Colin McRae: DiRT 2

Codemasters Have Decided to press on with the Colin McRae series, despite the unfortunate passing on of the man himself. The developers are determined to make DiRT2 a fitting tribute to the famous rally driver.

"Colin McRae was all about the speed, the excitement and the entertainment of rally driving," said Gavin Raeburn, senior executive producer at Codemasters Studios. "Even when we first worked with him over 10 years ago, he captured a freedom and a spirit that enthralled rally fans. DiRT2 will be a great tribute to an incredible champion."

The game itself will be jam-packed with all the usual off-road events, challenging players to race across a substantial array of terrains and locations. There'll be canyon races and jungle trails to tear up, while traditionalists will be satisfied with the inclusion of stadium-based tracks.

"We'll be throwing off some of the shackles and constraints that real-world rallying has to abide by," Raeburn commented. "We're pitching players against the most spectacular and dangerous environments in the real world."

As you might imagine, there aren't many proper rally events based in a jungle, so Codies are using artistic license with some of the wilder courses, all rendered in a new iteration of the gorgeous EGO Engine. Codemasters claim the vehicles and courses will be twice as detailed as those seen in Race Driver GRID.

For those of an obsessive nature, there'll be all the officially licensed rally cars you could ask for, including the Group N Subaru. There'll be seven different vehicle classes and Codies promise there'll be no rubbish starting cars at the start.

Online play has been augmented with a host of new social and community features, which should hopefully mean multiplayer racing will be as exciting as ever.