Colin McRae: Dirt 2 cover art

Colin McRae: Dirt 2

A rally racer where mastering precise car control against tricky terrain is everything.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION8 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION4 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    8/10

    precise rally driving and braking required

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    no adaptive opponents, mostly time trials

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    2/10

    weather and surface conditions vary

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    4/10

    car tuning and racing lines solvable

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

Need for Speed: The Run cover art

Need for Speed: The Run

Pure Mechanics · arcade racing

E
R
V
O
Need for Speed: The Run
Driver cover art

Driver

Pure Mechanics · driving action game

E
R
V
O
Driver
Star Wars Episode I: Racer cover art

Star Wars Episode I: Racer

Pure Mechanics · futuristic racer

E
R
V
O
Star Wars Episode I: Racer
F-Zero cover art

F-Zero

Pure Mechanics · futuristic racer

E
R
V
O
F-Zero
Colin McRae Rally 2.0 cover art

Colin McRae Rally 2.0

Pure Mechanics · rally racing sim

E
R
V
O
Colin McRae Rally 2.0
Skate 2 cover art

Skate 2

Pure Mechanics · skateboarding sim

E
R
V
O
Skate 2

Game details

Released
2009
Developer
Codemasters
Franchise
Colin McRae
Platforms
OnLive, PS3, PC, Mac, X360
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer
IGDB critics
79/100
IGDB users
79/100
RacingSportActionNon-fiction