At a recent demonstration for Colin McRae: DiRT 2, developer Codemasters made a heart-warming announcement. As you progress through the upcoming racer, you'll get a bit closer to qualifying for a special in-game rally race: the Colin McRae Memorial Cup.

Colin McRae was the main spokesman for Codemasters' racing franchise for years, through the releases of Colin McRae Rally and Colin McRae: DiRT, until the time of his sudden death in September 2007. At that time, the original DiRT was too close to release for the developers to implement any major changes, so it's great to see them taking the time to respect his memory in the sequel.


Mark Turosz, a spokesperson from Codemasters explains that it's not just the race that will act as an homage to the great driver:

“You’ll hear other drivers talking about him. He’s the central figure in the narrative.”

This marks one of only a handful of occasions where a real-world death has been recognised in a video game, and kudos to Codemasters for featuring such a fitting tribute.

From what we hear, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 is - appropriately - on par with the 2007 original, one of the best racing games of the past few years. It will also feature the inclusion of Ken Block, Subaru rally driver, co-founder of DC Shoes, and team-mate to McRae at X-Games.