Demolition Derby & Figure 8 Race

Demolition Derby & Figure 8 Race Editor's Review

Demolition derby figure 8 race, or demolition derby for short is a driving / action game hybrid which, instead of driving to the finish, you must drive into the other drivers. This is a unique enough concept, as it completely flips the basic concepts learned in other genres, and does it in a pretty unique way. In addition to having a pretty interesting premise the game boasts some unique features, such as sustained damage, hundreds of combinations of cars (made up from bodies, wheels and colour) and a developing AI which changes as you play games.

The gameplay of demolition derby involves simple enough crashing into the enemies, and hoping to be last alive. This may sound simple enough, yet entirely random. While to some degree it is, the strategy involved is where you hit the enemies, and how often. Driving into a head on collision will damage both you and the other car seriously, a side on collision will damage you slightly and them a great deal (with the opposite being true when they hit you from the side) and a rear collision will result in very little damage being done to either of you because of momentum.

Using this basic collision guide will tell you where to hit the other cars (mainly, the side) but as there is 9 computer controlled cars also in the arena with you, this can often be easier said than done. There is also strategy in completely avoiding enemy cars, as they will simply drive into each other, for as long as you drive around them, and then as they lower on car health, you will be able to drive into them, finishing them all off an collecting the spoils of war for all of the cars efforts against each other. Off course, that is merely the ideal situation, but there is some incredible fun to be had from attempting it.

The Graphical style of demolition derby is a little disappointing, although it is fully 3d and the animation is pretty good, the actual models for the cars (as varied as they might be as far as you car goes) are very low quality. This fact is made stronger by the fact that all the AI (for the first few games, at least) will all drive the same white and red car. This might not bother some, but definitely picked away at me because of its combination with the sound design, or more specifically lack thereof. The sound is this game is next to non existent. There are noises when you move up and down the menu, and a generic noise for when you drive, but besides that, nothing. This is a definite drawback to the game.

Overall demolition derby figure 8 racing is an interesting enough game (with a pretty misleading title, figure 8 racing does not come into the game once)  with pretty good customization and computer AI improvements. However, this is let down by the very few sounds added, the little effort put into the look (which admittedly boosts performance) and although this game may be great for about 10 minutes of distraction, it's long term prospects are not as good.

Rating 2/5

Demolition Derby & Figure 8 Race Publisher's Description

If you play driving games just to see how big of an accident you can cause, this is the game for you. Cars dent where you hit them, realistic physics make the cars drive like real cars, and you get more than 50 AI drivers to drive against. Each AI driver has his or her own driving style, and all are based on real demolition derby drivers. You get 11 car body styles, including compact, full size, station wagon, and hearse. You also get nine tracks and four difficulty settings. The game supports up to eight player multiplayer games to be played over a LAN or the Internet. You can use steering wheels with support for force feedback. Engines smoke, steam, stall, and backfire. With real drivers and officials consulting on the game, this is as close as it gets to being there. Derby Game Features.

Free download from Shareware Connection - If you play driving games just to see how big of an accident you can cause, this is the game for you. Cars dent where you hit them, realistic physics make the cars drive like real cars, and you get more than 50 AI drivers to drive against.