Beats Dirt 2 !!
A true classic, that CMR 2, wich in turn draws the attention to the GAMEPLAY itself - graphics, presentation and in-game commenting naturally slides in the background. One can hope that gamedevelopers once more turn their eye to what Makes a game. And that aint the 'flashy stuff'' as Dirt 2 and all the arcade-plastic-fun games shows.
So what constitutes the grandness of CMR2 ? Most of all that it puts you close to the feeling of actually Beeing there, driving that car, taking those corners, feeling that snow.. as opposed to reminding you that you'r playing a superficial game. Wich again goes for all classics :-)
Escapism if you want to call it that. But aint our world increasingly so ?