10-Minutes of DiRT Showdown Gameplay and Preview

**claud3** · 04-19-2012

10-Minutes of DiRT Showdown Gameplay and 11 New Screenshots

April 19, 2012, 10:16 am

Check out 10-minutes of gameplay and 11 new screenshots from next month's DiRT Showdown! And make sure to check out our latest preview right here.

7 Reasons DiRT Showdown Might be the Best DiRT Yet
By: Andre Segers
| April 19, 2012, 10:03 am

I’ve only had a single fender-bender in my ten years of driving, which might be why there was a smile on my face the entire time I spent ramming other cars in DiRT Showdown’s Smash and Grab mode. I was able to try that and two other modes when I ventured into San Franciscio earlier this week for several hours of hands-on time with this unique take on the DiRT series.
Here are the 7 reasons why DiRT Showdown might be the best DiRT game yet.

Smash and Grab is like Crimson Skies, but on the Ground
Smash and Grab is basically a team-based version of Keep Away for up to eight players, except it takes place in a giant arena and that you’re trying to crash into whoever has the booty to claim it for yourself. Yes, it’s about as hectic as it sounds.

At the start of each round, it’s a mad dash to grab the treasure first, which initially appears in a central location. Once someone collects it, it’s their goal to hold onto it as long as possible by avoiding being rammed into. Unfortunately for the treasure grabber, their car is now marked on everyone else’s screen pinpointing their exact location.

Possessing the treasure offers a pure, visceral thrill as you madly race around the arena in an attempt to evade your opponents. It’s really a constant battle of risk vs reward: driving more dangerously--such as drifting around a bridge’s support beams--increases the odds of shaking opponents off your tail, but also increases the chances of crashing yourself, which would make you extremely vulnerable. Another tactic is to stick close to your teammates who can hopefully insulate you from incoming cars.

If anything, it reminded me of a similar mode in Crimson Skies, which is a very favorable comparison. I was hooked from the get-go and I’m eager to play more of this mode.

Head-to-Head Encourages Finesse

If you’re looking for something that’s a little less...impactful than Smash and Grab, Head-to-Head may be for you. In this mode, you take on one other opponent in a race. But this isn’t any ordinary race; instead, it’s a race to see who can finish a list of stunts first, including drifting around lengthy corners or performing super-tight donuts around a specific pole. It really puts your stunt skills to the test as you have to complete the stunts in order before moving on to the next one.

Burnout Paradise-lite
Burnout Paradise is well-known for its open-world gameplay, where you could drive around a gigantic city at your leisure and partake in whatever events you like, whenever you like. Although Showdown uses more conventional “menus” primarily, the single-player Joy Ride mode offers something that’s certainly reminiscent of Paradise’s structure, but on a significantly smaller scale.

Instead of driving around an entire city, you’ll instead explore several small, contained areas, such as a Dockside, Construction Site, or Container Yard where you’ll have to complete a set amount of missions to open the next area. These missions are scattered all over the map and include smashing through hard-to-reach barriers, performing donuts in confined areas, drifting through narrow corridors, or reaching certain milestones, such as gaining an accumulated total of 200ft in elevation or performing drifts over a certain distance.

Although only a single mission of 25 available per area is marked on your HUD at any given time, you can actually choose which one that is by selecting it from the pause screen menu. Otherwise they’ll display sequentially as you complete them. However, a mission need not be selected in order to complete it, as I discovered when I finished some of them by unknowingly by smashing through certain barriers or drifting around particular corners.

It Reminded me of Beetle Adventure Racing
If you tire of completing missions in Joy Ride, you may want to spend some time looking for the 60 hidden packages in each level. You might find some above some shipping crates that you can reach only by getting some serious airtime off a nearby jump, whereas others might be tucked in a corner behind some boxes. I’m a total sucker for collectibles and it reminded me greatly of Beetle Adventure Racing’s emphases on hidden goodies (or for you younger kids, Hydro Thunder Hurricane). In short, I loved it. And there’s a special surprise waiting for you if you manage to collect them all. Unfortunately, I’m as in the dark as you are as to what exactly it is, but you better believe I’m going to find out as I stay up late on a collectible-hunting binge.

The Controls are Great
There’s always a learning curve when it comes to controlling a racing games. Whether it’s re-establishing the basics, such as turning, or determining how long to hold the e-brake to initiate a power-slide, there’s always an adjustment period. Fortunately, as DiRT Showdown is an arcade-style racer at its heart, it also features very accessible controls, while still leaving plenty of room for mastering (as you’ll no doubt discover in Joy Ride mode).

Besides the basics, you also have access to a Boost feature, giving you an extra burst of speed whenever you need it. It replenishes nearly as fast as its usage, encouraging heavy use.

Lots o’ Cars

While I wasn’t able to keep track of every car I saw,. Whether it’s tearing around corners in a Ford Mustang or weaving between pillars in a Mini, there seemed to be enough variety to please almost anyone. And of course each car has its own strengths and weaknesses, which are made apparent via a simple bar graph for each.

RaceNet: Making Racing Social
DiRT Showdown represents not just a change for the series, but a change for all Codemasters racing games moving forward with the introduction of RaceNet.

RaceNet is a service that will provide gamers with a single Driver Profile that spans all Codemaster Racing games from here on out. It not only tracks stats, such as performance, wins, losses, times, and more, but also provides a much more social experience. For example, you can see how your Profile stacks up to your friends, take them on in tournaments, or challenge them to a duel in a racing game you both own. The service even includes its own Achievement-like rewards system that are on display for all to see.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to try RaceNet for ourselves...yet. But the DiRT Showdown demo that launches on May 1st will offer anyone the chance to sign-up and try it out.

If you like arcade-style derby games, you’d best to keep an eye on DiRT Showdown which launches next month on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Link: for the 10minute of DiRT Showdown

http://www.gamexplain.com/article-72...reenshots.html

Link to preview of DiRT

http://www.gamexplain.com/article-72...dirt-yet-.html

T5his game looks great and i hope to get it soon. The gameplay is cool to watch

**mooninites** · 04-19-2012

This looks so awesome. All the elements are there for a fun game. Looks like they got some gymkhana in there too. Can't wait

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