Total Destruction!
A Review of Destruction Derby 2
by Craig Majaski
Racing fans rejoice! Destruction Derby 2 (DD2), by Psygnosis, is on store shelves ready to be purchased by die-hard game enthusiasts. Taking it a step further than just plain racing, DD2 adds all the exciting parts of destruction derbies. For those of you who enjoyed the first game, the sequel should be of interest. Is it better than the first game? Well, sort of. Read on to find out.
As in the original game, DD2 allows you to choose the style of racing you want to compete in. There's the Wreckin' Racing mode, where you get points for wiping your opponents out. You also get points depending on your finishing position. At the end of the race all of your points are tallied. Stock Car Racing mode strictly awards points for your finishing place (like most regular racing games). Both of these modes allow you to race on a variety of tracks. Some are the usual oval tracks, while others add a new dimension to the fun by including steep hills and sharp corners. In Destruction Derby mode, you are placed in the bowl arena. Your main goal here is to stay alive. It seems as if all the other cars are out to get you, so you must drive defensively. The pile-up, flips, and crashes are wonderful in this mode. Finally, you can try your luck at the Time Trials. Overall, the game's options are very similar to its predecessor.
So, what's new in DD2? The graphics have been slightly upgraded. There are some levels that have nice sun lens flares that help add to the realism. Nice effects like your wheels falling off, or the hood getting ripped off add to the "oohs and ahhs". The tracks have been narrowed to allow less cars to pass through at once and cause more collisions. Cars no longer are "glued" to the track. They can flip, roll, and fly through the air. Some of the crashes are absolutely breath-taking and add a lot of fun to the game. If your car becomes damaged, there are now pitstops to stop in and fix it up. The gameplay seems to be quite a bit faster as well. You actually believe that you're speeding through the turns. The number of cars on the track have been increased to 20 to add more competition. All of these new features help add to the quality of the game, but there are some hindrances.
First of all, the control in the game could use a complete overhaul. While Psygnosis was nice enough to change the tracks for us, they seem to have worsened the control of your car. It's harder than ever to keep your car on the track. The controls are a bit too touchy, a slight press of a button and your car veers to the side of the road. As if that weren't bad enough, the computer is almost impossible to beat during the races. I can barely get out of last place, let alone get in the top 10. The only way you'll score is to choose the expert car, which is even more difficult to control. Some may enjoy the difficult challenge level, but it will surely discourage most people from playing. Another glitch in the game are the viewpoints.
The camera doesn't seem to stay in the best spot at all times. When you need to see the most, it usually lets you down. For example, every time your car does a really big jump, the camera floats off to the side of the car, making it hard to complete a good landing. The same problem arises when you want to drive the car in reverse (which you will want to do quite often in the bowl arenas).
The music and sound effects are top-notch. The soundtrack is nicely done, and the voice is crystal clear. Unfortunately, they took out the individual car voices. In the first one, when you'd smash into a car, they would sometimes yell at you. Now all you hear is some announcer talk about how great the race is going. The cool names of the drivers and their cool cars have been replaced with more realistic stock cars. This takes away some of the personal revenge that was so evident in the first game.
So, should you buy this game? If you are an owner of the original title and enjoyed that game, then this might be a worthy purchase. If you haven't bought the original, I suggest picking that one up instead of this one. DD2 is fun and has nice graphics. The most important quality of a game, good play control, is sorely missing from DD2. It's almost as if Psygnosis focused too much on making the game look better, when all they should have been doing was tweaking the play mechanics. This is an average game that could have been an excellent title. Just for reference sake, this reviewer would rate the original Destruction Derby 4 out of 5.
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: | Destruction Derby 2 |
| Company: | Psygnosis |
| Cost: | $39.99 |
System Requirements:
A Pentium with 90 Mhz or faster processor,
Double Speed CD-ROM driveor better,
16 MB RAM for Windows 95 users, 8 MB RAM for Dos users,
Soundblaster and compatibles,
1 MB SVGA video card (2 MB recommended),
keyboard or mouse, joystick recommended.
This reviewer used:
90 MHZ Pentium IBM Compatible,
24 MB RAM,
Double Speed CD-ROM, and Windows 95.
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 3
Graphics 3
Sound 4
Interface 3
Replayability 3
Overall Score:
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