Road vs Dirt
Both offer a different challenge. Both have different approaches. In the end, racing is racing, whether you race on the tarmac or whether you race on
My first ever racing game was Need For Speed II on PC. I would play that game endlessly as a kid. I remember one occasion when I was really ill and the only thing that prompted me to get out of bed was wanting to play that on the PC. That is how I came about playing road racing games. From there, it spanned onto Gran Turismo, more Need For Speed, Project Cars etc. Nowadays, my focus on road racing has been entered around Project Cars and Assetto Corsa.
In Greece there is a tradition that as kids you would go out carolling during Christmas time with your friends. The twist was that almost every person that you went carolling to would give you money. I made about €300 one Christmas, which was enough to buy me a PS2. However, what I didn’t expect was my parents to come back with a wheel and my first rallying game: WRC 3. This was back in the day where WRC was made by Evolution Studios; when WRC games were good! (You could argue that Gran Turismo on the PS1 also had rally elements but it wasn’t a dedicated rally game). I would try racing on the wheel but I could never get to grips with it. It wasn’t a great wheel for one. On the other hand, I would ace the game with a controller. I remember always picking either the Subaru Impreza or the Ford Focus to go through the Championships. It was a really fun game. That is how I came about playing rally games. The main game I focus on for rallying today is DiRT Rally.
Both of these two types of games represent a different challenge. When it comes to road racing, it is mainly about keeping the car on the tarmac and within the white lines on a dedicated circuit (and maybe other cars around too). With rallying, the challenge is to go as fast as you can on dirt and tarmac without crashing into a rock, cliff, people or falling off a cliff. Road racing is about strategy, getting your pit stop timings right and track position. Rallying involves listening out for your co-driver’s instructions while going flat out, drifting round corners and getting some air.
As a treat, I have included two videos in this blog, given that the last two entries didn’t include any. The first video consists of a couple of laps in the McLaren F1 GTR Long Tail tackling Mount Panorama. I particularly love this track because, it is a test of bravery. Going downhill in the sweeping corners is a challenge. As the video shows, there is always a worry about spinning or crashing into one of the barriers. There are no assists set up on the car by default; no ABS, no traction control, no stability control. Additionally, there is the sheer power that you have to tame and manual gears. However, it is so rewarding when you get it right. It becomes an absolute pleasure to drive in that moment.
Manual gears! What a treat!
The second video is an example of the latter of the two games: I took the Polo WRC around one of my favourite stages in Wales. This stage is deceptively tricky. You’ve got to know where the jumps are and the blind corners in order to go fully flat out. It takes a bit of practice and ensuring that you listen to your co-driver! The thing about DiRT Rally is that it doesn’t have a ‘rewind’ function. Whenever you do one of the online events, there is no restart. So if you screw up your run, that’s it. You have to live with it. While some may see it as crushing, I personally prefer the realism offered by the game; it becomes so satisfying when you get a run right. There are so many things this games gets right, e.g. a superb handling model (given the right wheel rotation lock).
Pardon the trackies, it was Sunday evening and I was already ready for bed.
In the end, both types of games are really fun to play with. In my opinion, in rallying it depends on the particular stage that is up. Some require a more cautionary approach, e.g. the stages in Finland consist of many bumps that send your car flying or the icy roads in the mountains in Monte Carlo. One wrong move and it’s all over. With Road Racing, you just have to be wary of other cars on track the majority of the time. But, when you take the perfect line through a lap, it is the most satisfying thing. As much as I enjoy road racing, watching F1 and endurance racing. I would love to take the chance and do a rally stage to test how far I push myself and overcome the fear factor.
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