Colin McRae DIRT

Racing games: you just gotta love them. Ever since Pole Position, the racing genre has been right up there first with arcade shmups; and now racing games hold their own against the first person shooter. Personally I think rally games champion the genre, demanding sharp reflexes and great degrees of skill to truly master.

The original Colin McRae game was an instant success, offering players the degree of control needed in this type of game without being overly anal when it came to car set-up and stats. While each game in the series since has been solid, none have really been as exciting as the original, feeling more like updates with new features than true sequels.

DiRT is built from the ground up to take advantage of the latest generation of consoles and latest PC hardware, featuring all new physics, and - you guessed it – car damage. Racing games often push systems to their limits and show us what the hardware is really capable of, and it looks like DiRT will be no exception. The ‘Neon’ engine should finally deliver organic-looking tracks and realistic weather conditions right to our living room. Hope you haven’t washed the carpet recently!

All three versions of the game (PS3, Xbox 360 & PC) will be almost identical, so no one should miss out. Of course, the Xbox Live functionality of the 360 version is very appealing. It’s just a shame there are no plans for a Wii version, as Excite Truck has proven that the controller makes slides a whole heap of fun.

DiRT is looking very promising indeed - and with a new graphics and physics engine, it should make us feel more a part of the action than any rally game yet. Bring it on!