Colin McRae and Codemasters' latest racing collaboration, DiRT, arrives in stores June 19. GameDaily recently played the free demo, now available on Xbox Live Marketplace, to see how it shapes up.

When starting the demo, gamers will find a slick menu system, with bright orange arrows flowing in the background. Racing master Travis Pastrana can be heard in the background, introducing them to the various options. It features three diverse vehicles -- the Subaru Impreza 06, the Ickler Jimbo Buggy and the Mitsubishi Evo IX. Each one made for racing, with the Impreza and Evo prepped for street action and the Jimbo primed for off-roading. Although the demo only offers three selectable skins for each car, the final release will offer dozens.

Codemasters' initial track offering gives an idea of the worldwide locales to be featured within DiRT. The Avelsbachning in Germany will test even the most worthy of road hogs, with numerous tricky corners and harsh competition. The U.S.-based Windy Point B Short and Bark River tracks provide more comfortable, dirt-road surroundings, but with loads of racing action. Bark River in particular poses an interesting challenge, thanks to many jumps. Getting airborne may be one thing, but landing correctly while keeping momentum -- and vehicle structure intact -- can be another. Mid-air collisions with competitors results in a nasty (but quite remarkable) crash.

Upon starting up a race, players choose from a variety of viewing perspectives. The initial view puts them right behind their car (third person view), although they can choose a more distant one to get a clearer view of the track or get the action up close and personal with the "front of the car" view. Two cockpit views place gamers right in front of the dashboard and another that shows the driver's hands on the wheel. All of these angles look fantastic, each offering their own subtle details. Noticeable vehicular damage stands out too, particularly the shaking of a loose bumper or the indentions on a vehicle after it smashed into a solid object.

Those familiar with previous Colin McRae games should easily adjust to DiRT. The car physics feel just as realistic as ever. To avoid spinning out of a turn, players prepare themselves for it as they start-off into a drift and switch off between acceleration and braking. Not following procedure can result in careening into a rock wall or sliding off the track, thus losing first place. By the same token, some sort of speed must be maintained or the competition catches up quickly. No worries, though -- the gameplay should be relatively easy to get into for both simulation and arcade racing fans.

One other feature deserves mention -- the live stat tracking. As a race loads, the menu system rolls through several real-time stats, showing the driver's accumulated damage, miles, rewards and so forth. Although the demo doesn't save these stats (it resets them every time it boots up), the retail release will. This should be a huge bonus to driving fans who want to see how well they hold up with their performance over time.

DiRT should kick up quite an audience when it arrives on June 19. Look for GameDaily's down and dirty review following its release.

Related Links

DiRT Game Guide

Codemasters