DiRT Showdown - New Game of the Day #35

What? Codemasters’ critically acclaimed DiRT makes an unexpected return in DiRT Showdown, an “arcade-style spinoff” that reprises the extreme sports element that has often divided fans who were brought up by Colin McRae. 

When? May 2012.

Where? PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

DiRT 3 was only released seven months ago, and we rather liked it to be honest. Why, then, are we already talking about a sequel? Introducing DiRT Showdown, something of a surprise spin-off to the acclaimed DiRT series due out next May, just a year after DiRT 3.

Watching the debut trailer, there’s one thing I’m already certain about with DiRT Showdown: it will effortlessly alienate those who weren't too fond of DiRT's "hey I'm Ken Block" direction all over again.

Indeed, DiRT Showdown appears to be an amalgamation of DiRT 2’s overbearing extreme sports vibe and DiRT 3’s challenging Gymknhana with some all-new destruction derby thrown in for good measure – all elements which are precisely what Colin McRae purists disliked about the DiRT series.

Codemasters describe the numerous stunt events as “a theatre of racing” that harkens back to DiRT 2’s festival ambience. “Hoonigan” stunt events will be available in three varieties: Trick Rush, which has you perform Gymkhana-style tricks within a tight time limit, Smash Hunters, which has you smashing into objects littered throughout a course – sounds a lot like DiRT 3’s Invasion - and Head2Head, which is essentially a versus variation of Trick Rush.

It all sounds similar to DiRT 3’s stunt side modes, but Showdown will also have a new-found penchant for destruction in a series of demolition events. Rampage is your classic last man standing scenario where the aim is to obliterate your opponents, whereas Hard Target challenges you to evade them. King of the Ring sounds particularly entertaining, whereby every car races to a central point and meet in a spectacular mess of mangled wreckage.

Traditional modes comprising of Lap Attack, Eliminator and Domination will also be included, but crucially there is no trace of Rally.

All modes will be available in both the single player career and online, and there is talk of Codemasters implementing a system similar to Need for Speed’s Autolog known as Joyride, a mission-based social networking service which lets you challenge your friends.

With an emphasis placed on the fun factor, Codemasters have apparently ditched the more realistic approach to the handling in favour of a more accessible arcade model. We can’t help but feel disappointed with this decision – Codemasters are supremely talented when it comes to balancing realism with accessibility in driving games, so we’re not sure if their dabble with arcade handling will pay off.

In another surprise decision, it turns out that not all cars will even be licensed. Cars will be divided into three classes: Racing, which includes muscle cars and SUVs, Hoonigan, i.e. Ken Block’s Ford Fiesta used for Gymkhana, and Demolition for the tougher vehicles. We’re guessing that the unlicensed cars will be mostly seen in Demolition to allow for more extensive damage modelling – we spotted a Cadillac-esque hearse in the trailer.

After the criticism levelled at Codemasters for continually straying away from the series’ rally roots, we’re quite surprised to hear that DiRT Showdown will be scrapping it altogether. But fear not rally fans: don’t forget that Showdown is still only a spin-off, and DiRT 4 is said to be in development with the focus back on simulation. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait until 2013 at the earliest.

All in all, it looks as if DiRT is about to head down Need for Speed's road by diversifying into seperate entities aimed at different audiences, in the same vein as Shift and The Run are completely opposite to each other in terms of tone and realism. If DiRT Showdown is aimed squarely at those who enjoy performing far-out stunts to appease Mr. Block, we can only hope that DiRT 4 will finally deliver the focused rally sim many of us have been pining for.

They say: “DiRT Showdown is our brand new dive in and drive adrenaline rush of speed, style and destruction.”

We say: It’s difficult to judge without seeing any gameplay footage, but DiRT: Showdown has the potential to be a fun, if somewhat risky diversion for the series that looks to compete with the arcade stylings of Need for Speed and Burnout. Whether or not fans will approve of this change is debatable, however. We say we need a break from DiRT and a return to GRiD, which still hasn’t had a sequel to this day.

Can’t wait? Play this: DiRT 3 is still firmly fresh in our minds since it was only released 7 months ago, so you would do well to keep practising those gnarly tricks in Gymkhana.

Website: codemasters.com/uk/dirtshowdown/

Facebook: facebook.com/dirtgame

Twitter: @dirtgame

Words by Martin Bigg (Twitter: @drivinggamespro)

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