Dirt Track Racing 2 (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.1 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Scott Osborne
• Reviewed on: 09/24/2002
• Released on: 09/01/2002
• Originally published on GameSpot: Dirt Track Racing 2 (PC) Review

The term "budget game" will probably always have a negative connotation for many gamers, thanks to the kind of low-quality shovelware we keep seeing on store shelves. But discerning gamers know that "budget game" isn't always synonymous with poor quality. Along with Croteam's superb Serious Sam series, Australian developer Ratbag has been proving for years that some budget games can be just as good as their full-priced brethren, which might very well lead you to suspect that full-priced might really mean overpriced. Ratbag has carved out a fine reputation with a series of racing games built around its proprietary Difference engine, games like 1999's well-regarded Dirt Track Racing. And just like its predecessors, Dirt Track Racing 2 gives you unassuming but challenging racing, where hometown heroes powerslide through the mud on tiny tracks.

In Dirt Track Racing 2, you'll find something like a cross between rally racing and NASCAR racing. Like in NASCAR races, you'll race on closed, purpose-built tracks. Here, most of the 14 tracks are oval variants with a few particularly dangerous figure-eight tracks thrown in for good measure. True to the game's name, you'll be racing across bumpy dirt surfaces, often wet ones, regularly sliding through the corners like a seasoned rally racer.

As if roaring sideways through turns in an 800-horsepower car weren't enough, you'll be doing it on ridiculously small tracks. Many just break the half-mile mark; some are only a measly quarter-mile around. The margin for error is slim at best, and since the game doesn't have any long straightaways, you'll be wrangling with your car nonstop. So, while dirt track racing might not be glamorous or prestigious, it can still be a fun challenge.

You'll get to test your skills in quick race and career modes, as well as in online multiplayer mode for up to 10 players. In quick races, you can select any car and track in the game and set the number of competitors and laps, the track wetness, and the AI difficulty. Unfortunately, the cars are all generic, so don't expect to find any high-profile real-world cars, except by implication. Whatever car you select, you can expect a real challenge. The computer-controlled drivers are no pushovers, especially at the highest difficulty levels. When the race is done, you can watch and save a replay, though the replay suite isn't particularly powerful.

Along with the quick races, you can play through a surprisingly deep career mode similar to the one found in the original Dirt Track Racing. You'll start with a small amount of cash to purchase your first basic car. As you win races, you'll accumulate money for repairing damage, purchasing better parts, and buying new cars. As you prove your worth on the track, you'll even gain sponsorship deals.

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