Demolition Racer
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
This ain't no pretty boy racing circuit, this is a down and dirty decathlon of destruction. Get ready to smash your competitors into submission in Infogrames' Demolition Racer for PlayStation.
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Decisions, Decisions
Polish up your hulking piece of Detroit-crafted metal, give it a new paint job and some flashy decals, then take it out and mash it into a metal cube while racing in this crazy new racer. Taking first place involves taking your rank and multiplying it by the damage points you accumulate from crashing into other cars. You can choose whether you want to do a single race, circuit, or chicken mode (where oncoming traffic is heading right at you). You can even decide to race without damage, but you'd probably pick a different title if that's all you wanted. You can also participate in the standard demolition derby, trying to be the last man standing, or you can even play suicide and try to run your car into the ground the fastest. Not all of the cars, circuits and game play modes are available when you first start, so get into the circuits quickly cause there is a lot of extra fun to be had.
Fire In The Hole!
While the graphics aren't stunningly smooth or detailed, they are entertaining. Watch your fenders crumple, your tires wobble, your hood fly off and your engine burst into flames, all while trying to hold on to first place. The models are blocky and the tracks aren't that interesting, but you won't spend you're a lot of time watching the landscape -- your eyes are set on your next victim. There is a great sense of speed however, and this makes racing exhilarating.
The sound in the game doesn't really add much more to the experience, but unlike similar titles, it isn't audibly annoying. The soundtrack rocks and rolls through metal tunes by Fear Factory, Empirion, and Cirrus, which are harmoniously combined with authentic sounding car crashes and roaring engines to make an accurate cacophony.
The controls are fairly smooth, driving with both analog sticks or the D-pad and buttons (sorry no combinations). Your car will slip, slide, and flip through the course with reckless abandon, but that's good cause it nets you extra points. But control is really lacking when you are down to your last hit and need some accurate driving to finish -- your car will be in flames faster than a hot dog on the Fourth of July. One notable glitch, however, was the fact that sometimes player one's camera view changes on its own, which causes confusion, and it's hard to reach the button to change it back.
Fun, Fun, Fun Til Daddy Takes The T-Bird Away
But the overall look and feel of this game are right on. Crashing your way through the circuits is a great time, and two-player races are even more fun. A more realistic looking and feeling crash-em-up racer than Destruction Derby 64 -- if obliteration is your cup of tea, then PlayStation owners rejoice and race to the store for Demolition Racer.
