Dirt 3 announced, first details and trailer.

The recently-revealed Codemasters racer DiRT 3, due out on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next year, will have "snow and ice, dynamic weather, YouTube uploads, fierce rides and epic tracks, splitscreen support, party modes, an open-world playground and more real-life sponsors and stars than ever," according to the latest issue of Edge magazine.

In the mag, which landed on Eurogamer's desk this morning, chief game designer Matt Horsman says DiRT 3 "is the biggest rally game ever made".

A new career mode emphasises working and racing as a team, and starts you off as a "privateer" racing cars from the 90s.

There's a mix of modern and classic cars, with the odd legend like the Morris Cooper dropped in just for fun.

There are super buggies and RAID trucks, too. All the vehicles are more detailed than before, we're told.

100 routes are promised, stretching from Norway, Aspen and Monte Carlo to the plains of Africa.

You can trim your replays and upload them to YouTube. There's a combo system that analyses how close your car is to obstacles before working out your score.

Codies has ditched DiRT 2's divisive festival-themed menus and replaced them with a "more stylised" front end. The UK publisher/developer reckons it's got the balance of appealing to US and European fans "bang on" in terms of voice-over and narrative.

And, of course, there are party modes, namely: Transporter, Goldrush, Outbreak and Cat 'n' Mouse.

The last game did come under fire from those who didn't like the Americanised emphasis of Dirt 2 and it's great to see Codies going back to a real rallying style while keeping the best bits of Dirt 2, the youtube upload is a welcome addition and something more games should use! oh it's got Gymkhana too!!

still need to pick up dirt 2 at some point.