The third installment in Codemasters‘ off-road racing simulator will be officially arriving worldwide on May 24th. The developer made the announcement today on their community forums. Just like DiRT 2, the third game in the series will be a Games for Windows Live title. No word yet on whether or not there will be a pre-release demo, but we’ll keep our ears open.

via [Big Download]

The Bargain Bin is a weekly feature that helps out gamers in the tough economy. How does it help? Once a week, it offers a great and cheap game ($10 or less) to keep you going until your next paycheck.

While Codemasters is working hard to get their upcoming racing game F1 2010 released on time, it seems the guys over at Direct2Drive want gamers to catch up on Codemasters’ previous title, DiRT 2. If you don’t know much about the game, then have a quick read through our DiRT 2 review and decide for yourself. If after reading you decide that this is a game you want in your library, then shoot over to Direct2Drive, give them your $6.00, and begin your download!

It wasn’t that long ago when the second installment of the DiRT series hit store shelves and Codemasters is already showing us some details of the third game in trailer form. This past weekend, Codemasters debuted their first DiRT 3 trailer during X Games coverage on ESPN. The trailer features different weather climates, as well as a few cool stunts and scenes that will hopefully be in the actual game when it arrives next year. Check out the trailer after the break.

Steam has reduced the price of the Codemasters Racing Pack to $17.50 for the weekend. The pack includes DiRT, DiRT 2, GRID, FUEL and ToCA Race Driver 3. Alternatively, you can purchase just the games you want from the pack, as they are each 75% off individually, but the pack is still the best deal. No matter what you decide, it’s an awesome gig for some awesome racing games that no gamer should be able to pass up.

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Despite having just announced F1 2010, Codemasters is also working on the next entry into the DiRT series. UK gaming magazine Edge got the scoop during an interview with Codemasters VP Gavin Cheshire. It seems Codemasters is looking to bring something completely new to the racing genre with the installment of DiRT 3:

“There’s an overwhelming arcing vision to all of our racing titles, and Grid is incredibly strong, but we’re lucky enough to be in a position where we’ve got racing games in different areas. Dirt was a complete reboot – we threw away what was going on and redid it completely – and then we rebooted Grid because it wasn’t top gun, and then we rebooted Dirt 2. I’m not saying we’re throwing all the codebase away, but we’re throwing the thoughts away and coming out with something fresh and new. Because if you don’t innovate, you’re dead.”

via [Big Download]

The newest creation from Codemasters has us going off-road with the second installment of the DiRT series. Continuing on with the Colin McRae name, Codemasters built upon the first DiRT and made one of the most impressive rally video game to date. DiRT2 has many of the same traits that you’ll find in GRID, which is Codemasters’ other racing game that takes place on the tarmac. Similar traits include graphics, physics and the achievement system. So essentially, think of GRID, but in an off-road, in-your-face environment.

One huge aspect I like about DiRT2 (as well as GRID) is that, while it is somewhat of a realistic racing simulator, it still has that arcade-type racing style to it. You can easily just sit down and play the game without having to know a lot about how a car works, besides knowing that the gas pedal is on the right.

The storyline is pretty basic and typical in a racing game. You’re an inspiring rally car driver looking to become big. You slowly make your way up to the top as you win more races. You get help from some famous faces like Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra. They’re very helpful at the beginning of the game because they easily explain what all the features are and introduce all the tracks as you progress through them, but they become extremely annoying real fast. After every race they give you words of encouragement like, “Great Race!” or “Awesome Job!” which is obviously very cheesy and gets old. They also introduce the tracks even if you’ve already raced on them. There’s just a small handful of things that aren’t really needed in the game.

The menu system is fairly cool. Each of the selections are spread out amongst your personal motorhome as well as right outside where you can view your vehicle inventory. All of the race events are spread out on a folded out map and there are other events that resemble posters on the wall. It’s a pretty interesting setup, but it’s not anything you wouldn’t expect in this kind of game.

The graphics aren’t bad at all. Despite not getting to play the game in DirectX 11 (I’m still using Windows XP), the look of the vehicles and the environment are fairly impressive. Besides coming to a complete halt when I hit a pile of haystacks, I’d say the driving physics and track detail are realistic enough to get away with. The only thing that looks extremely crappy is any water or mud that flies up from the spinning tires, which looks blocky and not one bit realistic.

One thing that needs to change is the achievement system, but then again, such an achievement system would deem the game pointless to play. That’s why developers need to go about it a different way. It gets old when all you do is earn cash and XP and unlock cool little goodies that you can hang from your rear-view mirror. Yeah, I’m not kidding. The goodies that you can unlock in DiRT2 include different horn sounds, as well as items that you can put on your dashboard and hang from your mirror like hula girls and fuzzy dice. How lame is that?

Overall, DiRT2 is an enjoyable rally racing game that will keep you busy and entertained for the first few hours of play, but like I mentioned, the repetitiveness of racing, earning and unlocking simply just gets boring after a good while. Then again, there’s always the multiplayer that you and some friends can enjoy together. No annoying, repetitious play. Just the fact of schooling your best friend.

Want to try out the game for yourself before you buy it? You can download the free DiRT2 demo from Codemaster’s website. It’ll provide you with around five minutes of racing time and you can get a good feel for the menus.

Scores

- Graphics: 8
The graphics aren’t bad at all, but some things need a little bit of work. The pyrotechnics are a nice touch though.

- Storyline: 7
Nothing special here. It’s your typical storyline in a racing game. Aspiring race car driver looking to become big.

- Gameplay: 7
Nothing too special here either. You keep racing to earn cash/XP and unlock stuff. Gets old real quick, but I suppose the satisfaction of earning cool new things is fun for some.

- Controls: 9
As long as you use an Xbox 360 controller, controls are perfect, but if you’re stuck using the keyboard it’s really not too bad. Most ideal PC gamers nowadays have a gamepad, so controls shouldn’t be too big of a deal.

- Lasting Appeal: 7
It’ll last you a good week or so with an hour or two a day, but once you beat the game, there’s no motivation to play it again. However, there’s always multiplayer that can keep you busy with your friends.

Overall: 8 Olives

For those of you wondering why DiRT2 didn’t release for PC on its planned release date of December 1st (instead, we got a tasty demo), your questions have finally been answered. It seems that the game has been delayed until December 8th for an oddly non-existent excuse.

“This is not due to a technical issue in any way shape or form. The actual reason is far to boring to go into to be honest.”

via [Cinema Blend]

Codemasters is well known for their impressive offerings of racing games for the PC with titles like GRID and the original DiRT installment. Today, they have released the demo for their newest upcoming racing game, DiRT 2. You can download the 1.3GB demo from here, and while that’s downloading, follow us after the break for our quick first impressions of the demo.

When we tried to play the original DiRT, we couldn’t get into it. Luckily, DiRT 2 is quite good at grabbing your attention and sucking you in, much like Codemaster’s previous game, GRID. DiRT 2 is built on mostly the same driving engine as GRID and the results are fantastic. Managing the balance between throttle and traction is a fine art that is portrayed in this game better than the drifting found in GRID.

While the demo offers a tiny gaze into what we should expect in DiRT 2, it certainly leaves you wanting more. Be sure to try out the demo for yourself and watch for our review of DiRT 2 soon.

Valve has just announced a new deal through Steam that offers the original DiRT title for 80% off when you pre-order DiRT 2. Steams seems to be with no shortage of special deals recently and this is no exception. This is another great chance to get multiple games for a great price. Plus, your new copy of DiRT will keep you busy until DiRT 2 releases on December 1st.

The system requirements of Codemasters’ newest upcoming DirectX 11 racing game, DiRT 2, has finally been released to the greedy PC gamers of the world. Join us after the break for the full breakdown.

Recommended Specifications – Enhanced for DirectX 11

OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core i7 or AMD Phenom II
Memory: 3GB
HD Space: 10GB
Video Card: ATi Radeon HD 5700 Series

Minimum Specifications

OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, AMD Athlon 64 3400+
Memory: 1GB (2GB for Windows Vista)
HD Space: 10GB
Video Card: ATI Radeon X1500, NVIDIA GeForce 6800

via [Shack News]