It was just a few days prior to the turn of the millennium that Australia's Ratbag scurried from its burrow to unveil a very pleasant surprise for driving game fans: Dirt Track Racing. In stark contrast to the flash and glamour of the high-profile subgenres typically found in PC racing, Dirt Track Racing delved into the grit and grubby authenticity of the relatively low-level dirt track stock car. The game was innovative in both its subject matter and because it forced you into the multiple roles of driver, mechanic, negotiator, and entrepreneur while factoring in several aspects of a racing career.

A flock of top-heavy sprint cars drifts through a high-speed turn.

Less than a year later, Ratbag continued its winning ways with Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars, a slightly different take on the dirt track format that involved those precarious giant-winged beasts of the real-life World of Outlaws series. Now, with its latest racing release, World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars, Ratbag drops the Dirt Track moniker but once again journeys down that familiar mud-encrusted road. The good news is that its latest World of Outlaws-inspired game is far prettier and more innovative than any other Dirt Track game to date. The bad news is that even with its updates, World of Outlaws is not so very far removed from its predecessors. And that may not be enough for some returning players.

Those unfamiliar with the Ratbag formula should know that it focuses on "drive fast and turn left" oval racing. There is, however, one key difference from most PC oval-based games: Unlike Papyrus' or Electronic Arts' NASCAR titles, Ratbag uses circuits constructed strictly of dirt and mud. What this surface does to your racing is really quite magical, especially when combined with Ratbag's phenomenal physics model. In World of Outlaws, you'll lose your grip in a flurry of mud and dust, and corners are best taken by swinging your car's rear end out and drifting through diagonally. It's an entirely different style of driving that's best suited to those who enjoy balancing on the very edge of control. Though you'll never end up driving at absurd speeds, this style of racing can definitely be exciting in its own right.

Essentially, World of Outlaws cars are wedge-shaped roll cages on wheels. Their "roofs" are actually enormous aerodynamic wings that can be moved forward and backward prior to or while driving to increase or decrease downforce. Right side rear tires are twice as big as those on the left, and the engine is a torque-filled monster.

While on the track, there's rarely a moment of free time. Aside from dealing with the game's excellent AI competitors (who battle hammer and tongs with one another even when you're not in their midst) and the very tight wheel-to-wheel action that ensues, you must make dozens of on-the-fly calculations. You must battle to win corners, preferably by carrying enough speed down the straightaway that you simply blow by your nearest competitor. If not, you must outbrake him in the corner, a decidedly riskier maneuver that may carry you into the outside wall or into another car, in which case you'd better know in advance whether the upcoming contact will throw you into a spin, a nasty end-over-end tumble, or a potentially damaging collision.

The cockpit offers a realistically constrained view of the action.

You must sometimes deliberately drop your speed and wait for large clusters of cars ahead to separate themselves before attempting a pass, or you'll risk being caught in the midst of a gaggle of sideways-drifting madmen. You must decide if and when to adjust your wing. And, because the game continues the tradition begun in last year's Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars wherein flying clumps of dirt and mud gradually obscure your view, you must decide when to remove your allotted tear strips. If you use them too early and still have several laps to run, chances are your windshield will end up being opaque by the end of the race.

In the game's superb career mode, those decisions are multiplied. With money on the line and costly repairs just a moment away, you may not want to take the chance of getting involved with other cars and instead settle for an unscathed mid-pack finish. And, as career races may feature local, regional, or full World of Outlaw fields--each featuring varying degrees of AI skill--you may even opt to skip certain events where the action will be particularly hectic, the track particularly narrow, or the competition particularly challenging. Furthermore, the career mode offers an endless series of decisions about whether to upgrade or repair your car, or try to squeeze out one last race before you head back to the garage. Ratbag has traditionally handled its career mode better than any other racing game developer, and that much hasn't changed.