Colin McRae: DIRT previews

I really enjoyed playing Dirt.

A nice variety of vehicles was on offer, all built to be blasted on the dirt and mud or into trees, as was often the case in the rally stages. Rally was the most difficult style, full of narrow twisty tracks with huge trees growing right up next to the road. All the other styles are flat out, full on, high octane fun blasts. The Pikes peak section was a favorite. And the Buggies

The number of tracks was a bit limited with many reversed. That said there was some quite big loops and rallies so there was plenty of fresh road to travel.

The driving experience was excellent. I have a G25 wheel and homebuilt race station so when I drive in cockpit view it's like being in the car. Force feedback was good with enough feel and some nicely imaged front end landings.

This is a fairly simple and engaging racing game, fun to play.

i found the game great garphics but trying to control the car was very hard when you are in a rally it is hard to keep it straight line it has a habit of wandering of the road , when you put the brakes on it just shoot of the road; i used a steering wheel , keyboard game out of ten i give it a three

First up, while I'm not a big fan of Dirt, a more hardcore racing game enthusiast would probably love it. There's a good variety of racing styles and vehicle types (which you can adjust and tinker with as you please) and interesting tracks with widely differing environments. It also has one of the better damage models I've seen in a racing game.

That said, if you plan to crack this game (and there are about 100 events to beat), you need patience and a very delicate touch – it sometimes feels like you're driving on ice, and over-steering is a constant risk. This wouldn't be so bad, but these tracks are often narrow, unforgiving, tree-lined country lanes were you pay the price for any reckless acceleration. Some of these courses are also very very long, so you need to apply a lot of concentration – especially in that final stretch were a slight over-steer can be the difference between 1st or 8th.

If you're looking for a quick thrill, steer clear. This game requires a fair bit of application for its rewards.

Don't be fooled to much by Dirts rallying origin, this game is straight arcade racing all the way.

Having played the game with a really nice steering wheel setup and the keyboard, I would recommend those who love thier steering wheel to give it a miss. Those who have a gamepad or similar controller are probably going to have a good time.

The game shows its console origins, giving it a really good pick up and play feel. The graphics look great on a decent machine and I was pleasantly suprised at how well it ran on my aging graphics rig with everything turned off.