I was recently sent the Wii and DS versions of DiRT 2 for review, games I admit I probably would not have even bothered to check out on my own. Despite the good (and probably well-deserved) feelings surrounding the franchise, I've just never felt particularly attracted to this sort of game; I tend to gravitate towards things with interesting twists. DiRT 2 doesn't really have one.
As it turned out, though, one of the games that arrived in that package proved to be definitely worth my time. That version of the game was deeper, more fully-featured, and notably higher quality than the other.
I'm not quite sure what happened to the Wii version of DiRT 2. The first thing I noticed was that it was really not very good-looking at all. While it ran at a mostly-solid framerate and had at least spots of attention to detail, its look was often marred by shoddy texture work that was jarring even when speeding by.
It's not that I was constantly speeding by, though. Given the nature of the tracks, I don't expect to have perfect handling, but driving around in the Wii version of DiRT 2 felt at times like my tires were coated in rich, creamy butter, leaving me out of control far too often. I grew very familiar with the "Respot Car" option to get myself back on the track, at times wishing it had perhaps been mapped to its own button to save me from having to hop into the pause menu several times per race. And that was after I put the Wii Wheel down (optional, and not recommended) in favor of the analog stick.
Given this poor start and entertaining thoughts that I was looking at a pair of quick ports, I was at least a little shocked to find that the DS version was a rather good title. (Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised; it was done by Firebrand—making quite a name for themselves on DS racers, and in my life personally for being the guys behind TrackMania DS, but there you go.) The first thing I noticed was the feel—Firebrand's version feels so much better to play.
It's not that the DS version simply gives you a slate of identically perfect-handling cars to drive and impeccable tracks, either. There's still a wide variety of car characteristics and racing conditions to consider; everything feels different, yes, but it's uniformly fun to drive throughout. And while the Wii version is content to simply announce that you've unlocked new cars or paintjobs at seemingly random intervals, the superior DS effort gives you cash prizes for placing in races which you can use to buy new or customize your cars' systems. I didn't expect to really get into this aspect, but found myself enjoying it considerably.
To top it all off, Firebrand has added their trademark track editor to the DS version. There's no online sharing of your created tracks, but it's fun to do nonetheless. You can even get started really quickly by drawing your track directly on the ground, though you'll need to touch it up with new pieces if you want it to have anything but right-angle turns. It's just another little piece of the puzzle that makes this game earn its sticker price and then some.
My advice for Nintendo platform holders interested in a good racer is this: get the DS version. The Wii version, while it had its moments of passing entertainment, just didn't compel me at all to want to return to it. Firebrand's great DS version, though, swept me up so thoroughly that it not only sucked up hours of my time, but got me into the cheap copy of the studio's TrackMania DS I'd picked up a few weeks back (something I'll talk more about later.) The DS version gets my unhesitating recommendation.
As it turned out, though, one of the games that arrived in that package proved to be definitely worth my time. That version of the game was deeper, more fully-featured, and notably higher quality than the other.
I'm not quite sure what happened to the Wii version of DiRT 2. The first thing I noticed was that it was really not very good-looking at all. While it ran at a mostly-solid framerate and had at least spots of attention to detail, its look was often marred by shoddy texture work that was jarring even when speeding by.
It's not that I was constantly speeding by, though. Given the nature of the tracks, I don't expect to have perfect handling, but driving around in the Wii version of DiRT 2 felt at times like my tires were coated in rich, creamy butter, leaving me out of control far too often. I grew very familiar with the "Respot Car" option to get myself back on the track, at times wishing it had perhaps been mapped to its own button to save me from having to hop into the pause menu several times per race. And that was after I put the Wii Wheel down (optional, and not recommended) in favor of the analog stick.
Given this poor start and entertaining thoughts that I was looking at a pair of quick ports, I was at least a little shocked to find that the DS version was a rather good title. (Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised; it was done by Firebrand—making quite a name for themselves on DS racers, and in my life personally for being the guys behind TrackMania DS, but there you go.) The first thing I noticed was the feel—Firebrand's version feels so much better to play.
To top it all off, Firebrand has added their trademark track editor to the DS version. There's no online sharing of your created tracks, but it's fun to do nonetheless. You can even get started really quickly by drawing your track directly on the ground, though you'll need to touch it up with new pieces if you want it to have anything but right-angle turns. It's just another little piece of the puzzle that makes this game earn its sticker price and then some.
My advice for Nintendo platform holders interested in a good racer is this: get the DS version. The Wii version, while it had its moments of passing entertainment, just didn't compel me at all to want to return to it. Firebrand's great DS version, though, swept me up so thoroughly that it not only sucked up hours of my time, but got me into the cheap copy of the studio's TrackMania DS I'd picked up a few weeks back (something I'll talk more about later.) The DS version gets my unhesitating recommendation.