Dirt 3 is a rally racing game. Most time is spent in races, which are set in off-road environments. The main difference to other racing events is that the player drives with a front-seat passenger who announces when to turn. The game features overall 98 courses, but some of those are just variations of the same.
In contrast to Dirt 2 , this installment offers different playing modes than the career mode available in Dirt 2 . Other modes include a single race, but the career is still the heart of the game. Here, the player tunes their car, participates in races, and earns experience points to unlock new cars. There are six different race modes to solve during the career, including regular races, "trailblazer" (no passenger available), drift tournaments, and Gymkhana. Two of those modes are newly introduced: drift tournaments and Gymkhana.