Not a bad rally game, but the lack of originality hurts it.
Other than that, nothing has been added. The cars do not need to get upgraded with money anymore. In fact, there is no cash at all. You just unlock the cars by advancing in the Dirt Tour, which is the career mode. I find it disappointing because there is absolutely no motivation to get the platinum medal in each of the event. Sure, there is a reputation meter that fills out as long as you progress in the Dirt Tour, but this is not enough according to me. Sure, I needed to get all platinum, but my meter was full a long time before finishing the Dirt Tour, so there was not much motivation for me to continue. You will get a cutscene at the end, and then the credits go on, and that's it. The game is fade.
In the Dirt Tour, there is also a location where you need to perform stunts and discover some Dirt logos, but that gives you nothing.
The AI works strangely. At a normal-hard difficulty level, you will not be able to distance your opponents, however, they seem to wait for you when they are in front. As it is common these days, you can use the rewind feature if you crash or miss a curve.
On the good side, graphics look good, the in-car view is really cool for buggies, trucks and cars. You can also set damage to ON which will cause you to lose a wheel or damage your transmission. Sound is great, you can hear the wind when you go fast and your windshield is broken. There is a good variety of tracks and categories of races. That includes rally cross, rally, trailblazer, head 2 head, gymkhana.
I cannot write on the multiplayer mode since I did not try it.
It looks like the deceased Collin McRae series look forward to an arcade/demolition racing style with this game and the follow-up, Dirt Showdown. Let's hope that Codemasters does not forget the core fans of that once so good license.