Dirt Showdown - The next Dirt game

FrostedxB

FrostedxB

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http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-ex-dirt-showdown/17-5576/

Giant Bomb just released a Quick Look of a build of the next Dirt game and it has swayed away from rallying (for now). Demolition Derby/Destruction racing is what Showdown is about and I, for one, welcome this change. Really liked Flatout and there haven't been many demolition derby games lately. Plus Codemasters make a mean racing game. This'll be a day one buy for me.
 
****ing loved Flatout. I'm sure Codemasters will do well with this; given their track record with previous racing games.
 
I've been absolutely itching for a good destruction derby game lately. This is great news.
 
I want real rally =[ *cough*

Though I am sure this will be fun, I just miss real rally focused titles.
 
Evo said:
I want real rally =[ *cough*

Though I am sure this will be fun, I just miss real rally focused titles.
Click to expand...

In the video I posted they said they're working on a rally based Dirt 4 as well, though they couldn't say anything else. Not that I expect it to be like some of those older rallying games.
 
Stigmata said:
I've been absolutely itching for a good destruction derby game lately. This is great news.
Click to expand...

Amen, especially considering the piece of shit that Flatout 3 turned out to be. Spent far too much time playing Flatout 2 online.

Let's just hope they work on the physics, while the physics of Dirt 2/3 are nice for racing I don't see them working too well in a derby style game.. this does look very similar to the last 2 Dirt games.
 
This franchise just keeps growing.


It'll be grass this time next year.



















:V
 
I have a question, I bought Dirt 1 at release (loved it), then I bought Dirt 2 at release and hated it because they ****ed up the handling big time.

Did they fix the handling again in 3?
 
I thought the handling in Dirt 3 was excellent, but it's the only Dirt game I've played. I had a lot of fun with it, but the common criticisms are that the rally focus is quite diluted due to all the gymkhana and time attack/point attack obstacle course events. Also the rally events are quite short, reportedly due to engine constraints.

Although I liked Dirt 3, I think I would have truly loved it if I hadn't already played Grid. Grid, despite being three years older than Dirt 3, has much better damage modelling and an enormous range of courses and racing disciplines by comparison. It even looks slightly better and actually taxes my rig, which Dirt 3 doesn't do at all. There was only a tiny bit of Destruction Derby racing in Grid, yet I spent hours enjoying that part of the game so Dirt Showdown looks promising. What I really still want is a Grid 2, though...

On a side note, I found it impossible to get into F1 2011. Just so, so hard. I play with a pad and 'traction control: on' feels awful, 'off' requires a racing wheel, and 'medium' is still ridiculously unforgiving. Having an achievement called 'Have you considered Dirt 3?' for excessive drifting was a nice way to dent my enthusiasm, since I unlocked that in about 5 minutes and didn't manage to achieve anything else in the next 6 hours of play.
 
Man, I would love a well-done D Derby game, but that looks kind of rough. Handling looks stiff, physics don't look like anything special, and cars just up and vanish when you knock them out? The ****. Hope the "pre-alpha" disclaimer actually applies this time.
 
Bad^Hat said:
Man, I would love a well-done D Derby game, but that looks kind of rough. Handling looks stiff, physics don't look like anything special, and cars just up and vanish when you knock them out? The ****. Hope the "pre-alpha" disclaimer actually applies this time.
Click to expand...
I would imagine so, you're right that the gameplay doesn't look good at this stage. Still, the D-derby content in Grid was like an afterthought to the rest of the game yet even that had weightier handling and left dead cars lying around the track, so hopefully Codemasters won't forget what was good about that game mode.

EDIT: here's some Grid footage to show what they're capable of:
 
That looks pretty good, but I could never deal with the drift events in Grid.
 
Bad^Hat said:
That looks pretty good, but I could never deal with the drift events in Grid.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Codies like their drifting. It took loads of attempts for me to even be average at it, which is as good as I got. What was good about Grid's drifting, at least, was that the points tallying was much smarter than in the drift events for Dirt 3. Those were ridiculously easy and the courses weren't as suited for it as Grid's, er, grid-shaped ones. I didn't mind the Gymkhana events and the Battersea parking lot though.
 
Every collision must have slowdown or else we will miss it.
 
The biggest problem with destruction derby games is that they're only good for like 3-4 plays before it gets boring and repetitive as shit. Unless its like 10 bucks there'd be no way I'd buy a game like this.
 
Yeah, I got bored watching the trailer, just collision after collision. And trailers are supposed to be more exciting than the actual game.
 
Back in the n64 and ps2 days me and my friends would rent a game like this, play it for a couple hours and have fun, then I'd hold on to it for another 6 days without touching it before I had to return it. They're the purest form of "rent, don't buy" games.
 
Krynn72 said:
The biggest problem with destruction derby games is that they're only good for like 3-4 plays before it gets boring and repetitive as shit. Unless its like 10 bucks there'd be no way I'd buy a game like this.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, dd games have a very short session life span. You play 20 minutes and you are done. But they are addictive, and in a couple of hours you feel the need to do some more damage.
A good mix between race and destruction should bring new life.
 
Agh, this isn't shaping up to be the game I wanted at all. I would have paid top dollar for a nuts-and-bolts DD game with Dirt style handling but I'd hesitate to spend a tenner on this. They seem to have gone right through 'Arcadey' territory and landed in the strange psychedelic world of 'Casual game' on the other side.

The handling looks ridiculously forgiving, the physics look light and unsatisfying (calculated to reduce inconvenience after impact), the damage modelling nothing special, dead cars really do evaporate just as Bad Hat feared, and the soundtrack is obnoxious. The cars don't even seem to have more than one gear...?? Fun, maybe, but shortlived I reckon.

Honestly this just looks like something CM half-arsed in order to generate some revenue in the gap before Dirt 4/Grid 2. Wake me when those roll round.
 
I reckon the racing game that did destruction the best was the original Flatout. By the end of a race the entire track was covered in car parts, fences, tires, etc..., and they actually became hazards during the race. Comical ragdolls upon collisions of sufficient force just added to the chaos.

The destruction in this game doesnt look nearly as satisfying.
 
I enjoyed the concept of taking out other cars in Burnout.
 
Looks like a pretty basic demolition derby game. Still going to be a buy for me, but not day 1/full priced.
 
Vegeta897 said:
I enjoyed the concept of taking out other cars in Burnout.
Click to expand...

Another game series that did destruction really well. Will have to see if there is any hook that makes destruction in Dirt unique or not.
 
I wish someone would just combine the elements of Burnout 2 and Flatout 1. Boom, best destructive arcade racing game probably ever.

Dirt Showdown just looks like Destruction Derby 64 minus the interesting parts.
 
Hmm, not sure. I have DiRT 2 and the Burnout and Flatout games and like them... Not sure if this is one I'll get. From the videos, its not grabbing my attention. To me, the best destruction games were the Burnouts... Burnout 2 especially.
 
From the previews, I didn't expect this to be a €40 title. Everything about it, from the car selection right down to the palette, looks weirdly irritating. Oh well, maybe it plays well... if impressions are positive I might look for it in the proverbial bargain bin in a year or so.

To be fair to CM regarding the 'Gymkhana nonsense', my understanding is that this game is designed specifically to feature that kind of nonsense, with the implication being that there'll be less of it in the next proper DiRT. TBH the Gymkhana event looks like the only part of this game that's up to the standards of any of the previous ones, which isn't saying much since I didn't much like Gymkhana either.
 
Thanks for the demo reminder. In spite of misgivings I gave it a spin. It's a figure-of-8 single player track plus a multiplayer event which I didn't try, since unlocking it requires spamming your friends list with invites, which I consider discourteous *thumbs tobacco into pipe* Also I have no friends.

Typical polished Codemasters presentation. Actually the game looks somewhat better than I had expected it to look, going from the gameplay vids. That weirdly darkened palette doesn't look so sickly when thrust in your face up close. Positives end there. The handling is brainless and requires no skill whatsoever. Instead of a gearbox you have a nitro boost bar which you refill by slamming into other cars. However, the impacts are not remotely satisfying. The floaty, neutered physics make every collision feel as if they're happening through half a dozen mattresses.

I know I'm only going off the figure-of-8 track event, but it really feels like Codemasters have missed the point of a D-Derby game. People don't want to see a health bar decrease and see a points total flash up. They just want to see cars slam into eachother as hard as **** and create carnage.

Absolutely not a game for me. If anything it's made me much more wary of the next DiRT/GRiD game.
 
Some screenies of the demo:

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It's hard not to compare this game to Flatout, so I will give in and do it: It has absolutely nothing on Flatout. The impacts are dissatisfying as hell, you're not really encouraged to hit other cars, and the cars handle like cruiseliners. I really hope the full version of the game opens up more.

Edit: I just realized how the hue is changed every second in this game. It's ridiculously annoying. Also, why does dirt glow? (third picture)
 
Played the demo and I have to agree that the crashing was really underwhelming. The boost seemed really pointless as well, it wasn't hard to finish first at all. The two cars I tried didn't feel like they handled too differently and the color palette seemed weird. Oh, and the stupid soundtrack sounds like it's all stupid dubstep remixes of stupid pop songs. That said, I really hope they improve it some of these things before it comes out. Would still like to play the full game. But I'd also agree that Flatout was way better.
 
Well the game is out in Europe/Australia but seems to be delayed until June 12th in North America.

Did any Europeans/Australian members try it out?
 
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