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- @3{DESTRUCTION DERBY - PSX REVIEW
- @4}by NeTiX / PTK
- @6
- -|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
- @5
- System: Sony PlayStation
- Players: 1 - 40
-
- Developer: Sony Interactive
- Entertainment Europe
- (formerly known as Psygnosis)
-
- Publisher: Sony Interactive
- Entertainment Europe
- @6
- -|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
- @1
- Destruction Derby is easily the most
- instant-race game on the PlayStation
- and it's debatable that any other
- video game format has seen such a
- quick-to-get-into racer. Forget
- acceleration, top speeds and handling,
-
-
-
-
- all you need is "The Bowl" and the
- desire to steam full pelt into the
- nearest vehicle.
-
- The "Destruction Derby", after which
- the game is named, takes place in a
- huge stadium where twenty cars slug it
- out, slamming into each other until
- the arena is filled with the thick
- black smoke and nineteen crooked
- vehicles. A plan view of your car
- appears in the bottom, right corner of
- the screen, indicating how much damage
- you have recieved. Triangular lights
- appear all around the outside. Green
- lights indicate nothing wrong with
- that part of the car, orange lights
- mean minimal damage, red means minor
- damage, red flashing means major
- damage and when the area turns black
- that means that part of the car is
- knackered. Of course the first few
- times that you have a dabble in the
- arena, the last thing on your mind is
- how much damage the car is
- accumulating.
-
- After the initial buzz of driving
- around in circles and battering
- everything that moves, it's time to
- drive with a little more finesse.
- Hand-brake turns, reversing and
- deliberate skids and swerves are all
- tactics that need mastering to last
- any length of time in "The Bowl".
-
- In "Wreckin' Racing" mode, points are
- accured by breaking the opposition.
- Namely sending other cars into 360
- degree spins, smashing them against
- the boundary wall, and basically
- rendering them suitable for the
- knackers yard. It takes a while to
- master, but the best way to success is
- to clip the other cars at high speeds
- with different parts of your car,
- while staying out of harm's way as
- much as you can.
-
- This is nigh on impossible when in
- "Total Destruction" mode when the
- other nineteen cars are programmed to
- follow you, crash into you and
- generally try to wipe you out at the
- earliest possible opportunity.
-
- The other, altogether more sinister
- mode, is "The Duel". Instead of 20
- cars littering the arena, there are
- only two. If you fancy taking realism
- to the extreme, switch to windscreen
- perspective for a really frightening
- fight.
-
- Once you've dragged yourself away from
- "The Bowl", there are five race tracks
- to choose from - at once making the
- game better than Ridge Racer. Get
- used to the car's handling by
- practising on the sedate "Speedway"
- track before winding up for a real
- challenge on the highly dangerous
- "Cross Over" course and the tricky,
- narrow "City Heat" circuit, where the
- action takes place at night.
-
- The rookie car is pretty easy to
- control and you'll soon find yourself
- winning races, although a big lead
- isn't always a safe one - I speak from
- experience. Having the race of my
- life on "Ocean Drive", cruising along
- in first place, I suddenly came across
- an absolute swarm of tail-enders. The
- losers all ganged up on me, completely
- surrounding my motor and, although I
- managed to break free, I'd sustained
- so much damage by then that my car
- blew up inches from the chequered
- flag. Yep, I was still in first place
- but it counted for nowt! The annoying
- speech sample of what sounds like "Oh
- No! Your car's ricked!" came
- hollering out, mocking my misfortune.
-
- Destruction Derby has an abundance of
- extras to enhance the gameplay. Every
- race or Derby you enter can be viewed
- and replayed from almost every angle.
- There are three levels of difficulty,
- five tracks and four varied styles of
- racing/smashing. One of the most
- notable qualities of Destruction
- Derby, however, is the accuracy of car
- damage simulation. If, for example,
- your car takes a battering on one side
- more than the other, the steering
- suffers accordingly.
-
- When the radiator goes, a load of
- steam flies out, and as you take more
- and more knocks. Bit by bit your
- car's bodywork deteriorates to such an
- extent that it's virtually
- unrecognisable, by the time the
- noxious clouds of, ozone- shattering,
- black smoke signals your end.
-
- Destruction Derby comes into it's own
- when you take advantage of the two-
- player serial link. At least two
- PlayStations and two copies of
- Destruction Derby are necessary for
- this to happen, but trust me it is a
- blast.
-
- Destruction Derby is visually
- stunning, with only one glitch - when
- your car scrapes a wall, the wall
- temporarily disappears. The
- difficulty levels are sneaky - you'll
- do well on one level. Then, as the
- intelligence of the computer cars
- increases, you'll find yourself
- struggling wildly on the next. It's
- got universal appeal. It's as
- in-your-face as any other Next Gen
- console game, and will surely be a
- genuine search-out-and-play-again
- classic in years to come.
- @3
- OVERALL 94%