Dbbum's Full Review: Demolition Racer for PlayStation 1
Demolition Racer is a game of skill in Demolition Races and Demolition Derbies. You'll find may hours of action packed destruction when you play this. For anyone familiar with the Demolition Derby I/II series, will love this game even more! Fans of the Driver I/II series will love the car handling and physics.
Single Race
The single race option includes several options:
Demolition Race: Regular race on a race with 16 cars, choose from any unlocked track
The Chase: The name says it all, follow that car!
Chicken: We all know what chicken is, watch out! Who will move first?
Last Man Standing: Demolition Derby in a bowl, last one standing wins
Suicide: Demolition Derby in a bowl, all are after you, can you make it out alive?
Each option is locked at the beginning, expect for Demolition Race. You must start a league and unlock options/cars as you go. This is what makes the single player option so important!
Demolition League
The league is what unlocked options for you in single player mode. There are several league to choose from: Rookie, Semi Pro, Pro, Endurance, Arena.
The first 3 leagues are racing leagues, each harder than the next with new tracks. The last 2 are arena leagues in which you must battle in a bowl arena, and try not to blow up your car. You must complete each league to unlock cars and tracks. The best part about the leagues is that you can save your season after each race. This way if you do poorly on one track, you can keep trying to do better rather than redoing the whole league and tracks over again.
Two Player
You are able to pick from any option listed in the single player section, only this time it's with two players. You must have 2 controllers for this option to function.
Controls
The controls are easy to use and learn. You have your basic gas/brake buttons, and the view button. The left side arrow button steer your car, and the L2/R2 button allow you to look in your rearview mirror. The horn button is also fun to use, fun to distract your friends with it. While racing each is button is located in a friendly area, so anyone should be able to find the controls easy. You can always customize them as you wish.
Car Selection
Seeing as this is a Demolition Race, the cars are junk. There are a total of 8 cars to choose from, not including the secret ones. Each is classified by: Acceleration, Top Speed, Handling, Armor. You can also play around with the coloring of the car once you pick it, and add a pre made logo to your roof. While each car has it's own unique blend of physics, there isn't one better than the other. The driver is the main factor of how well you do in the race.
Graphics - 8/10
One important aspect of any game are graphics. Demolition Racer doesn't top the scale by any means, but does provide a decent show. During the race you have 5 race views, in car being my favorite. This should be enough to satisfy any racer. The quality of the cars are nothing to brag about, but seeing as this is a Demolition Race, this isn't much of a factor. You'll find the cars to take on damage as the race goes along. With every bang, a shard of paint or body work comes flying off. I'd sure hate to be a spectator of any race here, in fear of getting nail by a loose hood. You'll find that each race is accompanied by a full length replay of your last run. For those that have played "Driver" will find that the replays in Demolition Racer seem to come from a cut scene of Driver. The graphics are much better in replays than during the race, go figure.
Sounds - 6/10
Menus: This is one bad part of Demolition Racer. While navigating through the menu, every option you select or every cursor move you make, results in a horrific sound of an engine. While taking into considering that this is a racing game, I still couldn't stomach those sounds for to long.
In Game: The racing sounds are not half bad. Each bump, skid, and slam has it's own unique sound. There is nothing spectacular to say here, the in game sounds are just normal.
Music: There is music during the whole game! While it's said that music adds to the effect, this can be overdone. Whether it's during the menu selections, or during a race, you'll have heavy metal blasted into you ears. I don't mind the heavy metal at all, but to be played the whole time your playstation is turned on is to much for me. You can always turn off the music anytime,
so this is very helpful.
Overall - 7/10
The graphics are not terrible one bit. The same can't be said for the music though, unless you don't mind heavy metal being blasted at you all the time. Loading time on the playstation is great. I know this doesn't always apply, but the impatient type will not find it hard to get in there and bash car after car. Overall, the graphics and game play make this a game to be had. Anyone who's a fan of destruction or beating the bolts out of cars will love Demolition Racer. This is definitely one to be had by destruction racing fans.
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