Massive racing game juggernaut Codemasters has signed an exclusive five-year deal to pump out official FIA World Rally Championship games.

With the fervour over the recent Rugby World cup dying down, now’s a good time to stoke the fire again. While it ideally should have been released during the World Cup to capitalise on that, Rugby 20 is readying itself for a January 23 2020 launch. The game’s already got a playable beta available to those who’ve pre-ordered, but the selection of teams an licences in the beta is limited.

Having spent a bunch of time playing WRC 8, and remembering playing Codemaster’s DiRT Rally 2.0 at the start of the year, got me thinking that the sub-genre of rally racing is one of the last places you, a fan of driving games, can go for a proper single-player experience. We’re not going to get Need for Speed games like …

Big Ben Interactive’s MotoGP series seems to be on the right track lately (heh), but like most games of its ilk each new annual version is more of an iterative update than a nuts ‘n bolts redesign. This year, MotoGP 19 wants to add some extra challenge to the formula by throwing in a neural network AI.

In a genre that has its fair share of challengers, V Rally 4 comes in dead last thanks to its bipolar handling, meagre selection of tracks and a modest grab bag of disciplines that fails to excite any fan of dirty racing.

TT Isle of Man: Ride On The Edge is a definitive race around a legendary and lethal track, one that captures the thrill and joy of two-wheeled power unleashed with a satisfying and strapping sense of speed. A pity then, that the rest of the supporting architecture doesn’t measure up.

The sixth time is the charm, as WRC 6 finally nails the winning formula for a properly decent rally game that emphasises accessible fun over unforgiving precision.

I’ve actually got soft spot for the Sherlock Holmes games. They’re pretty much the only game in town when it comes to sleuthing as the master analyst, and they’ve been competent experiments in solving problems with your brain instead of bullets. Clearly, the previous Sherlock Holmes game from Frogware sold enough copies, as a new sequel is on the way.