(continued from previous page) .../> Otherwise, during the race, everything’s how you’d want it to be, including realistic collisions, realistic damage and realistic car handling. There’s no more ghosting through bushes on the side of the track – misjudge that one bend and your lap is ruined. The controls are brilliant, and extremely flexible. If you cant find the set up you want from the four configurations provided, you are able to customise which buttons you use for acceleration, brake and more.

My first race ended in a fairly embarrassing 6th place finish, although not so bad having been flipped over the side of the track on my first lap. That first race summed up the beauty of DiRT in one: a variety of vehicles, a different type of racetrack and challenging CPU opponents. It’s the kick up the arse this series needed, and its fresh outlook will certainly have gamers dusting down their steering wheels to entertain this famous series once again.

Something else that will certainly get fans of the series excited is the competitive edge that’s been formed in online mode. Not only do you have the online mode itself, but also every personal best lap you record on each track goes in to an online rankings system, which shows you exactly where your time ranks in comparison to other games around the world.

Not so pleasing when it turns out you’re personal best is actually the 8143rd best on the game, but it’d be quite an achievement to see your name anywhere near the top of one of those rankings. News of records breaking, and particular achievements made by other gamers appears on your screen in a news scroller type style (which you can turn off, by the way).

Online play itself allows you to jump straight in to a race meet, where you simply vote for the track you wish to compete on, and literally race real time with other people and go for the best time. Again, DiRT’s impressive statistics system records your online profile, and tells you how many races you’ve completed, how many you’ve won etc.

If you don’t fancy the Career mode, you can always go down the Championship route, or for quick gameplay, go to Rally World, where you can choose to race a single event, single race or even do a time trial.

DiRT has the edge of its main rival, SEGA Rally Revo, with an overall more realistic driving experience. The career mode on McRae is almost flawless, and even though arcade racers may prefer SEGA’s attempt, there’s no doubting that in terms of replicating rally driving, Codemasters have scored a winner.