People are comparing this game to a sim or previous dirt games which isn't by any means what is intended. The game is an arcadey racing game which aims for a fun user experience, rather than realism. People are too hooked on expecting games that are different yet compare them to previous games in the sequel. I have put many hours into it and with the max career difficulty and all assists off, it gets quite difficult. And for anyone saying you can just crash into walls is wrong as there are many turns that involve skill, well at least with all assists off anyway. The AI are good, a lot harder than other games and provide a real challenge. There is a great range of cars and the changing weather is a great addition which affects gameplay. The game looks beautiful and the soundtrack is great. The physics can be a bit broken, especially with invisible barriers and flipping but overall a very enjoyable game that is being compared wrongly to previous or different games. If your a fan of a racing game you can just hop on and have a fun experience then this is for you. As for playgrounds, well I havent really played it yet but if there are some more players who play it, it has a lot of potential.
It is worth buying but maybe wait till the price drops slightly. 30 of 40 pounds is good value