Dirt Showdown - Xbox 360

Turning Into Dust

Matthew Kato — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:55:37 GMT

Dirt Showdown tries to tackle a tall order, and not because the game’s aggressive driving is a slight tweak on the sim-based off-roading of previous titles in the franchise. The progression path of a game like Gran Turismo entices gamers with a trickle of new cars, but since Dirt Showdown has to keep and hold players’ attention with exciting and unconventional ways to race, the stakes are higher. While Dirt Showdown creates a fun new avenue for the franchise, it’s hard pressed to sustain its surprises throughout the entire experience.

As you make your way up the career ladder, you’ll hoot and holler at events like 8 Ball (the track folds in on itself and creates opportunities for jarring T-bones), demolition derbies such as Knockout (you drive opponents off a raised platform and earn double points in a last-minute frenzy), or Hoonigan’s Head 2 Head races that mix enclosed rally-cross tracks with gymkhana objectives. I expected this to be just the beginning, but as I progressed up the career tiers and wanted the game to expand and offer new race types and experiences, I was disappointed that this didn’t happen to the extent that I was hoping it would.

For its part, multiplayer does add some options. You can play any of the game’s race types in eight-player free-for-alls or with teams, or participate in multiplayer-only events like Smash and Grab (similar to Halo’s Oddball). The freestyle gymkhana compounds also return with multiple areas to open up and loads of objectives to knock down. Unfortunately, these free-form gymkhana areas are not open to multiplayer apart from leaderboards.

Despite Showdown’s limitations, as it has with its other games, Codemasters has provided this title with a solid foundation. The handling of the cars is thankfully easier than the base Dirt series (including in the Hoonigan events), and the balancing on the Boost ability is great. Codemasters’ first try at this offshoot series is decent. It’s limited more by its execution than its premise.

Dirt Showdown Goes Full Throttle

Matthew Kato — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:18:00 GMT

Codemasters is going gonzo with Dirt Showdown, a game that combines various kinds of racing events into one enticing stew. Today the company unveiled a slew of details about the title, including its release date, online and demo plans, and in-depth gameplay footage.

Dirt Showdown comes out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on May 29, and will be proceeded by a demo (featuring one multiplayer- and one single-player event) on May 1. Players of the demo will also get to experience a taste of Codemasters new online endeavor: RaceNet.

RaceNet is a cross-title online profile that the company (now putting out Showdown under the Codemasters Racing publishing arm) will maintain no matter what Codemasters Racing game you play going forward. RaceNet keeps track of your stats and progress, but also features community features (including community challenges), online events, and awards. If you sign on to RaceNet during the demo period, you'll get a Founder Status award and a RaceNet XP boost.

Codemasters has also announced a special Hoonigan Edition of the game available at Walmart, which comes with an in-game cash boost, an online XP multiplier, and a clutch of car skins.

Be sure to check out the lengthy gameplay videos below (as well as new screens in the gallery) showing off different aspects of the game's various race events.

HOONIGANS GO HEAD 2 HEAD & SOME FREE-FORM GYMKHANA

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MORE HOONIGANS

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FIGURE 8 TRACK & A KNOCKOUT EVENT

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Dirt Showdown Adds Destruction Derby, Mario Kart Comparisons, And More

Phil Kollar — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:20:00 GMT

I’m what you’d call a casual racing fan. I really enjoy racing games, but I find it hard to devote my time to more than one or two every year, so I tend toward known quantities – Forza, Burnout, Need for Speed, etc. As such, I’ve always been intrigued by Codemasters’ popular Dirt series of rally racing games, but I have yet to take the leap into trying one out. The publisher hopes to pull in people like myself with its new spin-off game, Dirt Showdown, which I was able to go hands-on with last week.

According to Codemasters, the decision to create Dirt Showdown came from a recognition that by the third Dirt game, the series had expanded from its pure rally racing roots and into the realm of "action sports." Dirt 3 featured a major addition to the series called gymkhana, an obstacle and trick course for cars.

To help clarify the game’s focus and calm fans who might be annoyed by the dissonant modes, Codemasters decided to create a branching spin-off. In other words, Dirt Showdown is not Dirt 4. This is a separate, action sports-focused version of the Dirt series that will coexist alongside continued iterations of the regular Dirt games.

As an example of its action focus, this is the first Dirt game that will feature a boost mechanic. Like in the Burnout games, you’ll build the boost meter by drifting, passing, and generally driving successfully. Well-placed use of boost can get you into the lead or allow you to pull off a devastating crash into an opponent’s vehicle.

The first mode I checked out in Dirt Showdown is called 8 Ball. This race takes place in a looping track that crisscrosses in the middle (i.e. basically in the shape of an 8). Because the track is relatively short but has several laps, this middle area is certain to be home to some major accidents as players driving in different directions cross at the same time.

In addition to the boost mechanic, 8 Ball shows off another change to Dirt Showdown: health bars. In the demo, my health has been buffed up so that even after major accidents I have about three-fourths of my bar left, but in the final game players will be able to completely knock opponents out of the race by draining their health bars.

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I enjoyed my time with 8 Ball mode, but couldn’t help noticing a surprising similarity to the feeling I get from racing in Mario Kart games. There may not be any blue shells here, but each time I tried it out, I entered the final lap in third place with a healthy lead...and ended the race in second, third, or fourth. Because of the over-the-top nature of the event, spots change suddenly and painfully, even if you’re playing well. This makes for a fun party game, but I could see regular racing fans getting annoyed at the uncertainty.

The much more interesting mode, in my opinion, is Destruction Derby. As the name implies, these events drop you into arenas and focus completely on taking out other cars. In addition to crazy rule sets, Destruction Derby events have more room for crazy locales. For example, the one I played was set in an enclosed space with San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge in the background.

I played the Rampage variant of Destruction Derby, in which players are given points for hitting other cars as well as destroying them completely. I had infinite respawns and was able to continue building my score until the timer ran out. The game ranks the power of each crash in order to determine how many points you get, and you even get double points in the final 30 seconds.

The few rounds of Rampage I played were an absolute blast. There’s something undeniably fun about an arena full of eight cars just smashing into each other recklessly, and as I got a better feel for how the scoring system worked, I really began enjoying myself. The visible health bars on opponents strongly encouraged me to hunt down foes who were the closest to death, but I knew they would do the same to me.

Despite the chaos, there was a satisfying loop of strategic decisions to make. Can I make it to that near-dead car across the room and take him out if I boost? Or should I focus on the guy with half health to the left of me? It’s a mode that seems like it will be fantastic online with a group of friends.

Beyond Rampage, there are a couple other Destruction Derby modes that I wasn’t able to check out. King of the Ring has all of the vehicles starting in a raised platform that they must knock each other off of. Hard Target is a survival mode where only one car is marked as the target, and every other car must chase after it. Players only get points for taking out the target or taking out other vehicles as the target.

The regular racing in Dirt Showdown didn’t blow me away, even with the new boost and health bar to worry about, but Destruction Derby seems like a wonderful, fun way to set this spin-off apart from the Dirt series. I’m still not convinced that this will be one of the only racing games I spend my time on this year, but I’m eager to set up some chaotic online matches with friends soon. I shouldn’t have to wait too long, as Codemasters is currently planning to release Dirt Showdown in May.

Codemasters Debuts Action-Oriented Dirt Showdown

Jeff Marchiafava — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:17:00 GMT

Codemasters has revealed its newest installment in the Dirt series, which forgoes simulation for arcadey action, including a new destruction derby mode.

Dirt Showdown three styles of play: Racing, which features obstacle-laden courses each with multiple routes; a destruction-focused demolition derby mode; and Hoonigan events, which take place in free-roaming stunt parks and showcase more of Dirt 3's gymkhana action.

Dirt Showdown will also offer gamers split-screen play and party modes, and racing locations from around the world. The game is set to release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in May 2012. Get your first glimpse of the game in the teaser trailer below.

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