Colin McRae Dirt 2 is Codemasters sequel to their highly realistic rally racer, Colin McRae Dirt. With a new approach and now being able to take part in the X Games, can the latest version pass by the previous or will it be left in the dust by it’s predecessor?

In this game you take part as the rookie who is traveling from show to show in your run down RV. The RV is your main HUB and it is where you can check the map to see what races you have available, go online and check your stats. The map is sectioned into eight different areas from around the world including Baja California, London and China. The majority of the races will be locked in the beginning, but as you complete races you will gain experience points as well as money. The experience points will level you up and will unlock new events as you go along.

Once you select a destination you will zoom in and have to choose from a variety of different races. You have the five standard races: rally, rally cross, trailblazer, land rush and raid. These races are extremely varied in that the trailblazer will have you racing across wide open spaces at break neck speeds, but the rally cross will have you bumping and sliding your way around a multiple lap race with eight of your closes friends.

Within each particular type of race, there will be different rules.  The Gate Crasher will have a timer counting down and you will have to smash through gates gaining two seconds for each successful hit trying to have the most time left on the clock. Last Man Standing is an elimination type race where every 20 seconds the last place driver is eliminated until there is only one driver left. The last mode is Domination this one requires you to try and be the fastest driver through each section of a race just because you may be in fourth place on the track does not mean you may not have first place points.

Besides choosing to race in each particular area there are also world tour events.  These events will have you competing in one race type in five different areas and the person with the most points at the end of the tournament wins. You also can compete in the X Games which are broken up into three different race types. In the first two races you do not have to win just simply finish in the top four to advance, but in the last race the winner takes all.

The last thing to take note of before you select a race is the different classes. There are three different classes: rookie, pro and all star.  Each class has their own speed levels as well as an increasing skill level. Now this is different then the actual difficulty settings which you can change before each race. These are already set and can not be changed.

Now once you do select the race you are taken to a screen to select the difficulty. There are actually six different difficulties ranging from extremely easy, to very hard. With each increase in difficulty the amount of money and experience points are increased, but the amount of flashbacks are taken away. More on what those are later.

From the difficulty screen you go to the vehicle selection screen. At the beginning you are given a car, but you will need to purchase all new vehicles later. Besides purchasing vehicles you will also need to purchase upgrades so that you can run in pro and all star classes as well as compete in some of the different races. Once the vehicle is selected you can change your paint job as well as the toys hanging from your mirror or sitting on your dash.

© Adam Wolfe for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us

This demo is a look at the upcoming DLC for Fear 2. The premise of the demo is that you play as Replica Soldier Foxtrot 183, and there is a voice in your head compelling you to disobey orders from Replica Command. You go AWOL, and must escape Replica Outpost. The demo starts with you being surrounded by dead bodies, and hearing the voices of soldiers looking for you. You have to fight your way through multiple levels of the Replica Outpost. You will encounter normal soldiers, as well as heavy soldiers who look like armored mechs. The demo only takes about 10 minutes to complete, the length wasn’t the actual issue.

All of our staff members felt that this demo was majorly lacking. It doesn’t do anything new and, for the most part, it came off as mediocre. The full retail game was released back in February, and if you did not purchase it then there is little here to change your mind. You probably won’t miss much if you skip out on this one.

NHL 10

This demo covers EA’s latest installment in its NHL franchise, and it’s unusually big for a sports demo. There is a tutorial that shows you the basic shooting and checking mechanics. You also get to try out two game modes, the first of which is Battle for the Cup. This mode will have you playing as either the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. You only play one quarter, but it’s enough to get a good feel for the game. The other mode is Be a Pro, which allows you to create a superstar and play in the prospect game. Be a Pro mode only allows you to participate in the third quarter, and you can only control your created player. And though the camera only follows you, not the puck, it’s still a cool concept and offers plenty of fun.

This was a pretty robust demo and was very enjoyable, with most of the staff offering significant praise for the demo. The graphics look excellent, and the two modes included, though short, really give a good taste of what to expect from the full game. If you’re an NHL fan, this is definitely the demo for you. NHL 10 looks to be a solid rental at the very least, and maybe even worthy of a full purchase.

Wet/Dirt 2

These two demos were on the EU store last week, and, in general, the staff enjoyed them. Wet has some interesting gameplay mechanics, and has creeped up most of our lists from “who cares” to “must rent”. Dirt 2 is extremely fun and looks absolutely amazing, and most of the staff agrees that this game is will probably be a must buy. For our full impressions on these two games, check out last week’s post here.

That wraps up the Down-Low on What to Download for the week of 8/31. To recap, Fear 2 comes off as a pretty uninspired FPS, and for the most part there is little reason to download it. NHL 10 is a very impressive NHL game. The demo has a lot to offer, and was really enjoyable. If you’re an NHL fan, than this game is definitely one to check out. The last two demos we looked at last week, were pretty interesting, though Dirt 2 takes the spotlight as a great offroad racer with slick graphics and tight controls.

© Adam Wolfe for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us

This week, we are treated to a demo of the next iteration of EA’s award winning NHL franchise with NHL 10. Along with that the North American PS Store should see the WET, and DiRT 2 demos that EU got last week. EU PS Store will be getting Smash Cars this week. Also owners of Fight Night Round 4 should be ready for another round of DLC which adds some new boxers to the game’s roster.We expect more DLC, and possibly a PSN game to round out the update.

This week, like the previous few weeks we are trying a new format, where we outline which region will be getting what content. We are also now giving you a preview as to what’s coming in the following weeks on PSN, along with our regular rumored content.

NHL 10 Demo [US, EU]

DiRT 2 Demo [US]

Smash Cars [EU]

F.E.A.R. 2 Reborn Demo

Fight Night Round 4 DLC Champions Pack [US, EU]

Rock Band DLC [US, EU]

• Billy Idol – “Mony Mony”
• Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell”
• Fleetwood Mac – “Don’t Stop”
• Fleetwood Mac – “World Turning”
• Jet – “She’s a Genius”
• Tom Petty – “I Won’t Back Down”
• Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down a Dream”

Next Page: Rumored Content…

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© Anthony Severino for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 27 comments | Add to del.icio.us

For this week, there were four demos released: Mini Ninjas and IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey on the North American PSN, and Dirt 2 and Wet on the European PSN.

IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

This game is a WWII combat flight simulator that’s focused on the air battles of the Eastern Front. The demo is made up of three tutorials, with one section focusing on basic maneuvers, and the other two focusing on more advance tactics. You also get to play a single player mission, which will have you trying to take down multiple planes.

The demo was average at best. We liked the plane controls, the game had a decent draw distance, and it offered a good amount of play time for a demo. However, the graphics were mediocre and the gameplay in general seemed lacking. Admittedly, most of the staff are not particularly fond of flight sims, and this game did very little to sway our opinions. After spending some time as a whole, we agree that this is a rent at best. But with games like HAWX out on store shelves, you won’t miss much by not playing it.

Wet

Wet is a 3rd person shooter that is very similar to Stranglehold, with over-the-top gun fights mixing seamlessly with sword fights. The demo is made up of four sections. The first is a tutorial level that has you running, jumping, sliding, shooting and slicing through multiple enemies. The second part has three spawn points. This section is all about collecting points and, each enemy you kill adds more to your overall score. There are multipliers you can shoot,  and ultimately you need to shut down all three spawn points. The third part starts with your character getting blood splashed on her face. Everything turns red and white, and you go into Rubi mode. The music speeds up and you pretty much dominate any opponent thrown at you. The fourth and final section takes place with your character on the roof of a car flying down the highway. You jump from car to car, shooting enemies and nearly escaping collision’s with high speed traffic.

My first impressions of this game were that it is very Quentin Tarantino-esque. The gun fights are over the top, there is blood everywhere, and it’s very action-packed. This was actually one demo that surprised most of the staff. The controls, which may take some getting used to, seemed very fluid. Jumping, shooting, and then hacking someone in half with your sword worked flawlessly. The whole jumping from moving car to moving car is very farfetched, but when played with an open mind, it is enjoyable. This went from a “why bother” to a good weekend rent. We all agree that it still is not a must buy, but should make for a very solid rental.

© Adam Wolfe for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us

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© Draisey for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Codemasters have released an exciting new trailer for Dirt 2.

The trailer features spliced clips of both real rally car racing and gameplay from the game. Some of the scenes you may find hard to decide which is gameplay and which is reality.

Check out the trailer below.

© Connor Sky for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us

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© Draisey for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us

The latest trailer from [shal]Codemasters’[/shal] upcoming sequel [shal]Dirt 2[/shal] sheds some light on what you’ll be seeing from their latest Colin McRae rally game.

There will be 100 events across 9 countries, and you’ll be able to choose from 50 different drivers. Also, the soundtrack is jam packed with music from 40 of the world’s greatest bands. Be ready to get dirty all over again come this September.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Source]

© Adam Wolfe for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us

[shal]Codemasters[/shal] has released a brand new trailer for their offroad racer,[shal] Dirt 2 [/shal]. This exciting video takes you behind the scenes, showing off some of the game’s impressive physics and sound work. The executive producer of the game goes fairly in depth as to what improvements have been made since the first Dirt installment. 

One interesting piece of information is revealed near the end, and it has to do with a technology that [shal]Guerrilla Games[/shal] has been showing off in [shal]Killzone 2[/shal], which is [shal]deferred rendering[/shal]. It’s one of the reasons the lighting quality in this game is so impressive. Check out the video, and let us know what you think!

Click here to view the embedded video.

© Adam Wolfe for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Shacknews got their hands on the latest teaser trailer for Codemasters upcoming game Dirt 2. The trailer is quite confusing with a showering woman and a underwear-clad lady cooking up some grub. Whatever is going on we will find out when the game releases  this September.

Click here to view the embedded video.

© Adam Wolfe for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Richard

Costmasters, round three, 5 new Dirt 2 concept screens.

© Richard Allen for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | No comments | Add to del.icio.us