Parent's Guide: Dirt Showdown - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

DiRT Showdown ditches the rally emphasis of previous DiRT games in favour of a much more up close and personal approach, as it instead becomes a banger racer. From tussles in races, to out and out destruction derby style sumo matches, where you get points for pushing your opponents off a platform, DiRT Showdown's all about being rough and ready with your opponents.

Sadly, when it comes to younger players, a lot of the features that made the previous games better have been removed. The Flashback system, which let you rewind the race to get a second chance at a corner, or attempt to dodge an incoming car, has inexplicably been removed, which, when combined with the fact that the computer controlled players are now a lot more aggressive, can lead to frustration. Similarly, when taking part in races, an awkward boost system, which lets you only fill your boost gauge by crashing into cars, means that falling into last place leaves you stuck there almost for good.

When combined with the way the game doesn't explain any of the modes when you're playing them for the first time, the result is a game that's a lot harder than it should be for novices to pick up.

Although the game revolves around smashing other cars up, there's little for parents to be truly concerned about here. There's no human on human violence, the drivers in the cars are never shown to be injured, and there's no blood or anything that comes out of the crashes. All that's left when a car gets wrecked is a hunk of metal, that quickly fades away.

Unfortunately, while DiRT Showdown does have a split-screen mode, it only allows for two players, which really limits what could otherwise have been an entertaining family game. As it stands, you and a friend or family member can take part in a variety of modes, in your choice of cars - we just wish you could play with more players.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Xbox 360