It took no less than a decade for another pure rally game to come around. But good things do come eventually if you wait.

For those in our mid to late 20s, titles like Colin McRae Rally or Richard Burns Rally (RBR) bring back good memories - lots of trial and error, lots of restarts after hitting trees and ditches, and equal dose of satisfaction in stage records and wins against friends in the "hot seat" mode.

RBR was especially hard and, perhaps, too good for its own good. RBR physics model was head and shoulders above anything else, and casual gamers complained that it was "too hard" or even "harder than real life".

Perhaps these "casuals" were to blame for what followed after. RBR had no sequel and Codemasters Colin McRae series, instead of trying to catch up in level of sophistication and realism, became more "casual", or, to use the dreaded "a-word" - more "arcade" than simulation.

Ken Block and GYMKHANA certainly didn't help - it made matters worse, because suddenly every kid wanted a rally game - drifting was big in 2012.

Not everybody who wants to be a rally driver has rally driver reflexes. In their quest for satisfying demand, game developers further diluted driving mechanics to make sure no talent gap could stand in the way of anyone's dream of becoming a virtual rally star.

Sim-racers and hard-core RBR crowd, who didn't represent the majority share of rally game buyers, got the short end of the stick and were left behind, making grass-roots mods for the aged RBR engine which, unlike rFactor or AC, was never meant to be mod-friendly and visually was looking increasingly archaic next to Codemasters games.

This was going on for almost 10 years until in 2014 something changed in the driving game scene. Overwhelmingly positive reception of Assetto Corsa (my extensive Assetto Corsa review) suggested that realism was back in fashion. The amount of passionate, supportive reviews in social media and Steam communities not only motivated developers, but also rejuvenated the simracing community. Shift towards more realistic driving games was apparent.

Dirt Rally was also released as "early access" on Steam. Right from the start it was obvious that DR was not just another chapter in Codemasters "Dirt" series. Gone was Ken Block and all the other distractions and "back to basics" rally driving was back.

As you would expect from early access title, things were not "smooth" from the start, but Codemasters did listen to community feedback.

All development milestones up until this point have been met and many of suggested features have been implemented. Graphics and sounds are outstanding, and, more importantly, the handling model is far better than in any previous Codemasters game.

In part II I will be giving a short review of Dirt Rally in its current state. Core features are already finished or close to being finished, so most of my observations will stay relevant after following updates and final release.