MENA Gamer - Where Game Begins

11th February 2011 (2pm UK ) – Codemasters® has today released the third DiRT 3™ developer Q&A, focussing on the myriad advancements set to make the car handling the most authentic in the series.

The 'Keep It Real' video features developers answering questions, fans playing the game and Rally drivers Kris Meeke and Ken Block putting DiRT 3 through its paces. The new video is now playing at www.facebook.com/dirt3game.

Codemasters has also released the box art for DiRT 3 which features Ken's Gymkhana Fiesta as driven in his iconic 25million+ views YouTube video, Gymkhana THREE.

The video includes new gameplay footage, showcasing the blistering speed, jaw-dropping damage effects and stunning graphics for which the series is famed. Starring the game's new rally locations of Kenya and Finland, a trio of iconic rally cars - the Audi Sport Quattro Rallye, Lancia Fulvia HF and Kris Meeke's 2009 Intercontinental Rally Championship winning Peugeot 207 S2000 - powerslide and redline their way through gruelling new stages. Exploring the most important aspect of the game, the handling, Gehan Pathiraja, Senior Vehicle Handling Designer, and Tim Dearing, Vehicle Handling Designer, explain how DiRT 3 will deliver the most exciting and realistic behind-wheel experience in the series.

"We're working much closer with manufacturers and racing drivers to make sure the physics are as realistic as possible for each and every car in the game," says Gehan Pathiraja, Senior Vehicle Handling Designer on DiRT 3. "What we've looked to do is improve the way the weight shifts in the car. It's far more realistic. It transfers that force in a much more detailed fashion on the springs, dampers and the tyres. Without a doubt the car handling in DiRT 3 is the best it's ever been."

DiRT 3 will boast more cars, more locations, more routes and more events than any other game in the series. With more than double the track content of 2009's hit, players will enjoy a career as an elite professional driver, competing in off-road racing events on the intense, weather-beaten rally stages of Europe, Africa and the US. DiRT 3 will feature the most amount of Rally content to feature in the series to date, accounting for 60% of its extensive career mode. With rally stages set across three continents players will learn to master the conditions on tarmac, gravel and snow in dry and wet conditions for the most authentic rally experience.

The new developer Q&A video is now showing at www.facebook.com/dirt3game where fans can keep up to date with the latest news, screens and videos straight from the studio. Set to raise the bar for authentic and accessible off-road racing again, DiRT 3 is now in development at Codemasters Studios for a May 24th2011 release for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and PC Games For Windows® LIVE.

About Codemasters
Codemasters, the award winning games developer and publisher, has a 24-year heritage and annual revenues in excess of US$ 150 Million. The company's dominant brands include Colin McRae DiRT, Race Driver GRID, Cricket and Operation Flashpoint; the company retains the exclusive worldwide video game rights to FORMULA ONE. Codemasters operates three UK development studios – one at its Warwickshire HQ with further sites at Guildford and Birmingham. An additional art studio is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2009 Codemasters won the coveted Grand Prix Award at the 2009 Develop Industry Excellence Awards, an award bestowed on the company felt by Develop to have contributed the most to the games medium in recent times. Across the group, Codemasters employs over 450 people. In March 2010, Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd. (RBEL), a part of India's Reliance ADA group, acquired a 50 per cent shareholding in the company, alongside existing investor, Balderton Capital, the leading European venture capital firm that first invested in Codemasters in 2005. For more information on Codemasters' product portfolio, please visit www.codemasters.com