DiRT's biggest asset is the controls. Right trigger is the gas and the left trigger is the brake. If you need to change the camera view then you hit the left shoulder and you bounce from bumper to hood to first-person to behind-the-car camera views. The left joystick is the steering and that is it. DiRT doesn't get overcomplicated with the controls and it's to every gamer's benefit.

But don't assume that because DiRT is easy to drive, it's easy to win. It's not. There are multiple levels of difficulty. As the difficulty level increases, it not only gets harder to win — you're more likely to destroy your car. And the cars get really broken up. Hit a boulder and your windows might all implode. Get sideswiped by an opponent and your door might get bent and open causing you to keep one eye on the road and another on the driver slamming the door shut. Plenty of the accidents are unrealistic. There was one accident in which the car went up a hill, after getting clipped from an opponent, only to roll over to the left on top of the opponent's car and then back down on four wheels and back into the race. It was a Sportscenter highlight for sure—although defying the laws of physics. At the amateur level accidents and crashes won't keep you from winning, but the odds are against your winning after a mishap at higher levels of difficulty.

GRAPHICS: DiRT on the 360 in HD is as close to perfection as any game has come yet. The opening sequence of DiRT looks like a movie. The only telltale sign of DiRT being a game is the scenery. The roads and the backdrops look good; however, when you pass a house or building you start to notice some blurring.

Even with the occasional lack of detail, the racing landscape is amazing. Slamming through the English countryside at 100+ mph is something to behold. It's as beautiful zipping around corners as it is smashing into a stray tree and watching your bumper fly. Vehicular damage is critical to a great racing game. The only thing racing fans care about are how good the cars look before and after an accident. If it appears fake then there is a great disconnect from reality. DiRT does a good job with collision damage — it's not perfect — but good enough to let you know that hitting a guardrail isn't a great idea.

DiRT also has one of the best menu interfaces to date. It's reminiscent of the menus in "Minority Report." But it's a shame those cool menus of your racing statistics are to distract you from the enormous load times when you change tracks.