History VideoGame / DiRT

* SequelSeries: Techically one to ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'', with the first ''[=DiRT=]'' being a sequel to ''Rally 2005'' (also due to ''[=Colin McRae=]'' branding in Europe). The branding was dropped after ''[=DiRT 2=]'', out of respect for the namesake driver who passed away in a tragic crash.

** ''[=DiRT=] Showdown'' lives off of this.

* AnachronismStew: The Colin [=McRae=] career scenarios and the "Historical Champinship" from ''Rally'' 2 have authentic period cars, but the stages themselves are unchanged with modern advertisements, vehicles and spectators holding smartphones. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in the historical's case as there are some championships with retro cars.

* CulturalTranslation - Many of the old-school ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'' fans complained about the "Americanness" of the ''[=DiRT=]'' installments, especially the second one.

* InterfaceScrew: A damaged radio in ''[=DiRT Rally=]'' and on will occasionally introduce static into your co-driver's radio communication, potentially blocking out whatever pace notes they are reading at the time. If the option to display visual pace notes in the HUD is turned on, the block-out pace note's onscreen counterpart will likewise be obscured with visual static.

* WhatTheHellHero: In ''[=DiRT 2=]'', at least, colliding with other drivers will sometimes earn you a stern talking-to from said drivers.
-->'''Dave Mirra''': Hey [player], that should ''not'' have happened.

** DiRT Rally 2 allows up to five stage resets on a rally in championship mode

** Rally Finland with it's massive jumps and very high speeds is very hard to master without some huge wipeouts, but is a big thrill to nail a quick run through a stage.

* NonLethalBottomlessPits: In ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', falling off a steep side of the track returns you to the track with a 15 second penalty. However, this doesn't apply to all stages, as some of them are implied to be such a steep drop that the car is unrecoverable, instantly taking 90% damage before the car impacts.

* SequelSeries: Techically one to ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'', with the first ''[=DiRT=]'' being a sequel to ''Rally 2005'' (also due to ''[=Colin McRae=]'' branding in Europe). The branding was dropped after ''[=DiRT 2=]'', due in respects of the namesake driver passed away after a tragic crash that took his life.

* TruthInTelevision: Said [[FragileSpeedster Peugeot 307 rally car]] is also very fragile in RealLife.

''Colin [=McRae=]: [=DiRT 2=]'' (or just ''[=DiRT=] 2'') employed an 'extreme sports' style, with fluid, first person menus set in vibrant settings, as well as a heavy emphasis on pleasing the fans and becoming a star. In addition, the trophy trucks and buggies were the highlight of the game, with traditional rally races taking a backseat. With the success of Creator/KenBlock and several other rally stars were included in the game, whilst acting as consultants on how the cars handle.

''Colin [=McRae=]: [=DiRT 2=]'' (or just ''[=DiRT=] 2'') employed an 'extreme sports' style, with fluid, first person menus set in vibrant settings, as well as a heavy emphasis on pleasing the fans and becoming a star. In addition, the trophy trucks and buggies were the highlight of the game, with traditional rally races taking a backseat. With the success of Creator/KenBlock's Gymkhana videos supposedly generating buzz in rally interest, he and several other rally stars were [[NonActorVehicle roped in]] to add a human element, whilst acting as consultants on how the cars handle.

** [[Franchise/StarTrek Assistance is Futile]]

* ShoutOut: Some of ''[=DiRT 3=]'''s achievements, including:

** [[Music/MCHammer Can't Touch This!]]
** [[Film/TheFrenchConnection French Connection]]
** [[Series/RobotWars No-bot Wars]]
** [[Film/TheItalianJob1969 Self Preservation Society]]
** [[Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby Shake and Bake]]
** [[Film/TheDeerHunter Steer Hunter]]

* RevisitingTheRoots: ''[=DiRT=] Rally'' was deliberately developed as a technically up-to-date [[ShooOutTheClowns no-nonsense]] NintendoHard rally simulation game, in the vein of the ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'' series and once-rival titles such as ''VideoGame/RichardBurnsRally''. Codemasters kept the game's existence under wraps until the last minute, in order to give fans of their older rally titles a real surprise. Given the positive reception of the game, it seems to have paid off.

''[=DiRT=]'' is a {{Spinoff}} of Creator/{{Codemasters}}' popular ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'' series of games based around off-road racing, as the title implies, as well UsefulNotes/{{Rallying}}.

* AnachronismStew: The Colin McRae career scenarios from ''Rally'' 2 have authentic period cars, but the stages themselves are unchanged with modern advertisements, vehicles and spectators holding smartphones.

''[=DiRT=] Rally 2.0'' was announced on September 26, 2018. The game is going to feature rally courses from Poland, Spain, Australia, New Zeland and United States as well as 8 official tracks from FIA World Rallycross Championship. The game was released on February 26, 2019, and featured former co-driver Phil Mills as he lent his voice for the game.

* RevisitingTheRoots: ''[=DiRT=] Rally'' was deliberately developed as a technically up-to-date, [[ShooOutTheClowns no-nonsense]] NintendoHard rally simulation game, in the vein of the ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'' series and once-rival titles such as ''VideoGame/RichardBurnsRally''. Codemasters kept the game's existence under wraps until the last minute, in order to give fans of their older rally titles a real surprise. Given the positive reception of the game, it seems to have paid off.

* DifficultButAwesome: Group B cars are hard to tame especially with ''[=DiRT=] Rally's'' physics like in real life, with enough experience they are a blast to rally around with and are hands down the fastest cars in the game.

''[=DiRT=]'' is a {{Spinoff}} of Creator/{{Codemasters}}' popular ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'' series of games based around off-road racing, as the title implies.

''[=DiRT 2=]'' employed an 'extreme sports' style, with fluid, first person menus set in vibrant settings, as well as a heavy emphasis on pleasing the fans and becoming a star. In addition, the trophy trucks and buggies were the highlight of the game, with traditional rally races taking a backseat. With the success of Creator/KenBlock's Gymkhana videos supposedly generating buzz in rally interest, he and several other rally stars were [[NonActorVehicle roped in]] to add a human element, whilst acting as consultants on how the cars handle.

''[=DiRT Rally=]'' [[RevisitingTheRoots went back to the series' roots]], with a far more realistic handling model and a heavy focus on traditional rally. The game entered UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}'s Early Access in April 2015. The full release came out on 7th of December in the same year through Steam and it was released for both PC and eighth-gen consoles on April 5, 2016.

''[=DiRT 4=]'' was announced on January 26th, 2017. Released in June, it's much closer to the ''Rally'' titles than its more lackdaisical predecessors. It features a random stage generator called Your Stage, as well as more officially licenced rallycross circuits and a new playground/driving school area called Dirtfish Rally School, based on the [[http://www.dirtfish.com/ real-world rally school of the same name]]. The game marks the comeback of Landrush, and there are two handling models, one more arcade-y and akin to ''[=DiRT 3=]'', and the other more simulation-oriented and closer to ''[=DiRT Rally=]''. Creator/NickyGrist also returned to provide his co-driving voice, after his absence since the original [=DiRT=].

''[=Dirt Rally 2.0=]'' was announced on September 26th, 2018. The game is going to feature rally courses from Poland, Spain, Australia, New Zeland and United States as well as 8 official tracks from FIA World Rallycross Championship. The game was released on Febuary 26th, 2019, and featured former co-driver Phil Mills as he lent his voice for the game.

* NonLethalBottomlessPits: In ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', falling off a steep side of the track returns you to the track with a 15 second penalty. However, this doesn't apply to all stages, as some of them are implied to be such a steep drop that the car is unrecoverable, instantly taking 90% daamge before the car impacts.

''[=DIRT 5=]'' was announced during the Xbox Live Presentation on May 7, 2020, and is set for release for current-gen consoles and PC October 16 of the same year, and a release for UsefulNotes/Playstation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesX in 2021. The game goes back to the aesthetics of ''2'' and ''3'' and includes many of the disciplines from the previous titles - including buggies, super trucks, ice racing, rallycross and gymkhana. The game also introduces a full weather and seasons system where certain events are only available on determined seasons. Finally, a full-fledged livery editor a la ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' is also included for the first time ever in a Codemasters game and a narrative-focused career mode featuring the voice talents of Creator/TroyBaker and Creator/NolanNorth.

''[=DIRT 5=]'' was announced during the Xbox Live Presentation on May 7, 2020, and is set for release for current-gen consoles and PC October 16 of the same year, and a release for UsefulNotes/Playstation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesX in 2021. The game goes back to the aesthetics of ''2'' and ''3'' and includes many of the disciplines from the previous titles - including buggies, super trucks, ice racing, rallycross and gymkhana. The game also introduces a full weather and seasons system where certain events are only available on determined seasons. Finally, a full-fledged livery editor a la ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' is also included for the first time ever in a Codemasters game.

''[=DIRT 5=]'' was announced during the Xbox Live Presentation on May 7, 2020, and is set for release for current-gen consoles and PC October 16 of the same year, and a release for UsefulNotes/Playstation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesX in 2021. The game goes back to the aesthetics of ''2'' and ''3'' and includes many of the disciplines from the previous titles - including buggies, super trucks, ice racing and rallycross. The game also introduces a full weather and seasons system where certain events are only available on determined seasons. Finally, a full-fledged livery editor a la ''VideoGame/{{Forza}}'' is also included for the first time ever in a Codemasters game.

''[=DiRT 4=]'' was announced on January 26th, 2017. Released in June, it features a random stage generator called Your Stage, as well as more officially licenced rallycross circuits and a new playground/driving school area called Dirtfish Rally School, based on the [[http://www.dirtfish.com/ real-world rally school of the same name]]. The game marks the comeback of Landrush, and there are two handling models, one more arcade-y and akin to ''[=DiRT 3=]'', and the other more simulation-oriented and closer to ''[=DiRT Rally=]''. Creator/NickyGrist also returned to provide his co-driving voice, after his absence since the original [=DiRT=].

* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
** ''[=DiRT 2=]'' and ''3'' borrow the Flashback mechanic from another Codemasters' racing series, ''VideoGame/{{GRiD}}''.

** Rallycross races in all [=DiRT=] games. TruthInTelevision however, as rallycross usually has the drivers swapping paint.

* EliteTweak: So many settings to change in the first ''[=DiRT=]''...
** So does ''[=DiRT=] Rally''.

* GoldenSnitch: [=DiRT=] Showdown's [[CarFu "Knock-Out" and "Rampage" modes]] both dish out double points during the final 30 seconds of a round, making it possible to come from behind to win.

* InterfaceScrew: A damaged radio in [=DiRT Rally=] and on will occasionally introduce static into your co-driver's radio communication, potentially blocking out whatever pace notes they are reading at the time. If the option to display visual pace notes in the HUD is turned on, the block-out pace note's onscreen counterpart will likewise be obscured with visual static.

** Having a [=DiRT=] 1 save game gives you the No Fear Gold paintjob for the Subaru Impreza Group N in [=DiRT=] 2, the same paint scheme [=McRae=] used in the 2006 X Games.

** [=DiRT=] 3 was more subtle about it, however the game wants you to post them on Website/YouTube after every races.

* SceneryPorn: The ''[=DiRT=]'' series features some of the best PC and console graphics ever put to screen. From huge rallycross circuits (sometimes) based on stadiums (such as the real life Los Angeles Coliseum!), to the epic rally stages of Finland, Kenya, and even Monaco, Codemasters really knows what they do in graphics.
** Even better are the main menus. [=DiRT=] 1 has a minimalistic menu, [=DiRT=] 2 had the menu options scattered around a huge arena scenario, [=DiRT=] 3 went back to the roots, while Showdown had a crossover between 2 and 3's menus. [=DiRT=] Rally has also went the same route as 1 and 3.

* ShoutOut / InMemoriam: To real-life driver Creator/ColinMcRae, who did a lot of the consulting on car handling for earlier games.
** Some of ''[=DiRT 3=]'''s achievements, including:
*** [[Franchise/StarTrek Assistance is Futile]]
*** [[Music/MCHammer Can't Touch This!]]
*** [[Film/TheFrenchConnection French Connection]]
*** [[Series/RobotWars No-bot Wars]]
*** [[Film/TheItalianJob1969 Self Preservation Society]]
*** [[Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby Shake and Bake]]
*** [[Film/TheDeerHunter Steer Hunter]]

** Play ''[=DiRT=] 2'' for a few minutes, and then start wondering why you suddenly want a pair of DC Shoes, some Superdry gear, a pair of Oakleys and a 6-pack of Monster Energy. This is actually one of the few things the game got flak for in many of the reviews. [=DiRT=] 3 was more subtle about it.

** The series borrows the Flashback mechanic from another Codemasters' racing series, ''VideoGame/{{GRiD}}'' since [=DiRT=] 2.
** The feature is currently not present in ''DIRT Rally'' and ''[=DiRT 4=]'', though.

''[=Dirt Rally 2.0=]'' was announced on September 26th, 2018. The game is going to feature rally courses from Poland, Spain, Australia, New Zeland and United States as well as 8 official tracks from FIA World Rallycross Championship. The game is set to released on Febuary 26th, 2019.