Colin McRae: DiRT 2

Traditionalists are well-served by the inclusion of a series of top-notch rally courses which show off Codies' supreme EGO engine with particular aplomb. A brace of exciting point-to-point variations will also please fans of the old style, with the new 'Trailblazer' mode removing the comfort blanket of pace-notes to tension-inducing effect. The chaotic 'Raid' mode, meanwhile, replaces rally cars with buggies and trucks, as you race seven others simultaneously across typically hazardous terrain.

Elsewhere, five lap-based modes complete the package: Rally Cross, Last Man Standing, Gate Crasher, Domination and Landrush, and unlike the original, there's barely a weak link among them. Last Man Standing, as the name implies, is a tense and riotously entertaining affair, with the driver in last place eliminated one by one, until only one remains, while Domination combines performance in each of the four lap sectors with your overall finishing place to determine the winner. Both are hardly original in the genre, but work like a charm in the context of Codemasters' super-responsive, drift-heavy handling and emphasis on speed.

Rally Cross and Landrush, meanwhile, take a more traditional race-based approach, with the latter preferring the weight and grunt of trucks and nimble buggies to the powerhouse rally cars of the former. Gate Crasher is the game's sole novelty mode, with a solo race punctuated by the need to repeatedly crash into small 'gates' to top-up a countdown clock. It does add a bit of light relief to the relentless tension you're subjected to elsewhere.

As an all-round package, DiRT 2 fits together extremely well, with palpitating progression consistently rewarded with experience points, new cars, liveries, toys and challenges at almost every turn - regardless of which skill level you decide to plump for. You never find yourself short of avenues to explore, and if you tire of any given discipline at any given point, you'll always have a bunch of other racing styles to focus on in the meantime. Codies even thoughtfully allows players to switch difficulty at any given point, with the only real penalty being the amount of cash you earn from races. Without ever feeling like you're being completely let off the hook, DiRT 2 is one of the most accessible racing games imaginable. Just as it should be, a more concerted challenge is there for those that require it, but it's never an obligation. Entertainment, however, most certainly is.

Key to this level of entertainment is the overall look and feel of the game. Handling has always been one of Codemasters' undoubted strengths throughout the evolution of its racing titles, and DiRT 2 does not disappoint in this regard. Although purists would no doubt sneer at the game's move towards the more 'arcadey' end of the spectrum, in terms of sheer pick-up-and-play accessibility, it feels like the team has again nailed that comfortable mid-point between objective realism and flat-out fun that any driving game needs. Regardless of whether you're wrestling with the contrasting demands of a Baja truck, buggy or rally car, there's always an assured sense of being in control.