Yes, rather disturbingly, Dirt 2's most distinct feature are the race menus. Shying away from the stunningly sleek, yet sterile style of the first, now they're fully 3D scenes that seamlessly transition into and out of the racing. Unfortunately, after you've taken your umpteenth unskippable look around the race yard, been slowly lectured about all the shit you've unlocked and listened to some lame quip from another racer, it all gets a little tiresome.
Menus aside, the actual racing content of the game comes in various flavours, ranging from the traditional rallying, to the less than entertaining "hit the yellow shit on the road" mode. While the variation is interesting, I would have preferred they stuck to mastering one particular style instead, say, RALLY for instance.
As such, as with any quantity over quality decision, it's not without its issues, which include some temperamental car control, non-dynamic terrain and a reasonably ill thought out flashback mechanic, which as the name suggests, lets you rewind time and undo that fatal mistake you just made (taking the dumbing down of games to that next level). In actuality, you'll probably choose the wrong place to pick up the action due to the ludicrously placed replay camera and end up slamming into the same bloody thing you did the first time. Even when it's used properly, it still ruins the flow of the game and could have easily been dropped.
However, my greatest gripe with the game is with the trendy, Need For Speed-esk image it seems so keen to tout. Whereas I was hoping to take on Tommi MŠkinen in the French Alps, instead you'll be racing against BMX (eh?) rider Dave Mirra in his pimping joy ride. Talk about selling out.
So whilst Dirt 2 isn't a bad pick, don't bother buying a party mix if all you want is some good chocolate, if you get what I mean.
