Colin McRae: Dirt 2

In my opinion this is a realistic attempt at a rallying game.

The cars are meant to be difficult to master, and they are - well, at least to certain extent. Initially it is very frustrating as the car is almost never on the track, but once you have started to get a feel for the controls then things start to get better. As you also start to learn the tracks then things get better still as you work out how to get round the corners and obstacles quickly - dare I say it even at full throttle.

Watching your performances through the replay function will give you an insight into what you are doing wrong - and watching the computer controlled cars will give you an idea of what you need to do to go fast and stay in control e.g. you almost never have the wheel steady and straight for longer than a fraction of a second as you are always correcting for slides, bumps ...etc - watch those front wheels on the replay!

The only drawback with the controls is that you can't vary the amount of throttle, so its either pedal to the metal, or nothing. This makes the restart from the side of the road after a crash a little tricky at times - handfuls of opposite lock being the order of the day .... saying that, it does make doughnuts really easy to do!!

Learning the tracks is very important as the obvious shortest route is not necessarily the best - bumpy ground really comes into it here as the cars are in the air a lot of the time and, realistically, can't be steered while airborne. Hopefully I haven't put people off with making it sound too difficult - if it's any consolation my 7 year old son wipes the floor with me on this, although I'm better than him at Formula One 2009!!

If you want a challenging driving experience then this is likely to be for you - if however you want a simple kiddies racing game then you probably need to look elsewhere - Mario Karts maybe.

Not quite what I expected - I'm used to PC games, therefore the controls aren't as easy to me. Having problems controlling cars compared to PC games. Graphics are superb and gameplay will be good when I get used to it.

There seems to be a huge number of negative reviews for this game on Amazon, and to be honest, I can't really see why. Having played this game for a while now, I have never found myself frustrated by it; the controls are nice and responsive as far as I am concerned (using the classic controller), feeling like you're actually driving on a proper, loose-dirt road; graphics are just fine for a Wii game (don't compare them to the PS3 or 360 versions, it's an utterly pointless operation) and the sound is nice and chunky.

Most of all though, this game is FUN! The challenges are good fun to play through (particularly the air challenges, where you have to get your car airborne off a series of ramps strewn around each track for set amounts of time to be awarded a medal) and, for once, I've even gone through the time trials on each course trying to improve my best times.

The cars do handle slightly differently in my opinion. This isn't a simulation of course, so don't expect truly accurate handling but there's enough variety here to keep you interested in unlocking new vehicles. The tracks too are all sufficiently different (although not really very long), each offering a slightly different kind of challenge to your racing ability.

Overall, if you treat this game like an arcade racer, you won't be disappointed. If you're looking for simulation, go buy Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli (Wii) instead (ironically, there are people reviewing that game that complain about it being too much of a simulator!) Dirt 2 for Wii is what it is, and what it is, is a great fun rally racer that can offer as much in a short burst as it does in the longevity of the challenges and seasons it provides.