminated all of those flaws.
For me, GT2 was the worst.
I loved GT3, but I think GT5 is the best yet. Sure, there were some hiccups here and there, but it's not nearly as bad as most people want to make it.
I honestly think it's the best simulator on consoles.
Gamasutra: Opportunities for developers of racing games seem to have taken a detour. The console track has narrowed to just a few high-profile vehicles, like Sony's Gran Turismo, Microsoft's Forza Motorsport, Electronic Arts' Need For Speed and Codemasters' Dirt. Indeed, many studios with racing experience have shuttered as demand for other titles has disappeared.
plus they can break even/enjoy more profit without having to sell millions of copies.it's really cutting out the middleman since all sales will be digital.
As far as racing goes consoles only have 2 real racing sim franchises. Though imo I wouldn't even call them sims. There's quite a bit on pc so the less competition claim is false.
@Papashango, by less compition i mean less big names are involve in the pc sims, so by going on pc you have a chance to be that big name if your popular enough
You think it's less competitive? I think not. rFactor 2, iRacing, Asseto Corsa, Project CARS. Add to them Live For Speed that has a lot of followers and you have a pretty BIG competition.
Fact is that the sim racing model is ideal for the PC market. The whole idea of community-based development can't work on consoles for a lot of reasons (freedom and the pay model for two). Developers can earn a lot, provided they give their community what they want to
Those are no-names for the general public (even mainstream gamers), there is no way those names can compete with the marketing muscle from Sony and the GT brand and Microsoft with Forza.
You're very wrong on that. The computer racing market has plenty of competition.
The difference is most computer games don't get the kind of mainstream recognition Gran Turismo or Forza do. Therefore because of that, the computer landscape for racing games is more evenly matched whereas on the home system you'd have to deal with either Gran Turismo or Forza...or both if you're multiplatform based
That is what i meant it doesn't have the competion of the big names like forza and gran turismo, it is more open and developer friendly, which allow people to experiment on pc without effecting there bottom line like they would if it was on a console
Why Are Racing Developers Heading to the PC? because their not
You just asked a question to a lie
PC has always had a big list of racing developers.
Racing games on pc isnt new
But hey, they have to get their hits right? Even if is by falsified methods.
Computer gaming indeed has been home to many racing developers for more than a decade. But we know how the media works. Anything for that extra hit
as long as Polyphony, Kaz, & GT are on a PlayStation console, that's *more than good enough for me & millions of others worldwide.
I think that the reason there are fewer racers on console as to pc is because Gran turismo, Forza, NFS are all very well established names and i believe they all do an excellent job in being able to offer the experience that they do and i believe the developers of said games are able to push the hardware further and get alot more from the console then say another developer, meaning compared to the competition those 3 games offer a game which looks better, plays better and offers more.
my two cents
**should read artcicle first but pretty similar**
Because they can achieve something like this http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Consoles can't handle a racing sim as detailed as CARS is and will be when it's finished at 1080p 60fps or above.
That looked really good, but is it just me or did the cars seem to have a float like look to them. It looks really good though.
the game is still early Alpha stage, physics still need a lot of polish, it's still pretty great considering how early it is.
That looks amazing
but im willing to bet that is not someone playing the game.
@letros
because developers are known for showing of cgi footage and claiming its gameplay, to hype the game.
GT5, forza, nfs, they have all done it..
I specificaly remember thew ps3 f1 launch title, i got the ps3 just for that and i still remember the "in game trailer" which, to be fair looked nothing like the final product.
Since then i never trust a video called "gameplay" inless i can see the person playing via a camera of screen.
Also forgot to say, theres a difference between in game footage, and game play footage.
Sometimes they use the game engine? i think? which makes the video "not cgi"? but still far superior to the end product.
Gears of war comes to mind.
It has nothing to do with what a Home system can or can't do. We know a home system is limited compared to a computer.
The issue lies in the fact that they can't compete with Gran Turismo or Forza. Just read the article and one of them is even blatantly telling you that.
Compete ? Perhaps not in terms of licensing and quantity of cars and soundtracks which require huge budgets.
But in terms of realism and graphics PC is way ahead. PC Sims look better, are more realistic, and you can play online with 64racers in some games. You could never do this on console without big sacrifices.
Then you go tell that to the developers that SAID they can't compete with Gran Turismo and Forza IN THE ARTICLE if you happen to read it.
As I just stated, Being BETTER isn't the issue. Getting NOTICE IS.
If you make a sim on the ps3, your FIRST thought has to be "how can i take out Gran Turismo.
If you make a sim on the 360, your FIRST thought has to be "how can i take out Forza".
If you make a sim on the computer, you FIRST thought is "i have to take out......(crickets)"
See what's being said there? There is no MAJOR competitor on the Computer racing landscape. No Household name. No competitor backed by a powerhouse company.
THEREFORE, they don't have to worry about having to COMPETE with a well-known adversary.
You need to read it again about another 100 times.
And I hope you understood that quote because he's not saying their too good to compete with in terms of grpahics/physics but in terms of general popularity.
If a new sim that is 100 times more realistic than both Forza and GT was to be released on consoles it would still sell badly because of GT and Forzas foundation.
At least being on the PC they can get recognized (and it has all the best sims anyway).
Why don't you read around the top half of the second page.
I'll even go quote some of it for you.
"That's because any new console racers would compete head-to-head with Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, which are already on their fourth or fifth iterations, Tudor says. "Trying to win that war would be very difficult, requiring lots of money, lots of time, lots of licenses, and a big team to do it well."
Now it's up to you if you want to read the rest in its entirety
"If you make a sim on the computer, you FIRST thought is "i have to take out......(crickets)"
You sad console fanboy, he clearly mentioned a couple of PC racing sims and yet you say there's no one to compete with on the PC. Are you sure you never skimmed through the article just to grab a quote that you think supports your ridiculous post? Because I think you did.
He could could have listed about 20+ sim racers on the PC if he wanted to.
And, as good as they are, not ONE of them has a name that commands as much power or market as Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport.
Yes, there are some standout titles, like iRacing and C.A.R.S., but those names aren't nearly as dangerous as the two big console sims.
THAT is the point, Mr. Revenge.
I miss decent-good racing games being released yearly. Now they all suck. We need NFS Underground 3 and a new Midnight Club.
Thank Ya.... downloading it as I type!
I own a 360 and I'm glad we get demos to download from the Marketplace for free. But hasn't PS3 got a download service? I'm just wondering why they haven't got the Dirt demo today?
I mean. Good for 360 guys. Too bad for PS3 I guess.
I'm sitting at work while my 360 downloads the demo.
Just need to get home, turn it on and play.
All is exellent, 3 tracks, 3 cars. Lovely visuals, not a jaggy in site! Nice lighting, great shadows, fabulous damage model! Framerate dips a touch now and then but is rarely noticable. Exellent sound effects, menu/gui screens is very flashy, a wee bit of loading between races but nothing on the scale of PGR (helps the fact you are given user stats instead of the usual "loading" screen). Most importantly it handles increadibly well. Forget the Motorstorm comparision as they are most defo different games, a lap round with the buggys on Dirt should be proof enough. My favourite portion of the game is the point to point part of the game, select the mitsubishi for this. All in all im very impressed. Hope this helps
Damn this is downloading slow.
Normally I download from XBL and PSN with about 1MB per sec, meaning this demo should be down in under 15 minutes. Now its been going for 1½ hours and it's only at 50%.