14 DAY TRIAL // Developer and publisher Codemasters has announced that DiRT 3 will be launched on May 24 on the PlayStation 3 from Sony, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the PC, allowing gamers to take on the toughest courses on the planet virtually by using the best cars the competitions have to offer.
DiRT 3 is the first video game in the long-running series that will allow players to experience the gymkhana events, one of the most recent additions to the world of rally racing, where drivers need to make split second decisions in order to get through the course quickly while providing the audience with spectacular moves.
The game also offers other, more traditional events, like: point-to-point races, rallycross events, normal traditional rallies and other off road competitions.
One of the biggest improvements that Codemasters has been talking about for DiRT 3 has been the move to increased photo realism, with each of the locations that were included in the game photographed about 50,000 times in order for the developers to be able to faithfully recreate it.
Similar attention has been paid to the vehicles included in the racing game, with 50 better looking cars included and more details for the drivers.
Codemasters also talks about improvements made to the physics engine, with the center of gravity for most cars raised a little in order for more accuracy when cornering and better stability on the road.
The developer is also making the rally experience more realistic by introducing a refined weather system that takes into account the time of day and the type of event that is being raced.
Codemasters launched the Colin McRae series way back in 1998 and added the Dirt name in 2007 in order to signal a move away from traditional stiff simulation and into more arcade territory.
Codemasters says that DiRT 3 will allow gamers complete control over how close to simulation they want to be in their experience.