Absolutely outstanding!
The Good: Great engine sounds,awsome graphics,excellent damage modeling,great sense of speed,lengthy single player action,comments from AI players add realism,flashbacks are helpful, bumpy /muddy land rush tracks are epic fun.
The Bad: Dodgey multiplayer,not as much customization as street racing games,wierd car selection
Soon as the bad points are tiny in comparison to the good ones i will explain them first.
First to multiplayer,well the thing is the connection is good,so is the race variety and car selection but the actual gameplay is rubbish.In skirmish just because the description says "full contact" most people seem to think this means demolition derby and three seconds into the race you get spun out and with no flashbacks you are left to sit in 8th place and never catch up.
The customization is there but barely,you can only change things like paint, interior toys and performance packages.No body kits or individual performance pieces which is fine if your not used to games like Need for speed or midnight club,unfortunately i am and i recon a good percentage of other people are to.
However the sporting damage and fun driving makes you rarely miss what is'nt there.
Another thing thats great fun is crashing,yes crashing somehow the game has been made so crashing is rarely fraustrating and simply leaves you with a sheepish grin on your face as your slightly unrealisticly light car flies of a clif or barrel roles through the air.Crashes like this can be rewinded with flashbacks and slightly slower speed mistakes alow you to land with a beautifuly deformed but only slightly internally damaged car and still recover to finish in 3rd or 4th.
The different difficulties are great in allowing you to have great fun/crash comically and still do well in "serious" difficulty but you can give the game that challenging edge by upping the setting a notch.
And on a finishing note the cockpit view makes racing feel even more real,even from your bedroom.So aside from minor problems,Dirt 2 is an extremely enjoyable,well thought out,long lasting racer. 9.5/10