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Colin McRae: DiRT 2 on Playstation 3 Multiplayer Impressions.

Racing games rarely need to go the extra mile when being played online. If the car and track selection is good then generally that’s all that is necessary. Colin McRae: DiRT 2 is a triumph in single-player racing, so naturally it’s a sure fit for excellent online play.

With the mechanics and solid racing in place, DiRT 2 needs to do little more to impress online. Matchmaking can take a while but once you’re in a lobby, you can pretty much spend an entire session there. Players will leave and the netcode will automatically fill their places, so you’ll regularly be racing with a full party.

The main online mode has you earning Fame Points – basically an off-shoot of XP – that help to increase your rank. Fame Points can be earned by winning racing, completing similar in-game missions to those in the single player campaign and taking part in tournaments. Tournaments are a neat way of getting involved with the community — updated every week the tournaments will ask you to participate in various events; from seeing how far you can drift on two wheels to getting the best lap on a certain track. The points here will be hotly contested, with the top 10 and 100 per cent earning a share and leaving a jackpot for those in first place.

Online races are split into three different types – “No Contact” consisting of Trailblazer and Rally events; “Contact” consisting of circuit and point-to-point events and finally; Domination and Last Man Standing filling out the “Off-shoots” section. You can opt to choose any event by selecting the “Totality” option — our personal favourite because it ensures the most variety.

Once in a lobby, you can veto a certain race type much like in Call Of Duty and then it’s outside to the My Rides section to select a car. The pace of the game is hurt a little bit with unnecessary 25 second pauses while everyone selects a car, but it’s a real minor gripe.

The racing is as you would imagine online. The game handles and plays exactly the same as in the single-player, with occasional frame-rate drops and lag. The problems are minor and the netcode is solid enough to handle a good race.

Jam Session allows you to party up with friends and make your own rules. These rules ensure you can make some crazy racing scenarios, with the game even informing you that what you’re doing will cause madness. It’s a neat touch that carries across DiRT’s personality into the online environment.

The biggest draw of DiRT 2 online is its addictive nature. Like Call Of Duty it is easy to jump into a lobby and stay there all night while you earn Fame Points and generally have a good time.

Once you pop, you just can’t stop.