DiRT Showdown Demo

The DiRT franchise has made a name for itself with the help of a well-structured singleplayer experience, plenty of game modes and a realistic driving experience, not to mention the top-notch graphics and the excellent music. Now, Codemasters decided to capitalize on the series and release a spinoff based on it, although the mechanics and the purpose of the game are entirely different.

DiRT Showdown is basically an experiment in which accurate physics and realistic car handling do not mean a thing, since everything revolves around who gets to the finish line first and in one piece. Thus, while it may certainly not be what DiRT fans expected, the game focuses on an entirely new audience and it does manage to be appealing, as long as you look at it as a fork in the series and not a continuation.

To start off with, the main career mode is actually very similar to the previous titles, in the sense that it takes you through an entire tour around the world and you get to compete in every type of tournament available. This way, you get to experience everything the game has to offer, as well as slowly get better and better at winning different racing events and pushing the cars to the maximum with every occasion.

Speaking of game modes, they all basically encourage you to damage the other opponents along the way, in order to earn more points and fill your boost bar. However, you also have a life bar on which you must keep an eye on, otherwise you risk putting yourself out of the race as well. Thanks to the impressive graphics and physics engines, every vehicle contains an insane amount of detail, while every component is liable to just fall off after an impact.

A special mention must be awarded to the level design, because the areas surrounding the tracks usually include famous landmarks, plenty of vegetation and a sizable crowd to cheer for your stunts. To help with the atmosphere, an exciting soundtrack is present as well, featuring electrifying tunes from a variety of genres.

Despite the spinoff stigma, DiRT Showdown is definitely a good game on its own, especially since it does not make any effort to make matters more serious than they need to be. Hence, it is all about fun and destruction, with emphasis on the multiplayer matches and the variety of exciting challenges you can participate in along your friends.