Totaled!
- July 18, 2002 00:00 AM PST
Smash and crash and bash and�um, smash again with Majesco�s ode to car carnage.
It�s been way too long since Psygnosis�s car-crashing Destruction Derby series rumbled around the 32-bit track. At last, Majesco�s exclamatory Totaled! seizes the torch. Problem is, it almost burns itself in the process.
The Total Package
Nobody can say that Totaled! doesn�t deliver when it comes to gameplay options. Checkpoint races, bus jumping, free-for-all smashfests, stunt contests, high score rallies, seek-and-destroy matches, accuracy tests, knockout races, and what�s best described as �kill the man with the arrow;� it�s as if the designers looked at every other car game on the market and�wisely�said, �Let�s throw that in, too.�
Loose Parts
With so much for racing fans to do, it�s a shame, then, that Totaled! features so many mildly annoying oversights that take away its shine. While the graphics are definitely pretty�the snazzy paint jobs practically pop off the car bodies, and crushed cars leave debris around the track�a drop in frame rate is evident during multiplayer matches, not to mention some hectic single-player games. Also, it�s not what you�d call a living environment�everything looks realistic but prefabricated and static, as if this is the first race ever to take place on the turf.
The camera can�t always be relied upon to give you a good view of the action (especially when you�re backed up against a wall), and the game desperately needs radar so you can track down that one last foe to end a match. Controlling the cars will take some getting used to; a powersliding method is required to make turns without losing major speed. The soundtrack is filled with up-and-coming, hungry young punk bands, but the announcer is apparently filled with sleeping pills�he sounds way too low-key for this smash-and-bash action. Maybe the lengthy load times made him drowsy.
Beat the Crusher
And yet, despite these faults, you�ll find yourself wanting to unlock all 12 tracks, eager to see what the paint jobs are for all dozen hot-rods and curious to know just what other gameplay modes the programmers could have possibly come up with. You can overlook the faults, especially if you�re playing with friends, to get to the fun. It�s worth renting Totaled! to see for yourself.
