DiRT: Showdown is a racing arcade game from Codemasters, which is not a direct continuation of DiRT. The game was released on three platforms – PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Showdown is a spin-off, meaning it branches off from the main series. The main difference between Showdown and DiRT 2 and DiRT 3 lies in the enhancement of the arcade aspect. This is no longer a serious, difficult, and realistic racing game, but rather a fun, mind-blowing, and reckless racing experience.
Players understand from the very first moments how to drive and control their racing car. The adaptation period is minimal. Naturally, there is no talk of realism – the controls are arcade-like, and the cars behave on the track as if made of foam – they easily soar into the air and flip countless times, like feathers in the wind. But this doesn’t mean that DiRT: Showdown is worse than the second or third parts of DiRT – it’s just that they are completely different games with different approaches.
In this project, the focus is primarily on dynamics and speed, which forces the body to produce serious doses of adrenaline. In DiRT: Showdown, you can find a great variety of sports cars, from rusty clunkers to beautiful and powerful steel “horses.” There are tuning options available – vehicles have several characteristics that can be improved and upgraded using in-game currency. It’s not Need for Speed, of course, but there is a connection to the famous series. But that’s not the main point, as the most interesting things happen directly on the track. The spectators rage in fervor, passionately supporting their favorite racers, while the racers perform true wonders. Cars collide with each other with a roar and screech, flipping in unimaginable tumbles. It looks very beautiful and truly takes your breath away.
Sometimes, the key to victory is not so much a fast and correct run, but the ability to deal with your opponent. What could be better than good old-fashioned ramming, or the cunning and treacherous maneuver of pinning the opponent against the wall and subsequently pushing them off the track? Of course, this needs to be learned, but, as mentioned, the controls in DiRT: Showdown are intuitively understandable and are grasped by the player from the very first moments.
There aren’t as many racing modes as one would like, but this can be noted as a very tiny downside. However, in Showdown, there’s plenty to choose from: standard circuit races are interspersed with races on tracks shaped like the well-known infinity symbol. The Hoonigan mode invites players to participate in three different events that involve performing tricks of varying difficulty, while in Demolition, players can indulge in the barbaric pleasure of destroying anything in sight. In this particular case – cars.