Granted, like a lot of games I think my love for it in part stems from the fact I basically only play the big Sony-exclusives and PS+ games at this point, and haven't owned a racing game this entire generation (I really wanted Burnout Paradise for a long while but never pulled the trigger) as a result, but MAN. I loved to play the rally part of the DIRT demo over and over again back when I owned a fatty PS3 and no games, and I think I rented a few of the McRae games, but somehow I forgot how fun Codemasters makes driving cars.

I've heard people complain about how these cars drive but as someone who loves and compares GTA's driving to this (note: GRID 2 is much tighter, but they have a similar philosophy I believe) I was hooked pretty much from race two. The game's not very hard on Normal, I've lost maybe four times through the first two seasons of career mode, but I do come in 2nd-4th fairly frequently on at least one champion's series race so I'm sure it's about to ramp up in China.

I get that this wouldn't be a car game without a bunch of good-looking cars, but at each level it seems like one car is clearly better than the rest, so I don't feel very encouraged to change cars around. What I REALLY like though is how different all the cars feel. I pick the BMW 3 Series over the MB E-Class for VERY specific reasons even though on paper and physically they appear nearly identical in-game.

And the way physics works itself out over the terrain is spectacular. Again, other than random time with some demos, free game trials and friends' houses I can't think of a racing game I've played regularly since Gran Turismo 3, so that colors it. But I really can't remember a game that cared so much about the how, where and what of a race course. The little dips and rivets in the road coming in and out of turns, the way different cars' suspension and handling accepts and reacts to the subtle imperfections of the road, especially at 130mph+ speeds into rapid deceleration, is just awesome. There's not much incentive to try out all the different cars, but hitting a corner I've come to know well in a brand new car gives me a little rush I can't really describe.

Lastly, it's beautiful, but being a car game it'd almost be a surprise if it wasn't. They've done a good job of making you feel powerfully in control of some really great cars, and toe the line between arcade racer and sim perhaps better than anything I've ever seen, mostly having Need for Speed: Underground and Gran Turismo as my comparisons. At its core it's just a dumb, pretty real-cars, no-weapons Mario Kart essentially, tapping then brake just right to get the best drifts around large corners and jumping to the head of the pack. But there are enough subtle mechanics going on to suck in people looking for a slightly more nuanced driving game, and again even though I haven't found it especially difficult, I also think their (seemingly scripted) driving lines make for a pretty great level of tension as I'm rarely able to get into first place before the penultimate or final lap of any race.

This game is just good dumb fun, and they spice the career mode up with a lot of variety between each race and season so it's hard to get bored. I'd definitely say anyone with PS+ should grab a copy of this as quick as you can, though.

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"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
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