DiRT Rally

From what I've played so far, I can consider this the [i]crème de la crème[/i] when it comes to at least Rally & Rallycross, but what's the point mentioning with [i]RaceNet[/i] server shutdowns and the (Community) Delta (Time) stuff/missions being rendered unavailable?! Biggest breath of fresh air? 0 Rubber Band AI 🙏 Biggest 'breathtaking' ... experience? Very aggressive AI drivers in Rallycross and you're losing traction in no TIME ...

It's unfortunate that you can't buy this game on Steam anymore, but it is easily my favorite compared to DiRT Rally 2.0 and Assetto Corsa Rally. AI times seem to be way less out of hand here when compared to DiRT Rally 2.0, the RX cars aren't constantly trying to kill you, and I think the driving dynamics are realistic but forgiving enough to use a controller. Whipping through championships with a Group B car took a lot of practice for me to get down, but it is so satisfying once you complete a stage without any major crashes or slowdowns. It's just the right amount of frustrating and difficult to make me want to come back and play it again after being stumped for one session, but not so much that I just lose motivation and give up like DiRT Rally 2.0. I lasted 17 minutes in AC Rally before refunding because sneezing at the handbrake into a turn basically causes you to instantly lose all traction and slide into the nearest wall or ditch. Maybe the tarmac feel is more realistic in that game... but I play games to have fun, and I think it sucks. I'm not here to impress anyone. DiRT 1 is peak.

DIRT RALLY = 38.8gb DIRT RALLY 2.0 = 109.52gb what the hell is that? are we getting nearly three times the amount of game in 2.0 than we are in this one? because yes - I'd say 2.0 is pretty comfortably a "better" game if we're talking about "better rally arcade-simulator". the physics just feel better. weightier, more substantial, less inclined to tolerate driver boobishness. but 2.75x better? I dunno, man. 2.0 is the better simulation, but Dirt Rally is pretty damn great too. and the graphics and sound? better in 2.0, but 1.0 is still really really damn good. if DiRT Rally 2.0 is the non-Richard-Burns favorite for Best Rally Game like many say it is, second place surely must go to Dirt Rally. it's also not always-online. it'll try to sign you in to something called Race Net or whatever, but it doesn't take an age like 2.0 does and provide a comprehensively wack-ass non-negotiable always-online experience. and 2.0 for whatever reason doesn't have Hill Climb. why not? I sincerely don't know. I love Hill Climb. nothing about 2.0 screams "2.75 times space needed!" over this one. and if you don't say it matters, you've either got 10tb of space or not many games. because this stuff adds up. I love 2.0, but the amount of space it needs - compared to what you get over 1.0 - is just never worth it to me. the game's never installed, which blows. I do love it, but 1.0 is frankly almost as good to a casual fan. but seriously. I don't know why they wouldn't do Hill Climb for 2.0. it's such a clear loss with no clear reason why not. it's not like they wanted to keep the size down, obviously. instead in 2.0 you get to dink around Dirt Fish. which is neat to be sure ... but it's a sandbox in a rally game. there's no environment or setting in the actual game that'll be anywhere near that kind of open space, so it's simply a neat novelty. not an entire game mode. oh well. they took this one off sale. what a horrible shame. you just can't keep nice things in gaming when other brand names are involved.