DiRT 3
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''Dirt 3'' (stylised as ''DiRT 3'') is a
simcade Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tir ...
racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...
developed and published by
Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Octo ...
for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
. It was the first game in the series without the ''Colin McRae'' moniker. A sequel,
DiRT 4 ''Dirt 4'' (stylised as ''DiRT 4'') is a simcade racing video game developed by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2017, and for macOS and Linux in March 2019 by Feral Interactive. A sequel, ''Dirt 5'', was r ...
, was released in June 2017. The game features many rally drivers such as Ken Block,
Tanner Foust Tanner Foust (born June 13, 1973) is an American professional racing driver, stunt driver, and television host. He competes in rally, drift, ice racing, time attack, hill climb and rallycross with multiple podium placements, national champions ...
,
Liam Doran Liam Doran (born 22 March 1987) is a British professional rallycross driver competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, Global RallyCross Championship, X Games, and European Rallycross Championship. He is the son of British rallycros ...
,
Kris Meeke Kris Meeke (born 2 July 1979) is a Northern Irish professional rally driver, best known for competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His co-driver is Seb Marshall, also B ...
, Sebastian Ogier, Sebastian Loeb,
Mohammed Ben Sulayem Mohammed Ahmad Sultan Ben Sulayem ( ar, محمد بن سليم; born 12 November 1961) is an Emirati former rally driver and current president of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile). He is one of the Arab world's leading mot ...
, and a multitude of others. The game features a variety of off-road events located in many different places all around the world, such as Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America, all of which bring the player an assortment of challenging real-world environments. In September 2011, there were reports that a network security problem on the website of an AMD promo had resulted in the loss of 3 million ''Dirt 3'' keys to the public for use via the Steam platform that have then been posted in various places around the internet.


Gameplay

The main mode, "Dirt Tour", sees players earn reputation points in various events to gain the interest of sponsors who provide them with new vehicles. Flashbacks return from '' Colin McRae: Dirt 2'', which can be used up to five times in any difficulty, but cost reputation points to use. New features include a "Hardcore mode" which limits players to the cockpit view (known as "head cam") with no driver assists, the appearance of rain and snow, and the ability to upload replay clips directly to
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. The game sees the return of many racing disciplines from ''Colin McRae: Dirt 2'', but also introduces new modes and disciplines as well. *
Rally racing Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students ...
takes place on technically challenging, non-circuit, point-to-point routes. They usually involve staggered starts, and each driver races against the clock for the fastest time over numerous stages. Also during Rally events, a
co-driver A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...
is present reading pacenotes to guide the driver and warn them of possible dangers, such as crashes ahead of them. * Rallycross racing takes place on closed, looped, circuit race tracks. These tracks can be a mix of gravel and tarmac, and involves many drivers pitted against each other over the same circuit on a series of laps. The driver who crosses the finish line first wins. * Trailblazers are the equivalent of
hill-climb Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...
races. They take place on non-circuit, point-to-point courses, which can be a mix of gravel and tarmac. Similar to rally events, they involve staggered starts and each driver races to set the fastest time on the stages, but a co-driver is not present. * Landrush events are similar to Rallycross events, but they switch vehicles to vigorous stadium trucks and buggies. They also take place on looped, circuit race tracks, but unlike Rallycross events, these tracks are usually almost always on gravel. These tracks are also bumpier and have more obstacles than Rallycross tracks. Drivers are pitted against each other, and the driver who crosses the finish line first wins. *
Gymkhana Gymkhana () ( ur, جِمخانہ, sd, جمخانه, hi, जिमख़ाना, as, জিমখানা, bn, জিমখানা) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to den ...
, new to the series, is a skill-based game mode where the player has to pull off tricks to gain as many points as possible. These challenging tricks include doughnuts, drifting through gates, jumps, controlled spinning in a zone, and smashing through foam blocks. Drivers who gain the most points from performing these tricks wins the event. * Head 2 Head events are similar to the Crossover events from Colin McRae: DiRT. Two drivers are pitted against each other to drive two lanes over a crossover track, which are typically a mix of gravel and tarmac. The driver who comes first is declared winner while the driver who comes second will be eliminated.


Special party modes

In addition to the normal off-road based modes, there are also various special online modes. * "Invasion" involves drivers smashing wooden targets for points. * "Outbreak" involves the "infected" drivers spreading the zombie infection as fast as possible. * "Transporter" involves drivers playing in a capture-the-flag mode.


Complete Edition

A "Complete Edition" of the game was released by Codemasters in 2012. Consisting of the game and its associated DLC packaged together, the Complete Edition adds several tracks and vehicles. It was released in March 9 in Europe and 20 March in North America. The Complete Edition for
Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
by
Feral Interactive Feral Interactive is a British video games developer and publisher for macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was founded in 1996 to bring games to Mac and specialises in porting games to different ...
was released in 29 January 2015. The Complete Edition was removed from the Steam marketplace in early 2017 presumably due to expiring licenses for the cars.


Reception

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the game a score of 8.5 and an Editor's Choice award, praising the gameplay and online functionality while criticising some of the design choices. ''
GameTrailers ''GameTrailers'' (''GT'') was an American video gaming website created by Geoffrey R. Grotz and Brandon Jones in 2002. The website specialized in multimedia content, including trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming and recently released v ...
'' gave the game a score of 9.2, praising the gameplay and presentation, although criticising the limits of the YouTube functionality. ''
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' gave the game a score of 9/10, praising its impeccable gameplay though noting slightly lower structure presentation compared to the previous game. ''
Official Xbox Magazine ''Official Xbox Magazine'' (or OXM for short) was a British monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001. Th ...
'' gave the game a score of 8.5/10, hailing its impressive car design and smooth handling, while criticising the lack of dynamism in the surfaces and poor social features. ''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...
'' heavily lauded the game's graphics, detail, vehicle types, music, sound, tracks, and online multiplayer, while expressing minor annoyances with the long load times and announcers. ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' wrote positively about the game's dynamic weather, Gymkhana mode, settings, and handling,writing, "DiRT 3 isn't a sim...it strikes a satisfying middle-ground...offering a tactile and engaging model that sits well across all of the game's many disciplines." ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' saw the addition of the Gymkhana mode as a major step forward for the franchise but thought that the focus on rally racing made the game's career mode a tedious one. ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' wrote extremely positively, calling the game "dazzingly varied" and "relentlessly entertaining", while praising the rally handling and vehicle selection. ''
Push Square Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
'' awarded the game nine stars out of ten, concluding, "Everything from the game's core physics engine to the user-interface has been overhauled, resulting in a supremely polished experience that's going to be difficult to beat." ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' similarly praised new event types, accessible difficulty options, presentation, handling, vehicle variety, and both local and online multiplayer, while also noting the limited Youtube functionality. Following reports that the PC version of the game was unplayable due to the game's reliance on the now defunct
Games for Windows – Live Games for Windows – Live or GFWL (trademarked as Games for Windows – LIVE) was an online gaming service used by ''Games for Windows''–branded PC titles that enables Windows PCs to connect to Microsoft's Live service. Users, each with a uniq ...
software, a spokesperson for Codemasters issued a statement on the Steam community in January 2014 stating that Codemasters were in the process of removing Games for Windows – Live from the game, and would announce completion of the task at a later date. On 1 April 2015, the work had been completed and GFWL had been removed from the game. The game was one of the November 2015 Games with Gold free games, the first of the promotion to be playable on
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
through backwards compatibility.


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2011 video games Codemasters games Colin McRae Rally and Dirt series Ego (game engine) games Feral Interactive games Games for Windows certified games MacOS games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 3 games Racing video games set in the United States Rally racing video games Split-screen multiplayer games THQ games Video games set in Finland Video games set in Kenya Video games set in London Video games set in Los Angeles Video games set in Monaco Video games set in Michigan Video games set in Norway Windows games Xbox 360 games Video games developed in the United Kingdom