DiRT Showdown

 PC
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 212 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 212
  2. Mixed: 72 out of 212
  3. Negative: 66 out of 212

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  1. CombustibLemons
    Mar 1, 2014
    0
    Game is completely unfair. Knockout person in first sits there, impossible to take down and even if you get there, their car rips your to shreds for no reason. The derby event where you knock the cars down, if there is a group of cars and you knock them all off, you get credit for 1 of them, not the 4 or 5 that you actually knocked down. Horrible game. I got it for like 1 dollar and stillGame is completely unfair. Knockout person in first sits there, impossible to take down and even if you get there, their car rips your to shreds for no reason. The derby event where you knock the cars down, if there is a group of cars and you knock them all off, you get credit for 1 of them, not the 4 or 5 that you actually knocked down. Horrible game. I got it for like 1 dollar and still feel ripped off.… Expand
  2. Slit
    May 31, 2012
    2
    I don't get all hot and bothered about names so i didn't mind playing a FlatOut style game named Dirt. Especially considering how much last FlatOut sucked. New Dirt however isn't much better. It's main problem isn't abandoning it's roots. It's the fact that it is just a poor game. Primitive tracks, primitive driving, primitive progress structure, primitive damage model. The appeal ofI don't get all hot and bothered about names so i didn't mind playing a FlatOut style game named Dirt. Especially considering how much last FlatOut sucked. New Dirt however isn't much better. It's main problem isn't abandoning it's roots. It's the fact that it is just a poor game. Primitive tracks, primitive driving, primitive progress structure, primitive damage model. The appeal of destruction derby is missed completely. Cars get destroyed waaay too quickly. And then they respawn. There is no thinking involved. No careful trading of ones car health for opponents damage. No satisfaction of barely surviving. No challenge of driving severely damaged car (barely alive one drives like new). The only positive thing to me was car design. It's fairly imaginative. Obnoxious general style (I'm not your bro or dude FFS) forced down your throat and an annoying soundtrack from the kind of bands who are sure that any music is good if its played sufficiently loud and that lyrics do not matter as long as front man shouts them complete the picture.

    Not only isn't it a Dirt 4 (not a problem in my book) but it is also a very tasteless and pathetic attempt at a FlatOut. Avoid.    … Expand
  3. Speedox
    May 24, 2012
    4
    Poor physics, cars seems like solid boxes, too arcade for something coming from Codemasters, annoying game menus, was expecting something much better for that price. I'm very disappointed.
  4. jugularis
    May 28, 2012
    4
    Cheap FlatOut copy with awful destruction model (worse then FO:UC from 2008 and terrible physic). Hope this gymkhana Blocks **** stick with this Showdown series and next Dirt 4 will be real racing only, rally disciplne for best with season progress. Dev work close to zero, circus HUD,stealin thru all series for tracks, enviroments, cars etc. Maybe for 15$ is adequate game, but not for 40Cheap FlatOut copy with awful destruction model (worse then FO:UC from 2008 and terrible physic). Hope this gymkhana Blocks **** stick with this Showdown series and next Dirt 4 will be real racing only, rally disciplne for best with season progress. Dev work close to zero, circus HUD,stealin thru all series for tracks, enviroments, cars etc. Maybe for 15$ is adequate game, but not for 40 Euro. Garbage.… Expand
  5. Defenestrator
    Mar 31, 2013
    2
    Wow. I found this game to be an absolute disgrace of the Dirt franchise. Even for an arcade style game the cars drive like shopping trolleys, the TINY amount of tracks are repetitive and boring, and the demolition derby style events get old very fast. Really would recommend staying away from this one...
  6. wicka
    May 26, 2012
    0
    This game is absolutely atrocious. I can just imagine the developers saying, "Hey, did you like any of the previous games in the Dirt series? Well here's something completely different!" They're clearly just using the Dirt game to get people to care because it in no way resembles any of those games. Why can't anyone just make a racing game anymore without ruining it with unnecessarilyThis game is absolutely atrocious. I can just imagine the developers saying, "Hey, did you like any of the previous games in the Dirt series? Well here's something completely different!" They're clearly just using the Dirt game to get people to care because it in no way resembles any of those games. Why can't anyone just make a racing game anymore without ruining it with unnecessarily frustrating and entirely unfun challenges?… Expand
  7. Catlin
    May 26, 2012
    0
    This game is terrible.

    I completed the tour mode within a couple of hours,i cant connect to anybody online,its the same repetitive boring racing all the way through,its way too easy even on the hardest difficulty.

    They reuse alot of the tracks and the gymkhana stages from dirt 3 and tracks from dirt 1.

    Very dissapointed,will not be trusting with codemasters products in the future.
  8. Hexcaliber
    Jun 24, 2012
    1
    Utterly dire, little more than a tech demo for the ego engine, its the dirt franchise with all the gaming removed. Dirt 3 was bad enough trying to cater to the US market and ignoring everything that fans had loved since the first McCrae rally was released, now the series slips even further into banal obscurity; simplistic crap churned out for the redneck masses.
  9. CardinalStorm
    Jun 5, 2012
    3
    Dirt Showdown should have been a £10-15 add-on for Dirt 3. The demo, albeit short, was enough to tell me that this game is lame. Codemasters should be ashamed of itself for charging full price for this. Shame on you, Codies. Nuff said.
  10. daebat
    Jun 4, 2012
    1
    I've come to expect greatness from DiRT games and this one just doesn't live up to what it should (for the money). If the game was free it would be pretty damn cool but I can't recommend anybody paying for it. The physics on the game are horrible, very boxy. I felt like I was playing an arcade game. That being said, I'll give it some credit for having somewhat fun game modes but II've come to expect greatness from DiRT games and this one just doesn't live up to what it should (for the money). If the game was free it would be pretty damn cool but I can't recommend anybody paying for it. The physics on the game are horrible, very boxy. I felt like I was playing an arcade game. That being said, I'll give it some credit for having somewhat fun game modes but I honestly wanted to stop after the first hour and never pick it back up again. That's not a good thing.… Expand
  11. Heddly
    Jun 2, 2012
    3
    I played the Demo with my Logitech G27 and love this game, except my "supported G27 wheel " does not work in the game. The Code Masters - Dirt3 - Dirt Showdown forum states that supported wheels (Logitech G27) work in game. I would rate a 10 if my wheel worked like advertised in the Demo. I lost $50 on false advertising. Do not buy if you have a Steering Wheel. It is a Bait and Switch deal to me.
  12. Vladaimmortal
    Jun 29, 2012
    4
    Game is kinda sad compared to all previous release's . The decision to go to arcade instead of old simulation style and also using imaginant cars make it much less fun to play than older parts . Ofc this goes to old players..newcomers would probably like the arcade this game has.
  13. airdrac
    May 2, 2013
    0
    A horrible waste of time!

    This game feels like taking Blur, dumbing down the graphics a couple of years, and going back to controls from the early 90's (Think Destruction Derby 1). However unlike Blur the levels are ridiculously small, the selection of cars laughable and handling decidedly bad (even when taking into account that this is a arcade-game, regardless of the false marketing    A horrible waste of time!

    This game feels like taking Blur, dumbing down the graphics a couple of years, and going back to controls from the early 90's (Think Destruction Derby 1). However unlike Blur the levels are ridiculously small, the selection of cars laughable and handling decidedly bad (even when taking into account that this is a arcade-game, regardless of the false marketing claims in using "DiRT" in the title). This has NOTHING to do with the "real" DiRT-games, let alone the Colin McRae-rally-games. You can't even select which gear to use anymore! If only Codemasters had the decency of giving back the money i paid for this game, because it is by far the worst game i've played for years! Oh yeah, and the menus and music makes even Dirt 3 seem quick and nice-sounding. They're ridiculously slow, and the "hey, bro"-style of the commentators and general (unskippable...) speak is painfully bad, and makes me want to choke myself in my headphones' cord.

    No matter what you're looking for, you wont find it in this game, move along!    … Expand
  14. gentlegiant03
    Oct 26, 2013
    4
    It's definitely a deviation from the DIRT series, which used to honor Colin McRae pretty well. Hopefully they return to a regular rally based game. There's no manual transmission option, no speedometer, just a health and refilling turbo bar in a cheesy looking tire image. The damage mechanics aren't too bad but get repetitive after a while. The cars don't feel like they have any actualIt's definitely a deviation from the DIRT series, which used to honor Colin McRae pretty well. Hopefully they return to a regular rally based game. There's no manual transmission option, no speedometer, just a health and refilling turbo bar in a cheesy looking tire image. The damage mechanics aren't too bad but get repetitive after a while. The cars don't feel like they have any actual variations besides models. Races themselves, especially demolition, feel like they're a crap shoot for points, the gymkhana inspired mode is perhaps the best. Overall it's quite passable.… Expand
  15. Leo4211
    Dec 23, 2013
    4
    If I could rename this game, I would have named it "Codemaster Derby". Putting the brand DiRT in the name is such a disgrace.

    As we all know, the DiRT series is about rally. Hmm, seems this game has gone far a little bit. The gameplay overall is a bit awkward as it features some races (traditional races, elimination(?)) but also some derby (last man standing, pushing cars off the    If I could rename this game, I would have named it "Codemaster Derby". Putting the brand DiRT in the name is such a disgrace.

    As we all know, the DiRT series is about rally. Hmm, seems this game has gone far a little bit. The gameplay overall is a bit awkward as it features some races (traditional races, elimination(?)) but also some derby (last man standing, pushing cars off the platform, racing in a track full of crossroads). Altogether it don't blend well and I simply can't tell what genre this game exactly is. The game's a bit boring (yeah it's fun hitting cars in 5 mins and 3 rounds) and gymkhana still exists. Ugh.

    The graphics are not appealing or better (How possibly could a derby game have amazing graphics?) The locations are a bit dull. (smelter, somewhere near the sea, mostly sand and dirt) Even Flatout Ultimate Carnage has more locations and graphic features to offer. The music is medicore. The controls are acrade-style so I have nothing to complain about it.

    I really don't get why this game has the DiRT label in it. It's not a rally game and it's not good also.    … Expand
  16. Broyax
    Apr 17, 2017
    2
    Incroyable ce Dirt Showdown ! il n'arrive même pas à proposer une gestion des dégâts et un comportement dignes de cette antiquité de Destruction Derby sorti sur PS1 il y a... une éternité ! il reste tout de même vaguement amusant mais très vaguement seulement et surtout en multi (lequel oblige à s'inscrire sur leur site à la con soit dit en passant).

    Malgré des modes de jeu inédits mais    Incroyable ce Dirt Showdown ! il n'arrive même pas à proposer une gestion des dégâts et un comportement dignes de cette antiquité de Destruction Derby sorti sur PS1 il y a... une éternité ! il reste tout de même vaguement amusant mais très vaguement seulement et surtout en multi (lequel oblige à s'inscrire sur leur site à la con soit dit en passant).

    Malgré des modes de jeu inédits mais d'un intérêt proche de zéro, malgré ses graphismes superbes, malgré sa partie sonore soignée, l'ennui est le grand gagnant. Les menus kikoolol et la mise en scène ridicule dont Codemasters s'est fait une spécialité depuis quelques années déjà (pourquoi ce tutoiement et cette beauf attitude ? oui, pourquoi ?) achèvent de vous dégoûter définitivement. Il suffit de relancer ce bon vieux Destruction Derby pour se rendre compte très vite que Codemasters... n'a décidément rien maîtrisé du tout.    … Expand
  17. vova22379
    Aug 4, 2022
    2
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Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
74
#74 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. Absolute Games
    Jul 28, 2012
    59
    Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson once wrote in his blog that he honestly doesn't remember anything about a car that was sent to him for reviewing – it was that unremarkable. I had a similar moment with DiRT Showdown – I forgot to review it upon release.
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  2. PC Gamer
    Jul 12, 2012
    78
    Dirt Showdown provides thrills while it lasts, but afterwards you're left wanting the deeper experience of its parents. [Sept 2012, p.60]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Jul 3, 2012
    80
    We haven't had this much fun since Destruction Derby on the PS1. [July 2012, p.58]
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