The Masters Of The Racing Video Game, Codemasters

When I think of Dirt 3, the expression 'takes a licking and keeps on ticking' comes to mind. So why is Dirt 3 such a successful game ? Well to answer that question, Dirt 3 has everything you could wish for in a racing game. For starters, the game is not only about rally driving, it also has track racing built into as well, and one of the most important factor is the physics engine the game has. For example, in Dirt 3 when your driving in snow, the track is very slippery at some places, driving in the gravel dirties your, and most importantly you can damage your car anyway possible, I managed to drive my Ford Escort from the top of a mountain and the damages done to the car were realistic.

Dirt 3 is a successful game, but you have to go further and look at the history Codemasters have with racing games to understand why. If we go back in time a little bit, we can look at games like Toca Touring Car Championship which was the first game I played on PlayStation One, way back in 1999, back then even the guys at Codemasters realized having a racing game that is not only easy to learn, but also has the extra goodies that can turn you into an expert, was essential to making a successful racing game. Imagine I completed Toca Touring Car Championship at least 50 times and I always would come back for more, and this game only had about 10 tracks and 10 cars which included a hidden track and a pink Cadillac and a Tank.

A few years later, and Codemasters released Toca World Touring Cars which featured more tracks and more cars, and again the gameplay was as exciting as the original Toca. So what is it that has kept Codemasters around since the late 1980s. Well for starts, and this I feel is very important to gaming in particular with race games, Codemasters have managed to mix realism with fun in a perfect blend that always makes the player want to come back for more. Coming back to the racing titles they have released you get the element of enjoying the game, you can destroy as many objects in the game, including your car, and you can still win.

When I think of the racing games they have produced, I have always felt that their racing games have an element that shows how to play the game, then when your hooked you come back to master the game because every-time you play you have fun. Just like the Toca series, you will always want to play Dirt 3 even if you managed to finish the game 3 or 4 or even 10 times. That is just a testimony of how good the guys at Codemasters really are, and I for one take my hat off to them.