Dirt Moto Racing Review

I remember when Aqua Moto came out for the App Store and Glenn sent me about a dozen IM hits to tell me that I had to pick it up. I finally did (maybe just to shut him up), and loved the game. I’d just bought a few other boat and jet ski type games and was hesitant to get another one (fool me once, and so on). But I had to admit that Glenn was right on the money. It was a game that made me forget the pain of the other games and I had a blast playing it.

And now, like any Darwinism enthusiast would see coming, Resolution Interactive AB has moved out of the water and onto the dry land… actually the dry, dirty land, to give us another great game, Dirt Moto Racing. And let me tell you… in this case, evolution is a great thing.

For those familiar with Aqua Moto (or even Clusterball Arcade) you already know that the devs put a lot of time and polish into their games. If you aren’t… trust me, they put a lot of work into their games and it shows. You’ll find that same attention to the details here.

First off, the game looks great. Everything you’d want to find is on the screen. From the tire tracks in the sand to the rich background to the other racers ahead of you jumping into the air (okay, maybe we don’t like to see people ahead of us, but at least it looks cool), it’s all there.

Dirt Moto has good looking ATVs, riders, and even four unique environments to race in (British Colombia, Death Valley, Toronto, and The Florida Keys), and you get day and twilight version of each. I have to admit that I never thought of Toronto as a hot bed for ATV riding, but I’m sold now.

The only thing that might catch a few of you off guard is the Draw-In that you’ll see on a few boards. Suddenly trees will grow in the background of the British Columbia track, for example. I really didn’t mind this, but I wanted you to know that it’s there just in case you forget that you’re not playing on your PS3 and want to complain about something. It really didn’t bother me.

Animations are also clean and you can see the ATV actually biting into the dirt. My favorite animation is the “fist wave” that happens when riders bang into each other… Loved That!

So the game looks great, but it controls even better. Tilt controls are spot on and easy to grasp. You can powerslide without having to push other buttons and nothing gets in the way of your enjoyment of the ride. I especially like the way that the game uses the touch control to perform tricks. Once you’re in the air you can swipe your finger on the screen to execute a jump. This gave things a natural, and fun effect while playing.

There is some good customization with the Dirt Moto as well. You can’t do to much with your appearance (though there is some), but you can do some nice tweaks to the handling, acceleration, and other aspects of your ATV. These are done with Tuning Points that you earn while playing. The game also has an impressive list of Achievements to unlock. My favorite was “Worst Rider Ever”. Finally an Achievement anyone can unlock!

I’m running long already, but I had to give a shout out to the sound for the game. The soundtrack is rocking and I really liked playing the game with headphones on. Oh and I should tell you that there are several different race modes and levels of difficulty… I could write two reviews about the good things in this game.

So is there anything wrong with the game? A few things that I think they can improve on… but it’s going to sound a little picky. I mentioned the Draw-In (no big deal). But I do wish that I could have just jumped right into the game with the standard “Quick Play” type button.

You can have these, but you have to unlock them in the career mode first. I usually like to race a few times before making a “career” out of it. I would also like to see some Dirt Bikes in the mix, but I think they might be coming in updates. And lastly… The game has a fun feature where you can race “ghosts” of the top scores, but how I wish I could challenge some people online.

In short… the “evolution” bit I joked about at the beginning is actually pretty accurate. Dirt Moto takes everything that its “water ancestor” did and does it better on land. A great game to both watch and play that has a good deal of depth and replay-ability to it. For those of you who like their racing to be unencumbered by a roof and want to see the sky as they fly through the air, Dirt Moto is a dream come true. Makes me really excited for the next evolution from Resolution Interactive AB.

The Good

Graphics &amp- Sound Are Excellent
Controls Are Easy To Use &amp- Responsive
Achievements
Stunts Are Easy (And Fun) To Perform

The Bad

Bit Of A “Draw-In” Rate Might Bug Some (Not Me)
Wish There Was A “Quick Play” Type Button Without Having To Unlock It.
No Motorcycles (Yet)
I Want To Race On Line