Colin McRae: DIRT™ to impact the PLAYSTATION®3 system this September

Colin McRae: DIRT will launch this September for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Codemasters announced today. Thanks to a spectacular damage system, gamers will experience the game's high impact moments through detailed visuals, force feedback steering wheel functionality and a top-spec audio system exclusive to the format.

Colin McRae: DIRT takes traditional rally and turns it into an exhilarating thrill ride through a massive range of off-road racing experiences on gravel, mud and dirt, right across the globe. In any mode, on any surface, the car handling is sublime, the physics system thrillingly accurate and the damage effects are devastating.

Driving Colin McRae: DIRT 's damage system is Codemasters' proprietary engine, Neon. Delivering the most detailed vehicle and environment damage effects, the soft body damage system replicates perfect deformation on any vehicle from any impact - from a paint scrape to a roof crumpling to the roll cage. Entire wheel and spring tyre sections can rip off spoilers and bumpers can snap into separate pieces.

Each individual car is modelled to a fine degree of accuracy, with car specific weak points and strengths, ensuring that they will break, bend, warp and disintegrate realistically and in fantastic detail.

The engine also provides for a totally destructible environment thanks to dynamic physics on track objects. Crash into a wall at speed and it will smash into its individual bricks and stones, branches will snap off trees and go flying onto your opponent's windscreen and signposts and other roadside objects can be knocked flying from the force of an impact.

For racers who to want feel the force of an impact, Colin McRae: DIRT supports a range of force feedback steering wheels. Every bump in the road, every loose rock and every inch of shifting gravel is represented by subtle vibrations and resistance forces as your vehicle's tyres interact with the track surface. All effects are dictated by the game's physics and, when a vehicle collides with rough ground or another car, the resulting forces make for a grip wrenching experience.

Colin McRae: DIRT will also be compatible with many wheels originally purchased for PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system gaming. Wheels are fully configurable from action assignments to steering linearity, dead zones and saturation. Players will also hear the impact thanks to an advanced audio system. On the PLAYSTATION 3 system, one 3.2 GHz SPU vector co-processor is dedicated to audio and delivers 7.1 and 5.1 surround sound.

Colin McRae: DIRT is coming this September for the PLAYSTATION 3 system. Get up to speed with all the latest on the game, including the new damage video with producer commentary, now available to download from www.codemasters.com/dirt and to view online at www.youtube.com/codiesgames

ABOUT COLIN MCRAE: DIRT

Already a 700,000+ best seller, Colin McRae: DIRT is a thrill ride through a massive range of off-road racing experiences on gravel, mud and dirt, right across the globe. Race in challenging, heavyweight 850bhp cars through high speed blind corners and along perilous cliff edges in the Hill Climb events, including the world famous Pikes Peak International through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Multiple car races take players across grueling desert terrain in Rally Raid competitions, while Rally Cross switches between dirt and road racing. There's also Crossover circuits and events from the CORR (Championship Off-Road Racing) series in the U.S., which combines powerful buggies with exciting dirt tracks and tabletop jumps, drop-offs and moguls for an intoxicating mix. DIRT also offers a dedicated mode for rally championships and an online race mode for up to 100 players. See it all in action online at www.codemasters.com/dirt