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Destruction Derby 2
Review by Al Giovetti
Price: $55
Genre: arcade action
Release: November 1996
Developer: Reflections
Programmers: Jim Parr, Russel Lazzari, Tony Roberts, William Musson
Artists: Phil Baxter, Richard Beston, David Taylor, Aidan Wilson, Jonathan Steele, Shaun Stephenson, Matt Gibson, Chris Williams
Music:'Jug' - Richard Beston, Dean Liddle, Andrew Lewis. 'Tuscan'- Richard Mumford, Mark Fox, Mark McGowen, Alistair Dunn
Producer: Tony Parkes
Publisher: Psygnosis
Phone: (800) 438-7794, 415-655-5683
Website: http//www.psygnosis.com
System Requirements: Pentium 75 Processor (we recommend a P 100) , 8MB RAM (DOS), 16MB RAM (Win95), 2X CD-ROM drive, PCI SVGA Adapter, Soundblaster and compatibles

Company line: The sequel to the best-selling smash 'em up is back on track. Resprayed, rebuilt and retuned, Destruction Derby 2 is a helter-skelter collision course of crumple zones with advanced 3D graphics. Destruction Derby 2 will feature spectacular 3D crash sequences, where cars will actually flip, roll and cartwheel in real-time before hitting the dirt. DestDer1.jpg - 5.2 K

Upon impact, gamers will see dramatic new special effects, including shooting flames, flying sparks and vehicle parts propelling through the air.

History: Destruction Derby, or DD, came out in 1995 for the PC and Sony Play Station or PSX. The game on both platforms were fun with spectacular graphics and sold so well that there is a sequel planned. There was a lot of fun to be had in smashing up cars in the death arenas.

New for Destruction Derby 2: Pits for repairing cars when they get too damaged. The pits add strategy to the game in that you have to know when to pit and when to fight and race. New also for this version is the ability of the cars to fly when coming off an obstacle or an accident. Increased multiplayer support is promised.

Plot: Well this is the best part of the game - you drive around and bash into other cars and break them up. The most fun in a game comes often from the wanton destruction designed in.

Game play: The jumping off of ramps is another fun thing. It is just simply fun to take flight. The cars fly through the air effortlessly without the constraints of gravity. If Psygnosis had put realistic gravity in the game it would have improved the realism but spoiled the insane fun of flight. Cars also spit off parts when bashed . The improved suspensions in the new Death Derby 2, really improve handling of the cars and sticking to those curves over the original game. Another great new feature is the flying cars in crashes.

Interface: You view the cars from outside in many instances. The interface shows speed race points, number of cars still in the race and a lap counter when it applies. The pit stop brings up a smaller menu that estimates repair service and exit buttons, and a scrolling damage selector. DestDer2.jpg - 5.7 K

Cars: These are a normal gamut of two door and four door stock cars.

Tracks: There are seven new race tracks, including desert and streets at night. The tracks are more difficult than before. Also new are the four "total destruction bowls," including another new track, the Death Bowl, seems designed for mayhem with a large chasm that cars can be bashed down into. An especially fun thing is to trick cars into running into the chasm while chasing your car.

Graphics: The cars have distinctive paint jobs and have details like catalytic converters when turned over. There are nice reflection effects on wind screens.

Animation: Crashes will cause lightning effects and sparks from parts dragging on the ground or rubbing against one another that really look great at night. The cars tumble, roll, and corkscrew in mid air.

Realism: "Stunning suspension means vehicles handle like the real thing!" There is little homage paid to the alter of flight dynamics or the physics engine. Many cars take flight without relation to the physics, but it is more fun to fly longer and faster.

Voice actors:The always cheerful announcer seems to get a kick out of you loosing a radiator or hood or trunk but I could not tell by the noises in my car, only if I listened carefully to the announcer.

Music score: Metal rock music makes the action sound logical.

Sound effects: Bash that metal. The sound effects do not include metal against asphault that should result from loosing a wheel The game is missing metal crunching or tire screeching that one would expect when the car is damaged.

Utilities: Some people report "clipping" problems. Clipping is the feature that keeps three dimensional objects separate and distinct from one anothers. Clipping gives objects the illusion of substance. Without clipping you can walk or in this case drive through walls or actually loose objects through the floor of the arena, like cars. Lack of good clipping is always an interesting feature, but it detracts from game play.

Multi-player: Single player game, which could be a lot of fun multi-player but alas this is not to be. Through another gaping omission the game does not have any multi-player options. Omission of multi-player is an unforgivable deficiency in the game. destder3.gif - 17.0 K

Future: Surely there is a Destruction Derby 3 in the future, because of all the success of the first two games. And we are sure DD2 will be a success.

Journalists: It does not appear that the journalists could make up their minds on this one.

References:
http://www.gamespot.com/previews/dderby2/index.html
Tom Soete, http://www.gamespot.com/previews/dderby2/index.html
Glenn Broderick, Computer Player, volume 1, number 6, January, 1997, pg. 34.
Tom Soete, http://www.gamespot.com/action/destruc2/, 76%.
PS Extreme, December, 1996, 92%
Ultra Game Players, December, 1996
Electronic Gaming Monthly, July, 1996
William R. Trotter, PC GAmer, volume 4, number 3, March, 1997, pg. 124, 86%.
Sean Downey, Boot, volume 1, number 7, March, 1997, pg. 88, 30%.
Tom Hurley, Computer & Net Player, volume 3, number 10, March, 1997, pg. 56, 60%.
Nash Werner, PC Games, volume 4, number 3, March, 1997, pg. 82, 85%.